Lakers Hit New Low--74 Points : Pro basketball: They go more than half the fourth quarter without scoring in loss to Cavaliers.

Biorhythms sagging, the Lakers started the night lethargically and went from there . . . backward.

By the fourth quarter, their resistance was down to that of a dead skunk in the middle of the road.

How bad was it? The Lakers were shut out for the first 6:10 of the fourth quarter--more than halfway through it. They scored 11 points in it. In all, they had 74 points--their low since moving to Los Angeles 30 years ago--and lost, 84-74, to the woebegone Cleveland Cavaliers.

Before dismissing this as one night’s embarrassment, there’s a trend here. The Lakers have played back-to-back on the road three times and lost the second game all three times--by 13 at Dallas, by 22 at Utah and this one.

The Lakers aren’t young, they aren’t deep and right now, they aren’t bouncing back.

Their stars are playing heavy minutes. Magic Johnson hasn’t played fewer than 39 in two weeks. That wasn’t the Lakers’ plan and would become more of a problem later in the season.

“I am a little concerned,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “It’s something we’re going to have to address.”

And his bench?

“Yes,” said Dunleavy, “I’m concerned. We’re not getting good production off it. We have to come back with our starters more quickly. It’s one of those things that kind of compounds itself. The (bench) guys are playing fewer minutes and it makes it harder on them.”

This season’s answer was supposed to be Terry Teagle, once thought to represent firepower off the bench the Lakers hadn’t had since Bob McAdoo. Teagle, however, has been in a slump from opening day.

A shooter must keep firing. Teagle has, with mixed success at best.

On this trip, Teagle is two for 10, including Wednesday night’s 0 for five with two missed free throws. For weeks, he has denied feeling pressure. Wednesday, he was feeling something and it wasn’t chipper.

“I’ve been better,” Teagle said with a tight smile.

“It’s nights like these, I have to play well, back-to-back games. That’s where the bench has to play well, when our starters are playing big minutes. I think I’m a big part of our bench crew. It’s just not happening for us.”

Little enough had to happen Wednesday night. The Cavaliers were 1-7 since losing Mark Price and had lost six in a row. Hot Rod Williams was out. Coach Lenny Wilkens was down to starting Steve Kerr at point guard and Chucky Brown at forward.

Sedately, the Lakers moved into a 45-40 halftime lead, as Cleveland shot 40%. They bumped it up to 54-46 midway through the third period--yeah, this was some kind of barn-burner--when Laker fingers froze and Laker legs died.

The Cavs outscored the Lakers, 10-4, at the end of the third quarter to grab a 65-63 lead.

The Lakers then missed their first 12 shots of the fourth quarter.

By the time Vlade Divac rolled in a layup, with 5:50 left in the game, the Cavs were up, 76-65.

As in New York the night before, they tried to saddle up Johnson and let him ride to the rescue. On this night, the Lakers were too heavy.

“It’s been four games (and 164 minutes) in five nights for me,” Johnson said later. “When you’re averaging 40 minutes a game, it’s going to take its toll. But those things happen. This is the NBA.”

Said James Worthy: “We knew this was going to be tough. We had an emotional game in New York. We took our execution and our effort for granted. We just thought we could do it once the game started.”

Consider Wednesday night a warning. The schedule hasn’t begun to get rough yet. This is the Lakers’ longest trip so far and it’s only three games. They’ll have to play back-to-back games on the road five more times, not to mention the four others in which they’ll play on the road and back at home the following night.

They can’t get younger so they’ll have to get better or pay the price.

Laker Notes

The previous Los Angeles Laker low was 76 points against Chicago in 1974. The franchise low was the Minneapolis Lakers’ 65 points against the Philadelphia Warriors in 1953. . . . Said Magic Johnson of Terry Teagle: “I think right now he’s just pressing, trying to do it right now, right when he gets in. I think he’ll be all right. He has to calm down and just play his game.” . . . Lakers conclude the trip at Chicago Friday night.