This Time, Lakers Get Caught by New Jersey in Overtime, 118-113

The Lakers’ well-cultivated sense of order and self-assurance in close games, exemplified by so many last-second victories over the years, turned into a disorganized, frenzied collapse for the second time in their last three games.

First, the Lakers lost their composure. Then, a 3-point lead with 3 seconds to play. And eventually, they completed a surprisingly shabby performance with a dreadful overtime, as the struggling New Jersey Nets pulled off a 118-113 upset victory Wednesday night.

The Lakers (16-5) offered no excuses, no simple solutions. There was only a recitation of the grim events that led to their demise against a team that struggled to split a 2-game series with the expansion Charlotte Hornets last weekend.

“We’re a veteran team,” said Magic Johnson, who had 35 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds. “We’re not supposed to do this. We’re supposed to be doing it to everybody else. We just beat ourselves. People make mistakes that shouldn’t be made, especially with all the close championship games we’ve been in.”

What was especially irksome to Laker Coach Pat Riley was that a similar Laker collapse took place against the Bucks Sunday night in Milwaukee, where a defensive lapse resulted in a game-winning shot by Humphries.

“That’s two gifts in a row,” said Riley, whose team has lost 2 of 3 games heading into a Friday night game at Boston Garden.

“Again, we’re not decisive with what we’re supposed to do at the end, and it cost us. The other night (in Milwaukee), we didn’t switch, and tonight we didn’t pressure the 3-point shot.”

Laker mistakes abounded, enabling the Nets (9-14) to remain reasonably close throughout. But it was the Lakers’ defensive breakdown in regulation and a series of broken offensive patterns and questionable shot selection that enabled the Nets to pull off the upset. The worst Laker mistake in judgment, the one that led to all the overtime failures, came with 7 seconds to play in regulation and the Lakers holding a seemingly solid 106-103 lead. The Nets’ only hope was a successful 3-point shot, and many in the Meadowlands Arena crowd of 20,049 expressed their faith in that happening by filing for the exits during a timeout.

At the time, Riley said he was giving his players explicit instructions not to allow the Nets an open 3-point shot. But Riley’s worst fears were realized. Rookie Chris Morris inbounded the ball at half-court to point guard John Bagley, who dribbled over the 3-point line, leading the Lakers to believe he was driving for a layup.

When Mychal Thompson made the crucial error of leaving Morris in favor of double-teaming Bagley, the Nets’ guard flipped the ball back to Morris, who sank a 25-foot shot for 3 points and a 106-106 tie with 3 seconds to play.

“Hell, I would’ve given them the layup,” Riley said. “That’s normal 3-point defense. You don’t allow them to get an uncontested 3-pointer off. We actually had Bagley dribbling inside the 3-point line, then we let them kick it back out.”

The Lakers were kicking themselves all night over that mistake. But they still had a chance to win in regulation. Michael Cooper inbounded the ball to Johnson on the left perimeter. But Johnson was swarmed by Mike McGee and Morris, losing the ball as the buzzer sounded.

Overtime wasn’t much of an improvement for the Lakers, though they had chances.

Among the mistakes during the Lakers’ 5-minute unraveling were a 24-second clock violation, a turnover when Thompson could not handle a Johnson pass alone under the basket, a continuation of the Laker free-throw shooting woes and a second shot-clock violation when A.C. Green hoisted an airball from 3-point range.

Despite that, the Lakers still had a chance to tie it with a successful 3-point shot. Trailing, 116-113, in overtime after Dennis Hopson made 2 free throws with 9 seconds left, the Lakers called time out. The plan was to free Johnson for a 3-point attempt, or at least find someone for an open shot.

Thanks to New Jersey’s pressure defense, the best the Lakers could get was an off-balance, forced 3-point shot by Tony Campbell that wasn’t close. Roy Hinson then sank 2 free throws with 1 second left, giving the Nets a stunning victory one night after being blown out by the rival New York Knicks.

“They did what we were supposed to do,” said Riley, referring to New Jersey’s defense on Campbell’s futile 3-point shot. “They pressured every player at the 3-point line. We just couldn’t close out and convert when we had to.”

The Lakers’ problems weren’t limited to the final seconds of regulation and overtime. Episodes of cold Laker shooting and untimely turnovers allowed the Nets to fight back after the Lakers had leads of 9 points in the third quarter and 5 points with 3:17 left in regulation.

The most glaring Laker deficiency was in rebounding, the Nets holding a 56-38 advantage. Joe Barry Carroll, the often sluggish Net center, came alive with 19 rebounds in addition to his 15 points. Buck Williams had 13 rebounds and 22 points, and Hinson led the Nets in scoring with 31 points.

The Lakers, meanwhile, shot only 48.3% and 65.7% from the free-throw line. In the fourth quarter and overtime, the Lakers converted only 14 of 22 free throws.

Former Net Orlando Woolridge, who signed as a free agent with the Lakers after undergoing treatment for drug abuse while with the Nets, missed 4 free throws in a row in the fourth quarter, all the while being berated by New Jersey fans.

But the Lakers were much tougher on themselves than any fan abuse. “You gotta do what you’re supposed to do,” said Johnson, shaking his head. “If you deviate from it, you get burned. You can still learn from (the mistakes), and I hope we do. I didn’t care how many championships you win. You can’t do what we did and win.”

Laker Notes

Laker forward Orlando Woolridge, who left the Nets as a free agent after the club paid for his drug rehabilitation last season, expected to be booed upon his return to the Meadowlands Arena. But he didn’t expect to hear the personal slurs about his substance-abuse problems last season, and he said he didn’t expect it to affect him as much as it did. Woolridge missed 4 straight free throws early in the fourth quarter, as fans alternately booed and cheered his failings. “It was real tough tonight,” Woolridge said. “You try to tune it out, but you still hear them. The crowd is just waiting for you to do something negative. I guess it shows what type of character they have. I think it affected me (on the free throws). After I missed the first one, I really heard them. I started listening. This was an experience for me. It shows me I’ve got to be a lot stronger to overcome (crowd reaction).” . . . Byron Scott was held out of Wednesday night’s game, even though trainer Gary Vitti said Scott’s sprained right ankle is improving. Vitti said that Scott will test the ankle in practice today in Boston and, barring complications, most likely will play Friday night against the Celtics.