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Cold Lakers No Match for Bulls : NBA: Los Angeles held to season-low point total in 93-83 loss to Chicago. Jordan scores 37.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Prolific as he was, Michael Jordan did not beat the Lakers here Tuesday night. The Chicago Bulls, rightfully, took credit for the 93-83 victory. But the Lakers really counted this as a self-inflicted loss from an array of errant shots.

The Lakers did it all in recording their season low for points. They missed open jump shots. They missed layups. They missed dunks. They missed free throws and three-point attempts.

If the Lakers had not hired a chartered plane late Tuesday night, they might have missed their flight out of town, too. The Bulls, meanwhile, flew Air Jordan for 37 points and limited the Lakers to 36.4% shooting to win their fifth in a row and end the Lakers’ four-game winning streak.

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“Our offense was pathetic at times,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said.

He did not need to elaborate.

The 83 points were the Lakers’ lowest total since a 105-79 loss at Utah last February. That Tuesday’s shooting did not mark a season low--the Lakers shot 36.1% against the Golden State Warriors in November--was only an indication that this is a recurring problem. It even translated to the free-throw line, where the Lakers made 66.7%

“We were stagnant again,” Laker forward James Worthy said. “We were just randomly running around. We couldn’t execute and couldn’t hit shots that normally go down.”

The Lakers (18-6) hit bottom in the third quarter, when they made five of 27 shots for 18.5%. They weren’t discriminating, either, missing eight open jump shots, as well as several layups and tip-in attempts.

Despite that, the Lakers trailed by only 10 points entering the fourth quarter and cut the margin to five with 8:17 to play.

From that point, though, the Lakers made four of 12 shots. Among those misses were a failed slam dunk by Worthy and a blown layup by Larry Drew.

The Bulls made 50.7% of their shots. With Jordan and John Paxson (11 points) hitting from the outside, Chicago was able to sustain an inside game against the shorter Lakers. That resulted in easy baskets for Scottie Pippen, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Horace Grant, who had 12 points and eight rebounds.

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Riley said he would have liked to give the Bulls total credit for shutting down the Lakers, who end an eight-game, 12-day trip tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Maybe they did have a heckuva lot to do with it,” Riley said, shrugging. “They have quick defenders who plug up the things we wanted to try. But we missed a lot of layups and open shots. I mean, we were way off.”

But, when someone suggested this was a defensive struggle, Riley laughed.

That was a defensive game?” he asked, incredulously. “It was not high scoring, but it definitely was not a defensive game.”

There is a difference. The Lakers, more than anyone, know that.

“There were a lot of shots we missed tonight that usually are academic for us,” Laker forward Orlando Woolridge said. “I guess it was just one of those nights for the whole team.”

All the Lakers shot poorly, but if anyone stood out, it was shooting guard Byron Scott.

Scott went 0 for 7. He missed five open jump shots and was sat down for good with 3:53 left in the third quarter with only three free throws to his credit.

“It was the coach’s decision,” Scott said. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m pleased by it, but I really don’t want to talk about it. It’s his decision.”

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Explained Riley: “Byron was struggling, and Larry (Drew) is more of a penetrator. I was trying to get the offense going.”

Worthy led the Lakers with 19 points, but made eight of 19 shots and saw his inside game reduced to lunges in the lane. Magic Johnson had a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, but made only six of 16 shots.

Other cold-shooting Lakers were center A.C. Green at three of nine, forward Michael Cooper at two of nine, Drew at four of nine and Woolridge at four of 10.

“No excuses,” Riley said. “We just got our . . . beat.”

Riley might not have offered excuses, but he and Laker players did offer a few reasons for Tuesday’s performance.

The Lakers are nearing the end of a long trip, and weariness apparently has set in. They played their fourth consecutive game without center Mychal Thompson (bursitis in his left heel), but they had won one of the previous three games with the 6-foot-9 Green starting at center and Cooper at forward.

“We’re definitely out of sync (offensively),” Riley said, “probably because we’ve been on the road for a long time. Being on the road, we haven’t had a chance to get some really good practices, and everything seemed a step behind.”

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Despite their poor shooting, the Lakers were not shamed by the loss. The Bulls, after all, are 15-7 and lead the Central Division. They are 10-1 at home and have a somewhat more-balanced attack. Instead of immediately looking for Jordan, the Bulls try a few other options before putting the ball back into his hands.

Though pestered by Cooper’s defense most of the game, Jordan still showed flashes of dominance. He scored 21 of his 37 points in the first half, when he made nine of 12 shots.

But the Bulls proved capable of holding a lead even with Jordan temporarily grounded. Jordan scored only one field goal and two free throws in the third quarter, but the Bulls still outscored the Lakers, 22-16.

Of course, a lot had to do with the Lakers’ offensive funk.

“All you can do is fight through it,” Green said. “In retrospect, I can’t think of another game in which this has happened to us. It’s frustrating to see it happen to everyone. You can’t stop shooting. It was unfortunate, but we had to just keep grinding it out. Shoot again and again and again and hope maybe they will fall.”

On this night, it was the Lakers, not their shots, that fell.

Laker Notes

Michael Jordan made 15 of 29 shots, but he was more pleased by his defense on Magic Johnson. “We were able to contain Magic, and he never really got going,” Jordan said. “One of our objectives was to slow them down on the break.” . . . The Lakers’ season field-goal percentage fell to 46.4%. Last season, the Lakers shot 50.2%. . . Byron Scott’s shooting percentage fell to 45.1% and his scoring average to 16. Last season, Scott shot 49% and averaged 19.6 points. Michael Cooper’s shooting percentage dropped to 35.3% Last season, Cooper made 43.1%.

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