Lakers Find a Way Out of Another Hole : Pro basketball: They come back from 11-point deficit in third quarter to defeat the Rockets, 112-103. Johnson has triple-double.

The scourge of better Houston Rocket teams than this one, the Lakers pricked another bubble Tuesday night, even if it looked nearly impossible most of the way.

They are still the Lakers. For them, the impossible merely takes a little longer.

Once again looking like a team that tripped over the All-Star break, the Lakers trailed by the now-customary 11 points in the third quarter, then whacked the Rockets with a 34-22 fourth quarter and won going away, 112-103.

There went another folk movement. The Rockets, winners of nine of their last 11 without Akeem Olajuwon, were local darlings again, the fans besieging radio talk shows with calls for Olajuwon to be made the sixth man, or traded.

Tuesday in the sold-out Summit, the Rockets rocked and rolled all night . . . until the Lakers made a run at them, whereupon Houston collapsed in a heap.

“Close games, we’re going down low,” said Magic Johnson, after posting his eighth triple-double: 18 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds. “That’s what they don’t have (without Olajuwon).

“We’ve got some sweet plays. We’ve got some sweet plays for close games. People don’t realize how well we execute.”

Execution, however, is taking them a while to crank up. For the second game in a row, the Lakers had a season-low first quarter. This time, they scored 15 points while shooting 30%.

Surprised, Mike Dunleavy?

“Coming into this trip, I thought this was going to be a stretch that could make or break us,” Dunleavy said. “I was thinking that way until we lost Sam Perkins. Once we found out we weren’t going to have Sam for two to four weeks, you get to the point where you don’t look at a whole road trip. You look at one game and try to get through it.

“Right now, I’m not worrying about catching Portland. I’m just trying to stay where we are.”

Looking at Tuesday’s game, Dunleavy saw 6-foot-10 Otis Thorpe averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds in Olajuwon’s absence, and started 6-10 Mychal Thompson alongside 7-1 Vlade Divac, which is as close as the Lakers come to twin towers. Thompson was a spectacular success: a season-high 16 rebounds and 15 points while holding Thorpe to nine points.

Of course, Thompson only scored two of his points in the first half, when the rest of the Lakers’ offense was similarly moribund. By mid-third quarter, James Worthy and Johnson had each missed nine of 13 shots and the Rockets were kicking them all over the Summit, taking a 72-61 lead with 4:24 left in the quarter.

Back the Lakers came.

How?

Put it down to belief--the Lakers knew they could rally and so did the Rockets--and to shot selection.

If you want to know why the Rockets underachieve so consistently, check their shots. This is Launch City, and not because of the proximity to the Manned Space Center.

Guard Vern Maxwell leads the league in three-point attempts and doesn’t insist on having his balance before firing. Guards Kenny Smith and Sleepy Floyd don’t back away from a lot of 20-footers, nor do forward Buck Johnson and reserves David Wood and Kinnard Winchester. Of the group, only Smith shoots a consistent percentage.

The Rockets’ burst of the first three quarters was replaced by a hail of bricks as the Lakers drew near. For a while Floyd kept the Rockets in it all by himself, scoring 10 consecutive points early in the fourth quarter, but the Lakers outlasted him, too.

Trailing, 88-83, early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers suddenly bolted into the lead with a 7-0 run: Thompson’s rebound of his own miss, Thompson’s 10-foot jumper and Johnson’s three-pointer. Magic was four for 13 before that shot.

Then the Lakers went on a 17-10 run and put the game away. The Rockets took wild shots and didn’t get back on defense.

By game’s end, the Trade Akeem faction was greatly diminished. Johnson laughed at it, offering constructive advice, despite the fact the Rockets could become the Lakers’ first-round playoff opponent.

“Let’s put it all in perspective,” Johnson said. “This (Olajuwon) is the best big man in basketball. We’re not talking about a sub-par guy.

“If you don’t want him, send him over to us. We’ll use him. Any time you want to get rid of him. Thursday is the trading deadline.”

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson on Mychal Thompson: “Everybody forgets, Mychal was a great player in this league at one time. Now he’s playing a role, but he can still have those big nights.” . . . The Lakers announced that Sam Perkins will be out seven to 10 days with his fractured little toe. Mike Dunleavy estimates that, with rehabilitation, he will be lost at least two weeks. . . . Lakers are off today, play at Dallas Thursday night.