Lakers’ Returning Guns Rusty as Portland Rides Off With 119-109 Win

Michael Cooper, whose sprained ankle has given him plenty of time lately to watch TV, likened Portland’s 119-109 win over the Lakers Saturday night to a Western: The Lakers had been circling their wagons, waiting for Magic Johnson and Cooper to ride to the rescue. But the cavalry doesn’t always deliver.

“I didn’t think it would be this drastic,” said Cooper, who managed to make just 1 of 9 shots against the Trail Blazers, while Johnson was able to get only 4 of 15 to drop.

“You get your skills honed early in the season, but then to miss two months like I have has definitely taken its toll on me. And Magic, he’s been out almost a month--it’s affecting us pretty bad.

“The other guys have been trying to hold the fort, but I think it’s taking its toll. You can see the fatigue in Byron (Scott). His shot’s not falling like it was. You can see the fatigue in James (Worthy) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar).

“I think they felt the cavalry was coming, which tends to make you let up some. We’re coming, but we’re not there yet.”

If anyone nearly bailed out the Lakers Saturday, it was their bench, which triggered a 13-0 run at the end of the third quarter, bringing them within a point of Portland, 89-88. That push continued into the final period, when a dunk by Mychal Thompson gave the Lakers a 98-92 lead with 9:23 to play.

But from that point on, the Trail Blazers--who could have pleaded fatigue, too, this being their fourth game in five nights--took over. They went on a 10-1 run to take a 106-101 lead, center Kevin Duckworth hitting a tough baseline jumper over Abdul-Jabbar with 3:07 left.

After the Lakers closed within 109-106, Jerome Kersey grabbed an offensive rebound and while falling to the floor threw in the basket that did in the Lakers.

Portland, which had never beaten the Lakers more than once in a season since 1982-83, has now taken the Lakers three times this season, twice in a row here.

Clyde Drexler, the Trail Blazers’ MVP candidate, had 36 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Kersey had 25 points and 11 rebounds, while second-year center Duckworth totally outplayed Abdul-Jabbar, outscoring him, 21 to 11 and outrebounding him, 9 to 4.

The Trail Blazers had 48 rebounds to the Lakers’ 27, a season low for Los Angeles, which was losing its sixth road game in its last seven. The Lakers, 56-18 with eight games left, can not match last season’s win total of 65.

No one has had a more dreadful time against the Trail Blazers this season than Cooper. In an earlier meeting, he was 0 for 7, and in five games he’s shooting just 28.6% against Portland, making only 14 of 49 shots.

His only basket Saturday came on a driving layup. He missed all of his outside shots, including four from three-point range.

He has been coming to the arena more than two hours before games to work on his shot, but so far it’s not happening. In his last two games since coming back from his injury, Cooper has made 2 of 16 shots.

“It’s like trying to fight your way out of a wet plastic bag--you’re in the dark,” said Cooper, whose three-point shot had evolved into one of the Lakers’ most potent weapons last season.

“The worst thing I can do is to stop shooting, because most of my shots have been wide open. The team still has confidence in me. Eventually, I’ll make some.”

Presumably, it will only be a matter of time, too, for Johnson, who was playing on consecutive nights for the first time since he came back from a strained right groin.

“It was stiff, and I guess it’s going to be that way for awhile,” Johnson said. “I feel a lot better than when I came back the last time. Then, I couldn’t get to the ball. Tonight, I was able to get there; I just couldn’t get it done. My feel for the game is not quite right--the passing, the touch. It’ll come along, for sure.”

No one has come along further for the Trail Blazers than Duckworth, who has trimmed down from Baby Huey dimensions to become a force to be reckoned with. After Duckworth wrested one loose ball away from Abdul-Jabbar and converted an easy basket, Laker Coach Pat Riley yanked the Laker captain from the game, even though he had re-entered less than two minutes before.

“The most improved center in the league,” Riley said of Duckworth. “He’s obviously not a fluke. He’s for real. He’s big and strong and solid. He’s developed into quite a center.”

James Worthy led the Lakers with 22 points, although he was limping noticeably after going in for one breakaway jam. Mychal Thompson had 19 points off the bench and Tony Campbell 15, although Campbell committed two critical turnovers in the fourth quarter when the Trail Blazers overtook the Lakers.

“He tried to do a little too much for us,” Riley said of Campbell. “But without him, we wouldn’t have gotten back in the game.”

The same teams meet at the Forum Tuesday night.

“It’s been a long time since the Blazers have beaten Los Angeles three times,” Portland Coach Mike Schuler said. “It speaks highly of our people. It will be a hard game down there Tuesday. They’re going to remember tonight.”