Lakers’ Divac Beats Robinson on Bottom Line : Pro basketball: His three-pointer dooms Spurs. Portland’s lead is a half-game.

Things were looking grim for the Lakers in that big David Robinson vs. Vlade Divac matchup, but you never want to bet against the people’s choice in the Forum.

Divac, outscored by 27 points by Robinson until the last five minutes, scored seven points in what remained Sunday night, including a game-breaking three-pointer that led the Lakers to a 98-91 victory. They cut the Pacific Division lead of Portland, an upset loser to the Clippers, to a half-game.

Vlade owed David one.

In two games against Robinson this season, he was averaging 3.5 points and two rebounds.

“He is difficult,” said Divac before the game. “But I am difficult too, right?”

The Spurs were about to find out how difficult.

Divac’s three-pointer--his fourth of the season--beat the 24-second clock with nine seconds to play and the Lakers clinging to a 91-89 lead.

Vlade wandered off afterward to discuss the night’s events with his parents, Milenko and Rada, visiting from Yugoslavia, and was asked to return to the dressing room to discuss his exploits.

On the three-pointer: “I practice so . . . I can make.”

And on the 44 minutes that preceded his rally: “In beginning he (Robinson) kill me.”

The final tally was Robinson, 37 points, nine rebounds.

Divac, nine points, seven rebounds and the victory.

“Well, the clock was running down,” Spur Coach Larry Brown said of Divac’s three-pointer. “He made a good play. But if you’re going to ask if I thought that was the shot they were working on getting, I’d say no.”

He would be right, too.

The play started with Magic Johnson posted up on the right wing, getting the ball to Byron Scott as the clock ran down. Without a clear shot, Scott flipped the ball to Divac, a stride behind the three-point line. Vlade’s shot barely beat the buzzer and dropped cleanly. The referees first ruled it a two-point goal, but talked it over and said it was a three-pointer. TV replays confirmed that decision.

The game was waged at a furious pace, the Lakers grabbing an 8-0 lead, the Spurs battling back to lead for most of the second, third and fourth quarters. The Lakers didn’t go ahead to stay until Sam Perkins’ dunk on a fast break with 6:01 left.

After that, it was Vlade time.

With 4:27 left, he hit a 17-footer, his third and fourth points of the night.

With 3:08, he dropped in a jump hook.

With 50 seconds left, he sneaked out from behind Robinson, stole Willie Anderson’s pass, dribbled it to the other end, was fouled--and missed both free throws.

With nine seconds left, he made up for everything.

Laker Notes

James Worthy led the Lakers with 30 points, making 13 of 22 shots. After going 20 for 62 in the last three games of the last trip, he is 29 for 50 and has scored 65 points in two games. . . . Byron Scott’s third basket of the night, a 17-footer, gave him 10,000 points, making him the 10th Laker to get that many. The crowd gave him a standing ovation. Said Scott: “Ten thousand points with this organization is a serious milestone in my life.”

The Spurs will get injured point guard Rod Strickland back in their next game Tuesday. Strickland was sidelined Feb. 1 when he suffered a broken bone in his right hand in a fight outside a nightclub. “What was my reaction?” Coach Larry Brown said. “I know I wasn’t too excited about it, especially under the circumstances: at 3 o’clock in the morning the day of a game in a place we told them not to be.”

Mychal Thompson’s wife, Julie, gave birth to their third son, Trace, Friday at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. The Lakers put out a release that said: “Both baby and mother are doing fine; the father is reportedly as weird as ever.’ The Lakers will play the Clippers at the Forum Tuesday night.