TWO GOOD LAKERS MEET CHALLENGE; TAKE BIG 2-0 SERIES LEAD LAKERS 88, S. ANTONIO 81.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

SAN ANTONIO - History offers few comparisons for what the Lakers are doing now, no easy baselines to use as reference points for a winning streak gone amok. Perspective is growing more scant by the day.

And so on Monday, as the Lakers fell behind by double figures, and watched Tim Duncan dominate them for three quarters, and watched their coach get ejected, and appeared ready to fall into complete disarray, they did what people who have lost touch with reality do:

They smiled and enjoyed the moment.

Then, having duly noted their first major challenge of this postseason, the Lakers went back to doing what they have done for the last seven weeks. They absorbed the best blows the San Antonio Spurs could deliver. Then they crushed their momentum and their hopes with an 88-81 victory at the Alamodome to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals, which now heads to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4.

But this best-of-seven series might have ended with this victory, the Lakers' 17th in a row. They are 9-0 in the playoffs and have gone 50 days without a loss, and even the worst circumstances failed to make them mortal Monday.

Even with Shaquille O'Neal bottled up and held to 19 points, even with Kobe Bryant held to 28, even with their coach in the locker room, the Lakers played perhaps their best game of this superlative postseason.

``It's a tribute to this team that they could stay solid against overwhelming odds,'' said coach Phil Jackson, who was tossed late in the third quarter. ``We knew what an incredible task it was going to be to win down here - let alone one game, two. We felt like we had to overcome a lot of odds tonight to do it.''

Which, in this twisted Lakers paradigm, where no team has beaten them in 49 days, made the night all the more thrilling.

``We were actually enjoying it,'' Bryant said. ``We said, `Hey, we're being challenged right now. We have to enjoy the situation.' This is why we play this game, is to be challenged and to be put in adverse situations.''

One wonders whether they will be again before they start mapping downtown parade routes.

The Spurs gave it their best shot, behind a superb effort from Duncan - 40 points, 15 rebounds, four blocked shots - and the shooting of Antonio Daniels (24 points).

The Spurs held the Lakers to a postseason-low 38 points in the first half and led by as many as 14. Undaunted, the Lakers cut the deficit to a manageable 60-54 by halftime, despite Duncan scoring 25 and Bryant and O'Neal combining for 18.

Then Jackson unwittingly touched off the incredible comeback. He picked up two technical fouls within five minutes in the third quarter - both for jawing at officials - and was ejected with 3:59 to go. Daniels hit the technical shot for a 61-54 lead.

``That gave us energy,'' said Rick Fox. ``I'm sure he would have probably liked to stay. But by being tossed, I know it kind of pissed off the rest of us. It kind of lit a fire under us.''

Jackson said that wasn't his intention, but apparently he didn't tell the players that.

O'Neal wrestled away an offensive rebound from a scrum of Spurs and dunked it. Fox picked Daniels and fed Bryant for a breakaway, stopped when Danny Ferry collared Bryant from behind, sending him to the line for two free throws. Then Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer, tying the score at 61 and sending the Lakers bench into a frenzy.

Robert Horry followed with a 3-pointer and the Lakers took their first lead of the game, 64-63, and even gimpy Ron Harper was hopping up and down with Tyronn Lue and Devean George.

``I think it was huge for us to remain calm the way that we did,'' Bryant said. ``It was easy to kind of rush things and try to get it all back in one possession but we didn't do that. We stayed calm, remained focused and executed.''

And played superb defense. Horry flustered Duncan throughout the second half, even bloodying his nose while drawing a foul from him early in the fourth quarter. O'Neal asked to double-team Duncan and did so effectively, helping force Duncan into four turnovers in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, every Laker had a dagger to throw. Horry hit a 3-pointer to break a tie. Fox hit a layup to make it 78-76 with 5:36 to go, and the Lakers never trailed again.

Bryant zipped a pass from the baseline to O'Neal for an easy layup, then hit a wide-open 3-pointer the next time down the court for an insurmountable 85-78 lead. Fisher added one more 3-pointer for emphasis, then skipped in the air and shook his fist.

And the Spurs, the West's top seed, suffered consecutive losses for the first time since February.

``It's a terrible position to be in,'' David Robinson said. ``But there's still a lot of life. We've got a lot of fight left in us.''

A CLOSER LOOK AT GAME 2

TOTAL TURNOVERS: Lakers 7, San Antonio 14

2ND HALF FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE: Lakers 19, San Antonio 7

3-POINT FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE: Lakers 44.4, San Antonio 25

FREE-THROW PERCENTAGE: Lakers 55, Sacramento 92

HERO OF THE GAME

What did Robert Horry not do? First and foremost, he slowed Tim Duncan, who absolutely dominated in the first half. He also contributed key hustle, rebounds, points and blocks. He's the real reason L.A.'s up 2-0.

