Lakers Up, Then Down : Pro basketball: Mavericks come back from an early 14-point deficit to win, 99-86.

There was another inspirational victory in a Laker game, only they weren’t the winners in this one.

A day after beating the Houston Rockets in overtime, the Lakers let the post-Roy Tarpley, out-on-their-feet Dallas Mavericks climb off the deck. The Mavericks rallied from a 14-point deficit and smoked the Lakers for the rest of Friday night, thumping them, 99-86.

After the first quarter, the Mavericks, who had just lost back-to-back games to Orlando and Miami, not to mention their last six in Reunion Arena to the Lakers, shot 60%.

The Lakers are still one of three NBA teams allowing opponents to shoot 50%. The others are Charlotte and Denver.

There were other problems: Dallas cut a 13-point lead to four as soon as Magic Johnson left the floor; Terry Teagle’s slump, the continuing problem of the Lakers’ settling for long shots.

But they pale beside the fact that they have become fish in a barrel.

“In the second half, we kind of fell apart a little bit defensively,” Dunleavy said. “I’m not sure it didn’t have to do with fatigue. I played our guys big minutes in the overtime (at Houston on Thursday). But defensively, we’ve got to have a ‘gut check.’ ”

The Mavericks started the night looking as though they were doing well to avoid crying in public. Contenders for the finals in their own minds as the season began, they were ambushed by Tarpley’s knee surgery. The news was felt to be of such import, two area newspapers carried it on the front page.

Once again the Mavericks found themselves in what the Dallas Morning News calls “Post-Tarpley Syndrome.” Coach Richie Adubato walked up and down press row before the game, confiding how upset he was.

His team went out and proceeded to demonstrate why.

Ducking a fusillade of Maverick bricks, the Lakers shot to a 26-12 lead. They led, 31-18, in the second quarter when Johnson went to the bench for his first rest.

Within four minutes, the Mavericks trailed, 32-27.

Johnson was rushed back in, but the chance for an early knockout was over. The teams battled on even terms until the fourth quarter, which Dallas began with a 10-0 run, including Derek Harper’s back-to-back three-pointers.

Along the way, the Lakers had shocking lapses, such as the one in which they came out of a timeout, lined up and let venerable, slow Brad Davis the lane, reach the basket and lay the ball up. Maybe they were emotionally spent from Houston. Maybe Dunleavy is right about that gut check, too.

“None of us played well,” Magic Johnson said. “Sam (Perkins) played a great half (with 14 points), but that was it.”

Everybody is still being polite, but the Lakers’ defensive problem seems to begin at center.

Mychal Thompson started last season and the Lakers generally played straight up against the opposing center. Thompson, 34, has fallen so far out of the picture that against Phoenix on Tuesday, he missed a game without being injured for the first time in his career.

The Lakers began this season with Vlade Divac and double-teamed opposing centers. Opponents shot them up like Dodge City.

Friday night, Perkins, a forward, got his first start at defensive center. The Mavericks suggested that the Lakers still haven’t found the total answer yet.

Thus ended the Laker tour of Texas. They had an emotional night in Houston, won a game and got Perkins going but couldn’t sustain the effort long enough to produce the victory that would have meant momentum.

Let’s just say, they’re a work in progress. The operative word being “work.”

Laker Notes

The Mavericks didn’t throw the Lakers any bouquets afterward, either. “Anybody can look up and see this isn’t the Laker team that dominated us for the last few years,” James Donaldson said. “It’s still the Lakers on the uniforms but not the Lakers on the court.” . . . The Lakers had won nine consecutive games from the Mavericks. This was the first time the Mavericks had held them under 90 points. . . . Donaldson and Byron Scott tangled on a jump ball, Scott actually advancing on his massive opponent. “I’m not afraid of James Donaldson,” Scott said. “He’s nobody to be afraid of. That he’s 7-0, 260 doesn’t mean anything. If he’s trying to take advantage of you, that’s not going to happen.” . . . The Lakers shot three for 21 from the three-point line. Poor shot selection? “Absolutely,” Mike Dunleavy said. “We played right into their hands.” . . . Terry Teagle shot three for 17 in Texas. . . . In his return to Dallas, Sam Perkins finished with 18 points, giving him 47 in Texas. . . . Magic Johnson made six more free throws, giving him 38 in a row, then missed. . . . The Lakers play host to Golden State Sunday night.