Horry Is Ready for Rematch

No worries about the Lakers and Indiana Pacers lacking story lines or motivations tonight, when the top teams from the Western and Eastern Conferences play at Staples Center.

Not after Indiana ended the Lakers’ 16-game winning streak on Jan. 14 at Conseco Fieldhouse, not with the Lakers sporting a new 13-game streak, not with the teams eyeing a potential meeting in the NBA finals.

“You don’t want to let a team sweep you,” Laker forward Robert Horry said. “There’s a little revenge factor there and you want to keep the streak going, you don’t want to lose on your home court--there’s a lot of things you could throw on the board.”

In the 111-102 Indiana victory, Pacer reserves Austin Croshere and Travis Best combined for 22 fourth-quarter points.

“[The rematch] means a lot to me because I know Croshere came out, he kind of put a whupping on me,” Horry said.

Over the last five games, as Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice have had up-and-down offensive moments, the four main reserves, Horry, Rick Fox, Brian Shaw and Derek Fisher, have averaged a combined 25.2 points.

“I just think we’re just being more aggressive,” Horry said. “If you watch people play us, they lay off everybody. Now we’re just trying to say, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to shoot the ball. . . . ‘

“In practice, we’re going up against a very good team [in the Lakers’ first team], and we share the ball a lot, and it carries over.”

*

Coach Phil Jackson could not help but notice the contrast between Tuesday night’s rabid atmosphere at Portland’s Rose Garden and the restrained mood at Staples Center the next day.

“They have to turn the lights down in the audience so they stop watching the people and start watching the game,” Jackson said of Staples. “Isn’t that amazing, the difference [between arenas]?”

TONIGHT

vs. Indiana, 7:30

Fox Sports Net, TNT

* Site--Staples Center.

* Radio--KLAC (570).

* Records--Lakers 47-11, Indiana 39-18.

* Record vs. Pacers--0-1.

* Update--Indiana is the NBA’s best home team (26-2), but is under .500 on the road and coming off its worst loss of the season, 118-87, at Phoenix. Laker guard Brian Shaw (sprained left ankle) is listed as day to day.

* Tickets--Sold out.