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Not Feeling at Home, Lakers Lose to Bulls

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Times Staff Writer

This Laker habit of waiting until the last possible moment before commencing a spirited comeback, necessitated by a severe and prolonged fourth-quarter lull, was stretched to almost ridiculous proportions Tuesday night in the Forum.

Procrastinators anonymous might be the answer, because the Lakers these days only seem to play well when the clock dwindles and their first-half lead has evaporated. This time, they trailed the Chicago Bulls by nine points with 2:42 left before rallying for the fourth consecutive game.

It took the Lakers about a minute and a half to catch the Bulls but, under uncommon circumstances, they could not overtake them and lost for the second straight time at home, 104-103, before a crowd of 17,505.

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This is the second time this season the Lakers have lost consecutive home games, but they did not have Magic Johnson when it happened in February.

Consequently, the Bulls swept the season series from the Lakers (45-20) for the first time since 1981, and the Lakers’ hopes of catching the Cleveland Cavaliers or Detroit Pistons for the league’s best record are growing dimmer. They trail Cleveland by three games, Detroit by two.

These last two losses, particularly the manner in which they were absorbed, is a cause for alarm among the Lakers, who earlier had won two close games at home but lost in a similar manner to the Atlanta Hawks Sunday night.

The Lakers’ comeback may have failed when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed a skyhook with three seconds to play and Byron Scott missed a long jump shot at the buzzer, but they really lost it after a lethargic four-minute stretch earlier in the fourth quarter.

“I just don’t know,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “We’re just not getting the job done. We’re dying in the fourth quarter. I am totally mystified.

“There is a pattern developing that I don’t like. And I’m sure the players don’t like it, either. Mentally, in the fourth quarter, we just aren’t showing confidence. I never question their character, but we’ve got to have that passion we have at the end when we are still up by six points.”

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Tuesday, the Lakers had a 91-86 lead with 8:08 to play after Michael Cooper made a jump shot. What followed, however, was a severe Laker drought in which they failed to score for nearly four minutes.

The Bulls, who received 21 points, a career-tying 16 assists and eight rebounds from Michael Jordan, took a 98-91 lead with a 12-0 run. The Lakers, during that stretch, missed all nine field goal shots.

When Johnson finally made two free throws with 4:25 to play, the Lakers trailed, 98-93. Soon thereafter, however, the Bulls would take a 102-93 lead after Jordan scored on a drive and center Bill Cartwright made a jump shot.

After a Laker timeout with 2:42 to play, the comeback began in earnest, culminating in a 9-0 run that pulled the teams even with a minute to play.

A.C. Green got it going by scoring a three-point play after rebounding Cooper’s miss and drawing a foul while making the follow shot. After Jordan missed a shot, Byron Scott took a length-of-the-court pass from Johnson and scored on a fast-break layup.

Scott was fouled by Jordan on the play. The referees ruled it a breakaway foul, meaning the Lakers would retain the ball after Scott’s free throw, which he made. Now down by three points, Scott drew another foul, but made only one free throw to cut Chicago’s lead to 102-100.

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But the Lakers’ half-court trap forced a missed shot by guard Craig Hodges, who had 21 points. On the Laker end, James Worthy and Johnson both had inside shots blocked, but the Lakers kept possession. Eventually, Worthy passed to Scott cutting through the lane for a layup to tie it, 102-102.

Now, with 1:03 to play, it was the Bulls’ turn to call time out and regroup. Naturally, they set up the play for Jordan, who was fouled by Worthy on a drive. Jordan made both free throws, regaining the lead for Chicago with 48 seconds left.

The Lakers got the ball to Johnson, and he drew a foul on a jump shot with 37 seconds left. But Johnson, who had not missed a free throw in the game, missed the second shot, making it 104-103 Bulls.

On the Bulls’ next possession, Hodges missed a jump shot and Cooper got the rebound with 17 seconds left, setting up a chance for the Lakers to win it with a final shot.

Riley later said that Worthy was the first option, but the ball wound up in Abdul-Jabbar’s hands with three seconds left. He was about 17 feet away from the basket, on the baseline, but had no choice but to shoot. His skyhook fell short, and Cartwright was fouled while getting the rebound with one second left.

Even after all that, the Lakers still had a shot--a final shot--to win it. That’s because Cartwright missed both free throws, giving the Lakers the ball at midcourt. Cooper inbounded to Scott in the corner, just beyond the three-point line. But Scott’s jump shot failed, and so did the Lakers.

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“I don’t understand it,” Johnson said. “We just don’t shoot well in the fourth quarter.

“It’s been happening the last couple games. We’ve been playing great first halves, but we just can’t find the hoop in the fourth quarter. We’re even missing the close shots. Everybody, including myself, has to look and see what the reason is.”

Cooper, whose defense forced Jordan to make just seven of 20 shots, seemed even more concerned by the Lakers’ fourth-quarter fade, followed by a late rally.

“Starting in the third quarter, it’s like we’re not aggressive anymore,” Cooper said. “I’m baffled myself. We aren’t putting it in gear. There were times in the fourth quarter tonight when we could have put it away, but we didn’t.

“I’m definitely concerned, because we are losing games we should not be losing.”

The Bulls, however, deserved this one. No longer a one-dimensional team, the Bulls received 21 points each from Scottie Pippen and Hodges, as well as Jordan. Jordan’s defense also forced Johnson into making seven turnovers.

“(The Lakers) made it tough for me to get off a shot,” Jordan said. “But that enabled me to distribute the ball, and our guys hit the big shots when necessary. Not many teams get to sweep the Lakers in a season, so this was big.”

Laker Notes

Laker Coach Pat Riley, who already has a pretty fair point guard, said the Bulls definitely benefit with Michael Jordan as a point guard. “He can do anything,” Riley said of Jordan. “That’s why he’s so great, because of his versatility. When defenses start denying him the ball, then they just put it in his hands earlier. He watches somebody and models them. In other words, he knows how to even look like a point guard, even though he’s never played the position. He can execute point guard and run an offense. . . . I would have him at point guard all the time, because he can create and pass and run an offense.” . . . Michael Cooper recovered from a one-day bout of stomach flu and returned to the team Tuesday night. . . . The Lakers are off today and play at Sacramento on Thursday night.

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