The one that led them to the NBA championship 10 months ago.

''We feel that, as of late,'' said point guard Derek Fisher. ''That's the way you want to defend a championship.''

The Lakers have raced into playoff mode in fine fashion, and they saved their best for last Sunday by shutting down the Trail Blazers in the final couple of minutes.

Portland had seen that act before at Staples Center. In Game 7 of the Western Conference finals last year, the Blazers led by 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter only to watch the Lakes blitz them and go on to defeat Indiana in six games for the crown.

Those two could meet again much earlier in the 2001 playoffs, which could begin this weekend with the third-seeded Lakers playing the seventh-seeded Blazers in the best-of-5 first round.

''They aren't going to give their title away,'' Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said before Sunday's game, ''someone will have to earn it.''

Afterward, Dunleavy was left searching for more answers.

''You have to come strong, and you have to bring it,'' he said of attempting to beat the Lakers in a playoff series. ''But we don't fear the building, it just comes down to, Who plays better? Right now, we're scheduled to play each other ... (and) it's pretty close.''

Even without Shawn Kemp (drug rehab) and Bonzi Wells (knee surgery), the Blazers stayed tight with the Lakers. The game was tied 10 times and Portland took a 100-99 lead on a free throw by Rasheed Wallace with less than two minutes remaining.

Then Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant went to work, leaving the Blazers with whiplash. First, Bryant dumped it inside to O'Neal, who zipped it back out to Bryant, who then tossed it back into the center who swept the MVP awards last season.

Over the last week, the Staples crowd has often chanted ''M-V-P!'' when O'Neal steps to the free-throw line, and Bryant leaned on the 7-foot-1 dynamo to create the 10th, and final, lead change of the game.

O'Neal took a couple of dribbles into the lane from the right post, stopped and then drilled a 12-foot jumper to give the Lakers a 101-100 edge.

Damon Stoudamire fired to the other end of the court but had a long jump shot blocked by O'Neal. The Lakers patiently tossed it around on offense, winding up with a 3-point shot by Robert Horry that forced Dunleavy to take a timeout with 61 seconds left.

Portland's last two possessions were disastrous, as Stoudamire missed a close lean-in shot and Dale Davis had a pass fire out of bounds off a shoe.

''We know what it is we do well,'' said Lakers small forward Rick Fox.

When the Lakers sink shots from the outside, they sink opponents by catching them off-balance by keeping them guessing between the defending champ's long-range game and an interior one, with O'Neal, that is nearly indefensible.

Against the Blazers, Fox and Fisher both hit four 3-pointers, and Horry nailed the coffin shut.

''They were hitting so many '3s,' '' said Portland shooting guard Steve Smith. ''We were in an 'in-between' stage, 'Should I double and give up the open shot?' If they weren't hitting so many open shots, we could have doubled a lot more aggressively.''

Teams pick their poison against the Lakes. Shadow down to deny a pass to O'Neal or try to make life difficult for him, and gamble on leaving the perimeter open. When the Lakers are hitting those long shots, that leaves O'Neal with only one player minding him in the middle.

The rest of the NBA is still looking for someone who can guard O'Neal in one-on-one defense.

Sunday, O'Neal proved that the wintertime drama between him and Bryant was, and is, a bunch of pulp. Bryant flew into the lane in the first half for an easy basket when Portland center Arvydas Sabonis took exception, fouling Bryant near the basket.

On a scale of malice, the foul hardly hit Hannibal level. Still, O'Neal took a giant step at Sabonis and lowered his head into Sabonis's chest. Take it out on your teammates, O'Neal said, not mine.

Earlier, even Wallace took exception to Sabonis after Sabonis accidentally hit Wallace in the face when Sabonis was out of control on a defensive maneuver on O'Neal. During a timeout, Wallace brushed Sabonis's noggin with a towel.

''I'm the drill sergeant,'' O'Neal said. ''I'm the big brother. I'm the total team player. If somebody does that to Mike Penberthy, I'll be there. If they do it to Ty Lue, I'll be there. If they do it to Chick Hearn, I'll be there.''

''Basically, Shaq's the protector for everyone,'' Fisher said. ''It doesn't matter if it's Kobe, myself or Mark Madsen. We spend a lot of days of the year together, and we share a lot of things people don't get to see us share. When someone tries to step in between that, it's all of our responsibility to make sure we're well taken care of.''

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he wants to snag the second seed from Sacramento because, in the event of the Lakers playing the Kings down the playoff road, he wants the home-court edge against them.

