WHEN IT COUNTS, SHAQ'S ALL OVER YAO.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

There were moments in the first playoff showdown of Shaquille O'Neal and Yao Ming when it looked like a contest, just as there were times when the opener of the Lakers-Houston Rockets series deserved to be called a playoff game.

Early in the third quarter, Yao held the ball 7 feet, 6 inches and an arm's length above the floor, and Shaq simply jumped up and snatched it away with both hands. Take that, Yao.

Whereupon, they ran down to the other end of the court, Shaq powered to the rim for a one-handed layup, and Yao simply reached up and swatted the thing to the sideline. Take that, Shaq.

But at the end of 48 minutes Saturday night at Staples Center, the idea of the second-year center from China neutralizing the three-time NBA champion from Newark looked a little silly, and that gave Lakers a reason to come out of this ugly 72-71 victory unshaken.

``Yao's ti-i-i-i-ired!'' a taunting Lakers fan sing-songed late in the first half, picking up on Yao's pre-series complaint of fatigue.

After missing three out of four free throws when he could have put the Lakers ahead, O'Neal rebounded a Kobe Bryant miss away from Yao and slammed home the go-ahead basket with 17.4 seconds to play.

Shaq, with 20 points, emerged as high scorer almost by default as Kobe Bryant stirred up last weekend's controversy by attempting only one official shot in the first half, Karl Malone missed nine shots in a row after sinking his first, and Gary Payton walked stiffly to the locker room before halftime after hurting his back.

It wasn't supposed to go like this.

Based on the pre-series comments - and no-comments - every single Laker is going to step it up here in the playoffs. If my math was correct, each starter was bound to score 30 points Saturday night and the Lakers were going to win 164-49. Then they'd leave the court riding on each other's shoulders, in a picture by Leroy Neiman out of M.C. Escher.

They were lining up to be the Game 1 hero, although the Lakers weren't such sure things going into this game, series or postseason that they could afford to pre-print the MVP plaques. It was going to be O'Neal's night because he'd love to torture Yao in his highest-profile meeting with the 23-year-old heir to Shaq's most-dominating-center mantle.

Or it was going to be Bryant's night because it always is Kobe's one way or the other, whether he's willing himself to score 45 points or willing himself to score eight.

Or it was going to be Malone's night because he had one of his best games of the season (20 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists) in the last meeting with Houston and he's on a championship mission.

Or it was going to be Payton's night because he's on a Phil Mickelson quest and just like Malone he'd been wearing that scowl that became so cute to Lakers fans as soon as he, you know, became a Laker.

Or maybe - if they all decided not to shoot - it was going to be Rick Fox's night just because he made it to tip-off eight days after a thumb dislocation.

Isn't this how the Lakers started the regular season, with everybody wondering if there was room for all of these heroes?

In a renewal of training camp, there was talk at the Lakers' final pre-playoffs practice Friday about how much Malone and Payton would assert themselves.

That talk came from Malone and Payton.

``We tried to sit back most of the year and let Kobe and Shaq do their thing,'' Payton said, relating after the Lakers' final pre-playoffs practice Friday. ``But I think teams, as we get deeper and deeper in the playoffs, we're going to have to make them really realize that we're a key figure to this team, too.''

Naturally, it came right back to where it usually does, with O'Neal the center of things in every sense of the phrase and Bryant working the fringe in every sense of the word.

O'Neal finished with 20 and 16 rebounds, Yao 10 and 11.

Advantage, Shaq. Advantage, Lakers.