Lakers Become Bad Boys and Spurs Punish Them : Pro basketball: Tough not enough for L.A. as San Antonio wins Game 1, 110-94.

The new opponent called for a new approach, so the Lakers chucked finesse and went in a new direction. Say, game plan by Charles Atlas.

They got tough, winning the battle of the boards in an upset. They got mad, such as when Dennis Rodman tried to play peacemaker for Vlade Divac and almost ended up the defendant, a minor scrape compared to what nearly erupted moments later. They got enough strength to fight through the fatigue.

But they did not get the victory. The San Antonio Spurs claimed that and a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals Saturday afternoon, beating the Lakers, 110-94, before 24,002 at the Alamodome behind 33 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots by David Robinson.

Such a waste. Elden Campbell’s 29 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks against Rodman down the drain. Outrebounding the Spurs, 47-40, including 22-7 on the offensive end, all for naught. Rodman being limited to 12 rebounds, about five fewer than his league-leading average, and four of those came in the final 80 seconds of what had become a runaway by that time--again in vain.

This was, of course, the same Laker team that finished 22nd in the NBA in rebounding percentage, only 17 places behind San Antonio. Wasn’t it?

“We tried to win the game,” Divac said after contributing 25 points and 11 rebounds. “Obviously, we had a chance all game long. I think that’s a message that we are a tough team.”

There were other statements in kind.

With 4:55 left in the game and the Lakers down by 11, Divac was called for traveling while backing in on Robinson. Incensed, he headed toward official Greg Willard when, after a few steps, Rodman grabbed his arm before Divac could do any damage to his wallet.

Divac got the wrong idea and wheeled on Rodman, then was calmed down by Laker teammates. In the end, it was Rodman, of all people, who got the technical.

Then came the follow-up: Campbell committed a flagrant foul on Robinson under the basket. Robinson hit the court hard, and the Lakers quickly circled the wagons, against the Spurs and the crowd.

“It wasn’t intentional,” Campbell said. “I guess that doesn’t matter, though.”

Not to a city with championship hopes.

“It was a scary moment for me, absolutely,” Spur guard Doc Rivers said. “I was going to see if David was out and see if I could move over to another team real quick.”

Rivers, originally thinking it was a cheap shot, and Divac exchanged words. Cedric Ceballos tried to separate them. Campbell stepped in and tried to get at Rivers. Avery Johnson and Sean Elliott pushed to the middle of the mess and tried to get at Campbell. Spur Coach Bob Hill even got into it.

Campbell and Rivers got technicals, Robinson got a sore left elbow and, after order was restored without further incident, two free throws. He made both, giving the Spurs a 98-86 cushion with 4:43 to play that sent them to their 25th victory in the last 27 games.

But between the rebounding and the hard--and clean--fouls, the Lakers showed they could play the tough guy. If this game will stand as nothing more than a statement, and some players said that was one intention, consider the message delivered.

“They killed us on the boards tonight and they made a concerted effort to do that,” Rivers said. “You can look at that two ways--they accomplished that, but we still won the basketball game. We look at it in a bad way. We shouldn’t have let them get so many offensive boards.”

The Spurs didn’t let them get the victory, though.

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Laker Notes

Nick Van Exel had a light outing: 42 minutes. It was the first time he had been taken out since the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Seattle series, a span of 152 minutes 49 seconds. He played well again, getting 16 points, 12 assists and two steals with only three turnovers. Tony Smith got the six minutes of relief duty at point guard. . . . George Lynch suffered a mild concussion when he was inadvertently hit across the left side of the face by David Robinson. Lynch spent most of the rest of the game in the Laker locker room and will be monitored by team physician Steve Lombardo, who is on the trip. “I don’t remember anything,” Lynch said afterward.