GOAT OF THE GAME

DAVID ROBINSON

Again, David Robinson was a nonfactor. He never demonstrated a desire to score and then got into foul trouble. This was especially bad for Duncan. Without a second tower in there, Horry and Bryant could double him easier.

LOOK AHEAD

Game 3 is Friday at Staples Center but who are we kidding? This series is so in the refrigerator. As long as the Lakers show up, they will win Friday and Sunday and then rest up for the NBA Finals, where they'll have home-court advantage.

SERIES AT A GLANCE

Lakers lead series 2-0

--Game 1: Lakers 104, San Antonio 90

--Game 1: Lakers 88, San Antonio 81

--Game 3: Friday at Lakers, 6 p.m.

--Game 4: Sunday at Lakers, 2:30 p.m.

--Game 5: May 29 at San Antonio, 6 p.m.

--Game 6: June 1 at Lakers, TBA*

--Game 7: June 3 at San Antonio, TBA*

* - if necessary

KEY TO THE GAME

San Antonio made just seven field goals in the second half, allowing the Lakers to chip away at any Spurs' lead or not lose the lead when they shot poorly.

KEY MATCHUP

Matched mostly against Horace Grant in the first half, Duncan scored 25 points. Matched mostly against Horry in the second half, Duncan scored 15 points, the last three coming on a banked 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds remaining.

QUARTER BY QUARTER BREAKDOWN

FIRST

Antonio Daniels scores his team's first seven points but the Lakers tie it 9-9 with 7:30 to play. A 3-pointer and two Daniels free throws give the Spurs a seven-point lead. Horace Grant keys an 8-2 spurt at quarter's end to keep the Lakers close.

SPURS 22, LAKERS 21

SECOND

The Spurs open with a 15-2 run. Shaquille O'Neal receives a technical during the run and the Lakers don't score a field goal until 4:30 remain. Rick Fox's hustle helps the Lakers cut the lead to three, but Tim Duncan leads a last-minute charge to build the lead back to eight.

SPURS 46, LAKERS 38

THIRD

In two minutes, the Lakers cut the deficit to three points. Phil Jackson gets a technical, leading to seven consecutive points and a 10-point lead. He earns his second technical with 3:59 to play and is ejected for the first time this season. The Lakers respond by finishing the quarter on a 12-7 run.

SPURS 67, LAKERS 66

FOURTH

The Lakers open with four more points for a three-point lead. Robert Horry's defense contains Duncan. San Antonio ties it a couple of times but never leads. A Fox layup with 5:37 to play puts the Lakers ahead 78-76. They never trail again.

LAKERS 88, SPURS 81

CAPTION(S):

17 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Good times: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant embrace at midcourt at the end of the Lakers' Game 2 victory.

Eric Gay/Associated Press

(2) Kobe Bryant shoots over the Spurs' Antonio Daniels. Bryant scored a team-high 28 points.

Joe Mitchell/Associated Press

(3) SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

CENTER

Too tired to handle the triple-team but not to rebound. Technical foul summed up frustrations. A quieter night than normal.

Grade: B

(4) KOBE BRYANT

GUARD

Took too many bad shots but had enough points, assists to O'Neal and help on defense.

Grade: B

(5) HORACE GRANT

FORWARD

Duncan made him look every bit as old as his 35 years.

Grade: D+

(6) DEREK FISHER

GUARD

Another solid effort. Did just enough scoring (especially in fourth quarter), assisting, rebounding.

Grade: B+

(7) RICK FOX

FORWARD

Never stopped hustling defensively even as Lakers fell behind by double digits.

Grade: B+

(8) ROBERT HORRY

FORWARD

Why doesn't he start instead of Grant? He defends Duncan and hustles better and scores more.

Grade: A+

(9) DAVID ROBINSON

CENTER

Needs to score more and stay out of foul trouble. The Admiral looks like he has been demoted.

Grade: C

(10) TIM DUNCAN

FORWARD

A unstoppable force in the key, like O'Neal was in Game 1. But doing it only in the first half doesn't help.

Grade: B

(11) DANNY FERRY

FORWARD

One 3-pointer and little else, similar to Game 1.

Grade: C

(12) ANTONIO DANIELS

GUARD

Ten first-quarter points really helped on the way to career-playoff high. Also 12 of 12 from free-throw line.

Grade: A

(13) TERRY PORTER

GUARD

Guess his years of playoff experience taught him to be invisible.

Grade: C

(14) MALIK ROSE

CENTER

Can't tell how good or bad he is when he needs two others to help him guard O'Neal.

Grade: Inc.

(15) TOP GUNS

BRYANT: 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists

(16) DUNCAN: 40 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists

(17) DAVID ROBINSON

Box: (1) A CLOSER LOOK AT GAME 2 (see text)

(2) SERIES AT A GLANCE (see text)

(3) QUARTER BY QUARTER BREAKDOWN (see text)

(4) GAME RECAP