Big Lead Fades, but Lakers Win : Pro basketball: L.A. sees a 16-point margin dwindle to two before beating the Pistons, 99-93, ending a four-game skid.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — A nail biter? The Lakers have long since passed that stage.

Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills, their 16-point lead with 9 1/2 minutes to play was down to two in the final seconds and Nick Van Exel had the ball. Even more troubling, Van Exel had the ball and was firing from behind the three-point line.

Van Exel came in shooting 38.8% overall and 25.4% from long range and acknowledged that his confidence was taking a beating. But he made the shot, which gave the Lakers control again with 17.1 seconds left as they scored a 99-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

“It went down,” teammate Sedale Threatt said. “When it goes down like that, it’s a good shot.”

The Lakers had already played six games decided by three points or fewer, including a 100-97 loss to Golden State on Sunday at the Forum, so they could hardly be blamed for getting nervous while opening a six-game trip. Detroit was within five points with 4:11 to go, then two with 3:24 left. The Pistons were still behind by only two after Terry Mills tipped in his missed shot with 1:10 remaining.

After both teams missed scoring chances, Van Exel had the ball at the top of the circle. The shot clock was at about six when he made a quick step forward, but defender Lindsey Hunter cut off the drive. Rookie point guard against rookie point guard, Van Exel held his pivot foot and instead went backward, cleared some room for the shot, and launched.

The Pistons, trying to avoid their ninth loss in 10 games, called a timeout after his basket. When Hunter missed from the left side and the Lakers’ Sam Bowie got the rebound, they were forced to foul. Bowie made two free throws with 9.9 seconds to go for a 97-90 Laker lead, Hunter made a three-pointer with 3.6 left, but Van Exel was fouled immediately and made two free throws to end the scoring.

“Nick has shown a lot of poise for a rookie point guard this season, and that was another example,” Coach Randy Pfund said after the Lakers ended a four-game losing streak.

“(That is) why we like him, why we have him in there at the end of the game.”

Said Van Exel: “Finally, I got one to go down for me. I was praying. As soon as it left my hand, I said, ‘Please, Lord, let it go in.’ And it did.”

Threatt had 20 points in a reserve role. Elden Campbell had 10 rebounds, only the second time he has reached double digits in the last 10 games. And Bowie, expected to move back to a reserve role but a starter for the fourth game in a row because of Vlade Divac’s bruised right hand, had 21 points and nine rebounds.

It was all enough to offset Joe Dumars scoring 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, enough to get the Lakers their fifth victory in seven games here, enough for for an 8-13 record. Enough to hang on.

Laker Notes

Vlade Divac made only one of seven shots in a reserve role and looked awkward with most every one. He might not even have played 19 minutes if the Lakers could have gone to James Edwards, but Edwards was in Washington with his ailing mother. Coach Randy Pfund said he thought Divac had digressed in his comeback from a nagging sprained finger. Divac said he had a bad game. . . . Edwards is expected to rejoin the Lakers today in New York and be available to play against the Knicks on Thursday. . . . Detroit’s Olden Polynice had 22 rebounds, pushing his average to 13.7 in the final season of his contract. . . . The Lakers tied a team record for the second time in five games by committing only six turnovers. . . . The game drew 20,236, 1,218 below the Palace capacity of 21,454. It was the first non-sellout in 246 Piston games at the arena since it opened for the 1988-89 season. . . . The Pistons will retire the uniform No. 15 of Vinnie Johnson in ceremonies Feb. 5.