Lakers’ St. Nick Delivers

This was Nick Van Exel in stealth mode, wreaking havoc, but in control. This was almost strange.

“It was different,” even he had to admit.

But typical enough for the Lakers. Van Exel took over another game by scoring 11 of their final 16 points to make the difference in a 109-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

“Tonight was one of his most masterful performances, I thought, all around,” Coach Del Harris said. “He’s had a lot of good games, so I don’t want to say it was his best. But it was nice.”

Usually, when Van Exel dominates the scoreboard, it comes with a flurry of three-point shots. He had three from behind the line against the Hornets as the Lakers went from Friday’s win at Atlanta to their second consecutive down-the-stretch victory in about 24 hours, but it was more than that.

Van Exel played 38 minutes, getting 11 assists without a turnover. He made nine of 17 shots, including six of nine from inside the arc. He was four of five in the fourth quarter, when he scored half his team-high 24 points, a number bettered only by the 32 from Hornet Glen Rice.

It came against a team that does a good job at forcing turnovers and not allowing opponents to shoot well. And then the Lakers, showing no sign of fatigue coming off a victory against the Hawks that wasn’t decided until the final second, committed only 12 turnovers and shot 54.7%.

“I think it was more solid, for me and the team,” Van Exel said of his showing compared to some of his other big nights. “I had my share of assists, no turnovers. And I still took a few out-of-control shots. But, all in all, I think I ran the ballclub pretty well.”

Pretty well?

“Nick was just fantastic,” Harris said.

Never more than after the Hornets had trimmed a 10-point deficit with 6:32 remaining to two, 93-91, with 3:23 left. That’s when the flurry hit.

A driving layup.

A runner down the lane, just after Vlade Divac’s three-point play got the Hornets within 95-94, part of the 17 points and 18 rebounds by Divac against his former team.

Robert Horry, having struggled this season from behind the arc, made a crucial three-point shot, and Van Exel followed with a 17-footer from the left side. Then he made a three-pointer from the right side that made the score 105-98 with 40 seconds left, effectively ending any Hornet comeback hopes and forcing them to foul. He even took advantage of that, making a pair from the line with 21.6 remaining just after Rick Fox had done the same.

Eight possessions, counting one that ended in a turnover, in the final 3:06. Four baskets by Van Exel, in four tries. Two free throws.

“You always see him do it,” said teammate Eddie Jones, who contributed 19 points as one of seven Lakers in double figures. “I don’t pay that much attention [to how he gets them]. I just see the ball going through the basket, whether on runners or three.”

Said Charlotte’s Matt Geiger: “Nick Van Exel just rose to the occasion and hit some tough shots. I thought our defense down the stretch was tough, but they just hit some tougher shots.”

The Lakers shot 64.3%--nine of 14--in the decisive final period, putting them at 3-1 on the five-game trip that ends Monday in Houston and in position to have a tremendous journey. It ends now against a team they have already defeated twice and after a day off to rest, especially earned considering the two games that came before.

“When we came out on the trip . . . I thought this would be the hardest to win of all five we had,” Harris said. “We were playing a real good basketball team here.

“I watched them beat Chicago here. All of their five-game win streak [ended at Washington the night before], I saw four of them and thought they looked terrific. So I’m really proud of this victory tonight. There were so many heroes, it hard to list them all.”

But it wasn’t hard to pick someone for the top of the list.