Timber! Lakers Get Cut Down to Size, 93-85 : Pro basketball: After big victory over Bulls, they can’t avoid a letdown against the lowly Timberwolves.

Humility went looking for the Lakers and found them in their home run trot.

After upending the 18-3 Bulls, they warned themselves over and over not to let down against the 3-18 Timberwolves. Then they let down and lost, 93-85, Thursday night.

The Timberwolves, ending a nine-game losing streak, have beaten the Lakers twice in a row at Minneapolis.

The Lakers are 1-1 on this trip, as expected. It’s just not the way they expected it.

“Needless to say, this is very disappointing loss for us,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said, “coming off a great victory in Chicago with a chance to really build on it. . . .

“From the minute the Chicago game was over, we talked about it--we’ve got to come out and play. This team (the Timberwolves) is like a wounded animal. . . .

“We talked about it. We talked about not getting caught after a big win. They came out and wanted it more. We’re trying not to have a letdown. They’re trying to get out of a skid. Their will won out.”

Remarkably, the Lakers brought a 16-7 record into Thursday night--two games better than they were last season at this point, despite losing Magic Johnson and Vlade Divac and playing 14 of 24 games on the road.

The Timberwolves started the day at low ebb. Their days of ritual sellouts have ended. Fans unveiled an “On Track for Shack” banner, hoping the NBA’s worst record will give them a chance to draft Louisiana State’s Shaquille O’Neal.

Something had to give . . . and it was the Lakers.

Let’s just say it was a team effort.

Elden Campbell got another quick hook for passivity. Sedale Threatt, kneed in the thigh by Scottie Pippen on Tuesday, was buzz-sawed by former Bruin Pooh Richardson. Former Laker Tony Campbell lit up James Worthy for 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting.

“You want to make him (Campbell) put the ball on the floor,” Dunleavy said. “I’d say his first 10 points, he never had to put it on the floor. That’s a huge mental mistake on our part.”

Said Worthy: “I should have been up on him a little closer. I was trying to utilize my size, trying to make it a tough shot for him. But once he hit one . . . “

The Timberwolves shot to a 10-2 lead. Dunleavy called a 20-second timeout.

The Timberwolves ran it to 18-5. Dunleavy called a full timeout.

The Lakers cut it to 22-20.

The Timberwolves spurted again, to a 55-39 halftime lead.

The Lakers spent the last half trying to catch up. They clawed within 88-84 on Rory Sparrow’s 19-footer with 4:22 left but missed their last nine shots.

The Timberwolves celebrated. Richardson, as always the subject of trade rumors--this time that he is headed to the Clippers--said once more he could handle a trade to Los Angeles.

“You can ask me any question,” he said. “I’ve got a degree from UCLA.

“It’s like this: I’m not going to let any rumors like that play with my head. If it happens, I’ll be wearing a Clipper uniform. If it doesn’t, I’ll be here, doing what I do best. This is where I started in the NBA. I want to see the Wolves be winners--with or without me.”

Did he say recently he would like to play in Los Angeles?

“Just for the record, what was asked was, if I was traded to L.A., would it be a distraction?” Richardson said. “I said, ‘I can play there. I’d be comfortable.’

“I still have friends there. I live there in the off-season. Who wouldn’t want to play where they live?”

The Lakers departed. Within three days, they not only proved they can beat anyone by playing hard, but that the reverse is also correct. They can lose to anyone if they don’t.

Sadder, wiser, but no deeper, they flew to Detroit. At least their fears about letdowns were over.

Laker Notes

The Lakers have trailed by at least eight points in the first half of their last five games. “We’ve changed our lineup,” Mike Dunleavy said. “We’re still searching for that answer.” . . . Elden Campbell replaced Jack Haley in the starting lineup the last two games. Campbell was yanked early both times, although at Chicago, he returned and played well. . . . The Timberwolves are the first member of the current expansion class to beat the Lakers twice.