VAN EXEL STRINGS HORNETS; LATE HEROICS JUST `MASTERFUL' : LAKERS 109 CHARLOTTE 100.

Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer

By now, this stuff shouldn't come as a surprise: late game, Lakers struggling and in need of a spark, and Mr. Dramatic, Nick Van Exel, puts flint to steel. It's as predictable as the daily brawl on the Jerry Springer show, and much more believable.

Van Exel scored 11 points in the final three minutes of a dangerously close fourth quarter, pushing the Lakers to a 109-100 victory over the Hornets before 24,042 at the Hive on Saturday.

And now the Hornets know how the Rockets and Spurs felt back in November. Van Exel's timely shooting and deadly 3-pointers brought the Lakers back from sure defeats at Houston and San Antonio last month, but it had been awhile since he nearly single-handedly won a game.

Van Exel finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 11 assists and two steals, leading seven Lakers in double-figure scoring.

``It was one of his most masterful performances, all around,'' Lakers coach Del Harris said.

As usual, Van Exel's timing was impeccable.

The Lakers were up by a seemingly comfortable 10 points with 6:32 remaining in the game, but they began to unravel. Over the next 2-1/2 minutes, Eddie Jones missed Van Exel on a breakaway for a turnover, Elden Campbell committed an offensive foul to nix another possession, Robert Horry missed a layup and Campbell missed a pair of free throws.

That fed an 8-0 run by the Hornets, with five from Glen Rice, that cut the lead to 91-89. Anthony Mason punctuated the comeback with a thunderous slam dunk at the 4:05 mark.

After that, it was nearly all Van Exel.

When Charlotte cut the lead to two, Van Exel hit a layup to make it 95-91; after Vlade Divac completed a 3-point play to cut it to one, Van Exel hit a short jumper to make it 97-94; Rice hit two free throws to cut it to two, and well, you know where this is going.

Van Exel finished it off in typical Van Exel style, with a timely 3-pointer that extended the lead to 105-98 with 40 seconds left. That shot came after a Lakers timeout, but it wasn't the play Harris called in the huddle.

``It was a broken play. (Van Exel) did what we count on him to do,'' Harris said. ``If he can't make the play he creates something on his own.

Despite the high praise from everyone else, Van Exel didn't consider this game among his best.

``I think it was more solid for me and the team. I had my share of assists, no turnovers. I still took a few out-of-control shots, but all in all, I think I ran the ballclub pretty well,'' he said.

Horry, who had only scored two points all game, came up with the other biggest shot of the night. Rice, who finished with a game-high 32, had cut the lead to 97-96 on a 23-foot jumper, and Horry, who hadn't made a 3-pointer since Nov. 28, took the ball behind the arc and let it fly. His drought was over.

``If I'm open, I'm taking it,'' Horry, usually a reliable 3-point shooter, said. ``The only way to get out of a slump is to keep shooting it. It felt really good. It's about time.''

It made for a frustrating evening for the Hornets.

``Every time there was a 3 to hit, they hit it,'' said Charlotte coach Dave Cowens.

The Lakers' victory made them 3-1 on the five-game road trip, which ends Monday night in Houston. After beating Minnesota and being routed by Chicago, the most impressive part of the trip were the down-to-the wire, back-to-back wins over Atlanta on Friday and Charlotte on Saturday.

``It's very impressive,'' Jones said. ``When you play a team the caliber of Atlanta and have a tough game down the stretch, you build up character. . . . We could have easily faltered down the stretch of this game.''

Sean Rooks, Kobe Bryant and Corie Blount all scored in double figures and combined for 34 points off the bench. Charlotte's bench provided just 11 points, mostly from Matt Geiger.

The amazing postscript: Blount (10 points, eight rebounds) and Rooks (11 points) were both suffering from illness.

Grounded: Air Kobe twice hit turbulent skies in the form of Divac, the man the Lakers traded to Charlotte to obtain Bryant.

In the second quarter, Bryant's one-handed jam was stifled when he hit Divac in mid-air, just shy of the basket. The crowd howled, but Divac was called for a foul and Bryant hit both free throws.

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