The Phoenix Suns also loom as a possible first-round foe for the Lakers, who end the regular season Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets at Staples.

The only sure thing, at this point, is that the San Antonio Spurs have that home-court edge throughout the playoffs.

''There really is no easy way to become the Western Conference champion,'' Fisher said. ''We can't take that for granted. Whichever team we match up against in the first round, it will be a viable opponent. We'll have to play as hard as we did against Portland today.

''If we play (the Blazers) in a five-game series, it'll be an all out war. Hopefully, we'll come out on top. But there will be no breaks in the second round, either.''

-- Rob Miech

QUICK STUFF: The Lakers and Blazers split their season series 2-2. Portland has won 21 of the last 34 regular season games between the teams. ... O'Neal has scored 31 or more points in 10 straight games, and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 16 in a row.

Personnel File

BACK WITH A BANG: The dance steps were familiar. Kobe Bryant was back with his old flourish.

"It was fun to be back," Bryant said after he had 20 points and equaled a career-high six steals Tuesday against the Suns in his first game after only a brief appearance over an 11-game stretch because of ankle problems. "It felt like I was a little kid who was sick and I couldn't go out to play."

Bryant's return in a 106-80 whipping of the Suns created a party-like atmosphere at Staples Center. Bryant might have trouble with his teammates, but the fans love him. His return also re-generated talk about the return of an NBA title.

But Shaquille O'Neal -- Bryant's reported rival in a season-long, soap opera-like feud -- was cautious. One game, he said, does not add up to a run for a second straight championship.

"We have to do the same thing over the last three games going into the playoffs," O'Neal said. "Kobe's an energetic player, a scorer. We just have to keep doing the same thing we have been doing. Adding him should make our team that much better.

"For us, it's all about moving the ball and getting everybody involved. If everybody's involved, we'll be a hard team to beat."

ON BENDED KNEE: The Lakers placed troubled Isaiah Rider on the injured list instead of waiving him only after he begged to stay with the club.

"I just want my opportunity here, because I want to come back and play the way I know I can play," said Rider, who exhausted coach Phil Jackson's tolerance with an unending series of missed busses and flights. "For this next week or so, without being fake or overdoing it, just let them know that I'm interested and I'm not bitter. Me and Phil talked about life and logic. Sometimes things happen for a reason. I can't find a reason right now.

"No, I don't agree with it. But at the same time, I've been able to accept it. And we talked about bettering ourselves as men, and everything, so I'm willing to accept that part of it too. It's bettering my life. That's where I am right now."

MORE RIDER: At times, Rider said he is sorry he didn't take an offer from the Miami Heat. But now, he says, he is thinking only about the Lakers.

"They're a great organization," he said. "Wherever we go we get a lot of attention because of Shaq and Kobe, and that's what I would love to be around. There's things that happened this year, whether intentional or not intentional, being late or lacking a wake-up call or whatever, those things didn't help things any more."

ROSTER SHAKEUP: In the roster shuffle involving Rider, Stanislav Medvedenko was activated. The rookie forward had been on the injured list since January 9.

THAT SORE FEELING: Bryant felt some predictable pain in his troublesome left ankle the morning after he returned to the lineup in a victory over the Suns.

"I knew I was going to be a little sore, and I am," Bryant said. "But I expected this. I didn't expect the game night to set me back."

Noteworthy

LIKE AN MVP: O'Neal is beginning to play at a level that led to him being the league's Most Valuable Player last year. The Staples Center crowd has begun its own campaign with chants of "MVP, MVP."

THE SMOOCHING GAME: The Lakers staged a "Kiss Me" routine on the Staples Center scoreboard screen Tuesday night. Couples in the crowd were urged to kiss. On one camera shot, the scoreboard screen showed O'Neal and Horace Grant on the bench. Grant puckered up and leaned toward O'Neal, who declined the offer. By the way, there were no shots of Bryant offering to kiss O'Neal, or vice-versa.

QUOTEWORTHY: O'Neal, on his dominant, late-season play: "I'm getting the ball, guys are looking for me, and I just do what I do. For me to do what I do, I have to be involved. When I'm not involved, then I'm not the player you're used to seeing. I'm somebody else. And I can't be somebody else. When I'm somebody else, I get upset.

"Then I say what I feel like saying. But, the guys are looking for me, feeding me the ball, getting me the ball in the third and fourth quarter. I'm stepping up to the line, hitting them when I need to hit them. Like I said, when I get these dog cookies, then the dog will walk, sit, bite, run, fetch, do whatever you want."