Horry Makes Presence Felt in Laker Debut

Robert Horry played his first game as a Laker, a cause for some anxiety, but they simply played it like all the others, a cause for concern to those not in purple and gold.

They may become a better defensive team with Horry, one of the things counted on with his acquisition from Phoenix last Friday, but the present isn’t anything to overlook in the meantime, this current group continuing to hold opponents in double digits. Tuesday night, it was a 91-81 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies before 15,606 at the Forum, the Lakers’ 12th consecutive home win and the seventh time in a row that they’ve held a team to less than 100 points.

The seven in a row is their best run in more than five years, since November 1991. In those seven, six of which were victories, opponents have averaged 87 points and shot 39.3%.

“We feel real good about our defense,” said Travis Knight, who had a season-high 12 rebounds along with three blocks. “The shots are not going to fall some nights, but the defense is the constant. It can bind a team together.”

Not that they don’t make room for newcomers. Horry had 11 points on five-of-eight shooting, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 26 minutes off the bench. Joe Kleine, who also came from the Suns in exchange for Cedric Ceballos and Rumeal Robinson, played the final 1:22, after the Lakers had finally pulled away from Vancouver, which trailed by only three with 3:57 remaining.

“I felt good,” Horry said. “The first half, I was so eager to get out there I lost my wind. I was just so happy to be in a Laker uniform. The second half, I settled down.”

Horry first entered with 4:46 left in the first quarter, greeted by a loud ovation from the fans. That was for his presence. The cheers that followed were for his actions.

Less than a minute into his Laker career, he tipped in Nick Van Exel’s miss. Thirty seconds later, he blocked a short perimeter jumper by seven-footer Bryant Reeves. Two Vancouver possessions after that, Jerome Kersey, still the starting small forward, stole the ball from Shareef Abdur-Rahim and started a fastbreak that ended with Horry getting the ball in transition on the right wing and throwing down a slam dunk.

Not a bad first quarter: five minutes, two shots, two baskets, two rebounds, one steal, one block.

He followed that up the next period by making his only field goal, grabbing two more rebounds, stealing another ball, but committing one turnover. It was only the first half, but Horry was already making an impact.

Kleine, meanwhile, was having an encouraging start of his own. As in, he made it through the national anthem.

The reminders come often, usually from teammates giving him a bad time, but this hasn’t always been an automatic for Kleine in his new home building. It was nine months earlier, after all, that he collapsed on the court as a member of the Suns while trumpeter Jesse McGuire played the “Star Spangled Banner” before a Sunday afternoon game.

No cause was ever found. Which only meant people could make fun of him without feeling guilty, like his new coach, Del Harris, who joked the night of the trade, that “having him down at the other end of the court now may help.”

Said Kleine: “The Forum doesn’t have a lot of strong, good memories for me. I know that will change now that I’m on this team, though.”

And there’s no truth to the rumor that he threatened not to report to L.A. unless they promised no more McGuire.

“I just said if that trumpet player comes back out, I’m off to the bathroom,” Kleine said.

Tuesday night, with no brass in sight, presented more immediate problems. Like the Grizzlies.

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A Season of Expectations

The Lakers acquired nine new players this season, including Shaquille O’Neal and his $120-million contract. In turn, with big acquisitions come big expectations. Throughout the season, The Times will monitor O’Neal’s numbers along with how the team compares to some of the best Laker teams in history.

GAME 38 OF 82

* Record 28-10

* Standing 1st place

Pacific Division

1996-97 LAKERS VS. THE BEST LAKER TEAMS

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Year Gm. 38 Overall 1987-88 30-8 62-20 1986-87 30-8 65-17 1984-85 26-12 62-20 1979-80 25-13 60-22 1971-72 35-3 69-13

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Note: The five teams above all won NBA championships

THE SHAQ SCOREBOARD

Basketball Numbers

* Tuesday’s Game:

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Min FG FT Reb Blk Pts 37 9-18 6-16 12 5 24

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* 1996-97 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 39.5 .560 .478 13.0 3.0 26.5

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* 1995-96 Season Averages:

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Min FG% FT% Reb Blk Pts 36.0 .573 .487 11.0 2.1 26.6

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Money Numbers

* Tuesday’s Salary: $130,658.53

* Season Totals: $4,965,024.14

* FACTOID: In game 38 of the 1986-87 season, Magic Johnson scored 22 of his 42 points in the third quarter of a 126-115 victory over the New Jersey Nets. Johnson went 16 of 16 from the free-throw line, grabbed 11 rebounds and had seven assists. When asked about coaching a team that includes Johnson, Pat Riley said: “That’s what makes me a great coach, doesn’t it?”

First Game

First-game statistics for Robert Horry, who was traded to the Lakers from Phoenix on Friday:

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Min. FG-FGA FT-FTA Pts Reb Stl Ast 26 5-8 0-0 11 7 3 2

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