Clippers Punctuate a Statement, 125-94 : Pro basketball: They pull away early for fifth victory in a row under Brown. It is fifth loss in a row for slumping Lakers.

Who owns L.A.?

It’s up for grabs . . . but it’s tilting toward the Sports Arena.

Rocket ships passing in the night, the resurgent Clippers ran their record under Larry Brown to 5-0 Wednesday night, bludgeoning the woebegone Lakers, 125-94, at the Sports Arena.

Their city series is tied this season, 2-2.

Before this season, the Lakers led it, 34-5.

The Lakers have more problems than the Clippers. They have lost five in a row for the first time since March, 1979--or before Magic Johnson.

The Clippers are two games behind them--after having trailed by 6 1/2 at the All-Star break.

“That’s not the Laker team right now with the problems they’ve had with injuries,” Brown said, generously.

“But it’s a big win for us. It’s important for us to get better.”

Having none of it, however, was Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy.

“An embarrassment,” Dunleavy said. “What can I say? Words don’t do it justice.

“There are no excuses. This has nothing to do with us being short-handed. We’re not short-handed 35-40 points.”

Dunleavy was asked if he thought a team meeting was in order.

“I’m for anything that helps us play better,” he said. “You get a Hare Krishna to come in and help us, I’ll go for it.”

Garbage time arrived before halftime intermission. The Clippers were up, 63-42, at the half and by as many as 40 points, as late as with 5:07 left in the game.

For the Lakers, this was just another in a growing string of mismatches. Except for slumps and injuries recently, you wouldn’t have heard of them.

“What’s happening?” someone asked Dunleavy before the game.

“Unfortunately, nothing,” Dunleavy said, laughing.

For the Clippers, it was a breakthrough.

“When I was traded here, I said hopefully we could steal some steam from the Lakers and make the playoffs,” Doc Rivers said beforehand.

“People always used to say early in my career that we (the Atlanta Hawks) had a rivalry with Boston. I’d say, ‘How is that? They beat us all the time. I thought a rivalry is where one team wins and then the other team wins.’

“If we win tonight, we’ll have a rivalry. The series will be tied, 2-2, with the rubber game in the Forum. That’s nice.”

They have a rivalry, all right.

This game was one-sided from the opening tap. It took the Clippers 25 seconds to get a 2-0 lead and 18 minutes to go up by 20.

The Lakers couldn’t run with them, shoot with them or rebound with them.

Of the Clippers’ 14 first-quarter baskets, eight came on layups (six on fast breaks) and one on a dunk.

Of the game’s first 35 rebounds, the Clippers got 25.

The Clippers led, 30-21, after one quarter, then hit the Lakers with a 17-2 spurt, settling the dramatic aspects of the evening.

The second half was a formality.

The Lakers rallied late, or perhaps the Clippers tired of the slaughter. Thus the Lakers were spared the added indignity of their worst loss to this franchise. This 31-point setback fell short of the record 33-pointer in 1974, when the Clippers were the Buffalo Braves.

So the Lakers can’t say this was a total loss.

Laker Notes

The Lakers’ 6-8 record in December was their first losing month since Magic Johnson was drafted in 1979. February, in which they are 2-8 with four games left, will be their second. . . . With the trading deadline tonight at 6, both teams’ general managers spent the day on the phone with nothing to show for it. Clipper GM Elgin Baylor said a deal for Charles Barkley “isn’t going to happen.” . . . Larry Brown noted that not only were Sam Perkins and Vlade Divac out, but also Charles Smith. “The Clippers are supposed to be hurt,” he said, smiling. “We have that dark cloud over us. They have that silver lining.” . . . The Lakers have been outrebounded in the last five games by an average of 13.2 a game. The Clippers hammered them, 57-34. . . . Brown on the rivalry: “I think it’s important for us to know we can be competitive with them. What are we, 6-15 in this place against them? And I know it’s not any better at their place.”

MAGIC’S NEW TEAM: Magic Johnson puts his comeback on hold and joins NBC as a commentator for the regular season and playoffs. C9