Older Is Better in This Laker Rout : Pro basketball: Divac and Ceballos lead 118-106 victory over relatively young Mavericks as L.A. reaches .500.

It was one of the few games that could make the Lakers, of all teams, feel old--but not too old.

They played the role of graybeards Wednesday night against a Dallas team that averages only 24.5 years old, relying heavily on the Sunshine Boys to pull away in the fourth quarter of a 118-106 victory over the Mavericks before 11,124 at the Forum.

Vlade Divac, 26, had nine of his team-high 27 points in the final period. Cedric Ceballos, 25, had 11 of his 24 during the same time.

Score one for experience, or at least as close as the Lakers get.

“Two in a row,” said Divac, who made 12 of 15 shots on the night and also had six rebounds and three blocks. “And we have an opportunity to beat all four teams we are going to play on the road. I think we are good enough to beat Washington, Atlanta, New Jersey and Cleveland. So far we have played better on the road than at home. There is more pressure at home.”

It’s also where the Lakers got well, recovering from several bad showings to beat the Cavaliers last Friday on Tony Smith’s three-point bank at the buzzer and now the much-improved Mavericks. Nursed back to .500 with a four-game trip next up.

“Considering the alternative,” Coach Del Harris said of going to 5-5, “it’s very important.”

The Lakers, who shot a season-best 55.7%, got a boost where they were hoping merely to hold the line. With Elden Campbell in Georgia for an uncle’s funeral, Antonio Harvey went from averaging 9.5 minutes per game, the third-fewest on the team, to the opening lineup. He also went from almost being cut the day before the season to becoming the Lakers’ fourth starting power forward in the first 10 games.

All Harvey did was respond by collecting 16 points, tying his career high, eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 43 minutes, 33 fewer minutes than he had played all season before Wednesday.

“Antonio certainly played an outstanding game for us at both ends of the court,” Harris said. “The 16 points was a bonus, because we wanted him for his defense and full-court game, his running.”

Said Harvey: “I was excited, not nervous. You practice on this game every day and you play as hard as you can play and things are going to happen the way they’re going to happen. So I don’t get nervous about playing this game anymore.”

Coming off a four-day break, their longest of the season, the Lakers fell behind by 10 points after 5 1/2 minutes but then recovered. They took the lead with 2:33 to go in the first quarter, and took control of the game while shooting 57.1% in the second period, going up, 63-48.

It was 63-50 at intermission, the Lakers’ highest-scoring half of the season and a nice breakout after scoring 82 and 89 points the two games before and averaging 93 over the four previous outings.

The Lakers led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter but could not put away the Mavericks. The cushion was down to seven late in period, at 10 heading into the final quarter when Jason Kidd picked up a loose ball and hit a runner down the lane, and at eight with 10:42 left in the game. That’s when Dallas fell off the pace finally, on the wrong end of a 10-0 run a few minutes later that made it 103-83.

Laker Notes

Cedric Ceballos has been slowed by a painful left big toe, the result of an ingrown nail and infection. It was numb during last Friday’s game against Cleveland after a visit to the doctor, but when the pain hit, he missed practice the next two days before returning Monday and Tuesday. “It hasn’t changed since (Friday),” he said. “I thought I’d just start practicing. I didn’t want to get out of shape.” . . . Dallas’ Jamal Mashburn led all scorers with 29 points, and teammate Jim Jackson added 27.