Final-Quarter Failure Haunts Lakers in Loss : Basketball: L. A. is outscored, 23-4, in last 6:28 as it loses to expansion Orlando Magic, 108-103, the club’s latest tale of game-ending woes.

ORLANDO, Fla. —  The small cut over his swollen left eye had long since closed and his once-blurred vision had cleared, but Magic Johnson still could not believe what he saw and experienced here Sunday night.

The latest and most complete fourth-quarter collapse of the suddenly struggling Lakers, this time against the expansion Orlando Magic, was no illusion, though. Johnson had no explanation for the 108-103 loss to his namesakes. It almost was beyond his comprehension that it could happen. “We should’ve won the game,” said Johnson, who made only three of 16 shots and had 14 points. “We were in control. I’m really upset at myself. I shouldn’t let this happen. Basically, as captain, I have to accept the blame. This loss is my loss.”

Johnson was not the only Laker to blame, however. Transformed again into the world’s tallest mannequins, the Lakers stood by and watched the Magic overcome a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to give the Lakers their second straight road loss on this eight-game trip.

In what has quickly become a baffling trend in the past two weeks, the Lakers (14-5) have played well for about 40 minutes and appeared to be headed to victory. Then, rigor mortis grips the offense and Laker leads swiftly deteriorate.

It happened back on Dec. 1 in a loss to Detroit, when the Lakers blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and failed to score a field goal in the final 8:02. It happened as recently as Saturday night, when the Lakers squandered a late lead against Washington and lost. Even in two of their recent victories, over the Clippers and the Phoenix Suns, the Lakers lost leads and had to hold on to win.

But Sunday night, against the NBA’s best expansion team in a decade, the Lakers were hit by their worst case of offensive stagnation yet. It was as if, after dominating the Magic for more than three quarters, the Lakers fell into one of those sinkholes that occasionally envelop locals here.

The Lakers led, 99-85, with 6:28 to play, then scored only two more field goals the rest of the way. While the Laker offense became a morass of turnovers and off-target jump shots in the fourth quarter, the Magic trio of Sam Vincent, Terry Catledge and Jerry Reynolds drove past the Lakers defense in a game-ending, 23-4 run.

Pat Riley, who said he has tried everything in his power and playbook to keep the offense from bogging down, pointedly implied Sunday that the Lakers’ fourth-quarter failures might be a mental letdown.

“I guess we have to have two offenses,” Riley said. “One for the first 40 minutes when we’re moving and driving to the basket, and one for when our players get paralyzed, do not move, do not run, can’t score and just sit around and wait for the game to end.

“I don’t know if there’s an offense on the planet that can help us.”

Riley called it the “worst collapse I’ve ever seen” from the Lakers.

He might be right. Although Orlando has a roster replete with veteran players and promising rookies, the Magic is still an expansion team. And the Lakers had vowed before this long trip began that they would win all four games against the two new expansion teams and the two from last season.

On the final 10 possessions after James Worthy’s fast-break dunk gave the Lakers a 101-89 lead with 5:15 to play, the Lakers made only one of 11 shots and committed two turnovers and a 24-second clock violation.

The lone basket came with 2:47 to play, when Mychal Thompson rebounded the second of Johnson’s two missed shots and scored from inside. At that point, the Lakers still led, 103-97.

But the Magic then finished their 23-4 segment with a final 11-0 run. Included in that stretch were layups by Vincent and Nick Anderson, a follow shot to beat the shot clock by Catledge and free throws by Mark Acres and Vincent.

The Lakers’ problem seems easily explainable. A solution, however, has yet to be found.

Teams have consistently double-teammed Johnson and Worthy in the fourth quarter, closing off the inside game and forcing the Lakers to make perimeter shots. As evidenced by their 39.3% shooting--27% in the fourth quarter--the Lakers aren’t making many.

Michael Cooper and Larry Drew, two outside shooters in a reserve role, combined to make only three of 14 shots.

“If this doesn’t wake us up, I don’t know what will,” said Byron Scott, who had 17 points but was a not a factor in the fourth quarter. “We shouldn’t lose games, no matter who we play, when we got a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.”

Laker Notes

Although the Lakers lost for the second straight night, they retained first place in the Pacific Division because the Portland Trail Blazers (15-6) lost at Milwaukee. . . . Magic Johnson was hit above the left eye by a stray elbow from Magic center Mark Acres three minutes into the second half. Complaining of blurred vision, Johnson left the game for six minutes. He said, however, that his vision cleared in the fourth quarter.