Lakers Get the Message From Coach : Pro basketball: Dunleavy lets them know he is upset. They respond with a 98-89 victory over the Nets.

Where were they?

Oh yes, Brendan Byrne Arena, 12 days into the longest trip of the season, seven minutes into the game, eight points behind the New Jersey Nets.

That was when Coach Mike Dunleavy, normally an easy rider, began stamping his foot. The Lakers snapped out of their reverie and struggled to a 98-89 victory Friday night to finish the trip 4-3.

“I’ll take it,” Dunleavy said.

That wasn’t what he was saying earlier.

In the first quarter, Dunleavy watched a long rebound bounce past two of his guys to a Net player and decided no more Mr. Nice Guy.

“A lot of it has to do with mental toughness,” Dunleavy said. “We were as mentally tough as anybody I ever saw in our nine-game winning streak.

“But somewhere on this trip, the poor-me Laker syndrome started. . . . I told ‘em at halftime, we can’t have that. At halftime, I jumped ‘em. I said if we were going to win, we’ve got to play like we played in our nine-game streak. If we’re not going to win, we could lie down and play like we were playing.”

The Lakers, noting a new directness, were impressed.

Sam Perkins compared an angry Dunleavy to Perkins’ former coach at Dallas, Richie Adubato.

“They’re both New Yorkers,” Perkins said, laughing. “They both will curse. I think Richie gets a little redder in the face, like he’s having a stroke. . . . I like Mike. I mean, he knows what he’s talking about.”

Laker veterans, however, know about angry coaches, having played for Pat Riley.

Said Byron Scott: “This wasn’t even close.”

Nevertheless, it got their attention.

The Lakers cut a 19-11 lead to 23-17 by the end of the first quarter, caught up in the second quarter and took a 44-40 lead by halftime.

It should be noted that they were not in against a monster. The Nets, 5-12 going in, had played the night before in Milwaukee. Star forward Derrick Coleman reaggravated his sprained ankle against the Bucks, and Coach Bill Fitch was trying to get by without using him.

Then the Lakers came out fast in the third quarter and increased their lead to 12.

The Nets cut it to 81-80 in the fourth quarter. After that, the Lakers made enough good plays and the Nets enough bad ones to assure the outcome.

At 81-80, James Worthy made a 15-footer that bounced on the rim twice and dropped in.

At the other end, rookie Kenny Anderson, thinking the shot clock was running out, tossed up a 20-footer and missed everything.

It didn’t take long before the Lakers had the lead back up to 98-85 and the longest trip of the season ended, if not triumphantly, on an up note.

“The old Lakers could turn it on in the fourth quarter,” Dunleavy said. “But you saw it in Charlotte, these aren’t the same Lakers. We don’t have that team anymore. We have to play it the way we have to play it 48 minutes.”

Laker Notes

The second-newest Laker, forward Chucky Brown, didn’t play but the newest, Rory Sparrow, signed Friday, went 12 minutes, scored four points and had four assists. Said Sparrow, released by the Clippers and Bulls this season, playing for his eighth team in 12 seasons: “There are certain teams you always want to play for: the Bulls, Lakers, Celtics, Knicks. I’ve been fortunate enough to play for three of them.” Sparrow is missing only the Celtics.

Derrick Coleman played 17 minutes and criticized Net Coach Bill Fitch. “I sat the first three quarters and then they expect me to turn it on in the fourth,” Coleman said. “He (Fitch) knew the ankle was OK. You call that coaching? I felt good. I told him that. I was sitting--waiting--and wondering when I’m going in the game. My teammates probably wondered the same thing.” . . . Kenny Anderson, second pick in the draft, took 10 shots, made two.