Magic Sprains Ankle; Lakers Fall Flat : Pro basketball: Trainer says he doesn’t think the injury is major. Trail Blazers, leading by 12 when Johnson is hurt, win, 130-111.

Magic Johnson, on his back underneath the Portland Trail Blazers’ basket after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter, was obviously in pain.

And when Johnson is hurting, the Lakers feel it, too. Tuesday night, Johnson’s “moderately” sprained ankle proved the biggest of many Laker problems in a 130-111 loss to the Trail Blazers in the first of two Pacific Division showdowns this week.

Portland, which moved two games behind the Lakers after slapping them with their most lopsided loss of the season, had a 12-point lead even before Johnson stepped on a player’s foot--believed to be teammate James Worthy’s--after trying to block Mark Bryant’s shot.

But the Trail Blazers’ lead swelled in direct proportion to the swelling in Johnson’s ankle. Portland showed nary a morsel of mercy, leading by as many as 25 points midway through the third quarter and cruising from that point.

Rarely has the Lakers’ dependency on Johnson been more blatantly exposed. But the Lakers might have to carry on without Johnson for awhile. They did not say whether Johnson will play tonight, when the Lakers face the Clippers at the Sports Arena. It is possible Johnson might also miss Friday night’s rematch with the Trail Blazers at the Forum.

“I don’t completely rule him out for (tonight’s) game,” trainer Gary Vitti said of Johnson. “He may play, or he may miss a few games. But at this time, we do not think it’s a major injury where he’d be immobilized for a period of time.”

Johnson sprained the outside of his right ankle with 6:20 left in the second quarter. He had to be helped to the locker room and apparently could not put weight on his right leg. A Laker spokesman said Johnson was examined by Robert Cook, the Trail Blazers’ physician. He reportedly underwent ice and electronic stimulation treatments and is expected to be examined by Robert Kerlan, the Lakers’ doctor, this morning.

Johnson walked gingerly from the trainer’s room to the locker room proper. Dressed in black, his wardrobe seemed to fit the Laker mood.

Coach Pat Riley angrily spoke about what he termed his team’s lax attitude going into an important divisional game. He pointed to Portland’s 51-34 rebounding advantage and 55% shooting from the field as indications of the Lakers’ poor effort and defense. He said he would not use Johnson’s injury as an excuse.

Johnson said he knew he sprained his right ankle the moment it twisted. He said he feared the injury was worse than it later appeared.

“Whenever you sprain an ankle, you’re scared, because you don’t know how long you’re out,” Johnson said. “When you come down on somebody’s foot, it’s out of your control. I could be out a week. It could be four days. I don’t know how it’s going to be.

“Usually, the next day is always the real test for ankle sprains. The next day is usually when it really starts to hurt. So, I’m going to take it day by day.

“I thought I’d have my first injury-free year this year. Everything was going good. But these things, you can’t control.”

The Lakers had absolutely no control over the Trail Blazers on this night.

Eight Trail Blazers scored in double figures. Center Kevin Duckworth had 22 points--he made 10 of 12 shots--and had seven rebounds. Clyde Drexler had 17 points and 10 assists, and Terry Porter and Jerome Kersey each added 16 points.

Johnson had eight points and seven assists in 14 minutes. In his absence, the Laker offense seemed lost and bereft of leadership.

Byron Scott did his part. Scott scored 24 points, making 10 of 18 shots. Worthy added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Orlando Woolridge had 16 points off the bench.

It was not enough to hold back the Trail Blazers. The Lakers managed to trail by only 10 at halftime. But the Lakers’ demise came in the third quarter, when the Trail Blazers made 81% of their shots.

The sellout crowd of 12,884 at the Coliseum--another 2,023 watched on closed-circuit theater screens throughout the city--merely sat back and savored a rare blowout in the fourth quarter. The Lakers’ other two big losses this season were 17-point setbacks against the Clippers on Jan. 30 and the Houston Rockets on March 6.

“No excuses,” Riley said. “Right from the get-go, we were flat and not defensive-minded. If we come out (against the Clippers) with the same attitude that we had tonight, well . . .

“They looked us right in the eye. They contested our shots. They were after us. They blocked us out on all the shots. We were playing on the floor; they were playing above the rim. If you don’t have commitment in big games like this, bad things will happen.”

The Lakers certainly were bad on this night.

But, did Laker players agree with Riley that they did not have the proper attitude against their division rival?

“That’s his opinion,” Worthy said of Riley’s remarks. “But I don’t really think we played the kind of game we thought we’d play.”

Worthy also did not use Johnson’s ankle injury as an excuse.

“It shouldn’t have (affected) us,” Worthy said. “It’s not the first time it’s happened (an injury). We just didn’t compete.”

Portland did nothing but compete. The Trail Blazers have won two of three games from the Lakers.

“We came out with real purpose,” Trail Blazer Coach Rick Adelman said. “We were really active defensively. It was a tremendous effort on our part. It was a game we just had to have.”

Added reserve center Wayne Cooper, who had 10 points: “Losing Magic obviously hurt them quite a bit, but we played a very good game. We took them out of their game.”

The Lakers had fallen behind even before Johnson’s injury. Bryant’s dunk gave the Trail Blazers a 51-39 lead.

After Johnson left, the Lakers briefly rallied. They pulled to within eight points after consecutive baskets by Woolridge and Scott. Eventually, though, Portland led by as many as 14 points before ending up with a 65-55 halftime lead.

The Lakers shot 55.6% in the first half, but they were outrebounded, 26-17, and gave up many fast-break points. Portland’s bench also outscored the Laker reserves, 21-12, in the half.

With Johnson at full throttle in the first quarter, the Lakers overcame a slow start and took a 23-21 lead with 3:30 to play after A.C. Green completed a fast-break layup and free throw.

Portland erased the Laker lead almost immediately. The Trail Blazers outscored the Lakers, 14-8, in the final three minutes to take a four-point lead into the second quarter.

Johnson started the second quarter but was replaced by Larry Drew after two minutes. During that spell, the Trail Blazers’ lead went from four points to 10.

The Lakers seemed ill-prepared to handle Portland’s intensity. For instance, on a jump ball between Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic, fellow Yugoslavs, Divac clearly had the height advantage. But Divac’s tip went astray, and the Trail Blazers got the ball. Petrovic completed the play with a fast-break layup, leaving Laker defenders behind.

Riley had seen enough of his reserves at that point and put Johnson, Scott and Green back in with 6:40 left in the half.

Twenty seconds later, Johnson’s right ankle buckled. And what was then a 12-point deficit seemed insurmountable.