So Much for Cotton’s New Look : Playoffs: Phoenix coach discards his ‘lucky’ shirt after Lakers even series with 124-100 victory.

Phoenix Suns Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons today discarded his “lucky” shirt in hopes of changing his luck in the NBA playoff series against the Lakers.

Los Angeles tied the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series 1-1 with a 124-100 victory Thursday night at the Forum. (Story, C1.)

“The Lakers had a good time at our expense,” Fitzsimmons said. Phoenix trailed by 31 points during one point in the fourth quarter.

“We wanted to come home with a 2-0 lead. We didn’t get what we came for. Now, we have to protect our home-court advantage.”

Games 3 and 4 will be Saturday and Sunday at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Phoenix won, 104-102, on Tuesday night, breaking a 21-game losing streak at the Forum dating back to 1984. It was Fitzsimmons’ first victory there since 1974 when he coached Atlanta.

Fitzsimmons, a natty dresser, forgot his $90 designer shirt at the hotel and borrowed a white polo shirt with a Suns logo from trainer Joe Proski before Game 1. After the victory, he said he “might keep this shirt forever.”

He changed his mind after wearing it without a tie Thursday night.

“I gave that shirt back to Proski,” Fitzsimmons said. “I hope he wears it forever because I’m never going to wear it again.”

Phoenix has not beaten the Lakers in six previous playoff series, getting swept 3-0 in 1985 and 4-0 last season.

Before this year, the only time the Suns led Los Angeles was 3-1 in 1970, their second year in the NBA. But the Lakers rallied to win that series in seven games.

Coach Pat Riley said the Lakers were hoping to return home after this weekend with a 3-1 lead.

“We have to go to Phoenix with the objective of winning two,” he said. “We do not want a split. We were playing with a burden in Game 2. It was a must game for us. If we went to Phoenix down 0-2, we would be in trouble.”

“We did a better job of getting the ball up the floor before their defense could set up,” Riley said of Thursday’s game. “And when we didn’t do that, we did a better job of executing our offense.”