Lakers Work for Last Shot : Pro basketball: They defeat Trail Blazers, 109-101. Now they need to beat Clippers and hope Suns beat Rockets.

To live or die in L.A.

Marked for the junk heap of history, the Lakers bought themselves yet another day, rallying once more Saturday to upset the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-101.

“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said with a grin.

“Everybody’s been throwing a lot of dirt on us. It’s up to about here (drawing a line under his nostrils) right now, but we’ve still got a chance.”

To make the playoffs, the Lakers must beat the Clippers tonight in the Forum and the Rockets must lose to the Phoenix Suns at Houston.

This is better than the 20-1 odds Dunleavy gave the Lakers after losing at Sacramento.

It was a happy bunch of Lakers who walked off the floor in Memorial Coliseum late Saturday afternoon--and an angry bunch of Trail Blazers.

The fourth quarter was an elbow-fest that featured a squabble between Portland guard Terry Porter and venerable Laker assistant Bill Bertka.

After the game, Danny Ainge came over to the Laker bench and said:

“I hope we see you (ladies of the evening) next week.”

All in all, it was an eventful two days in Portland, starting with Friday’s barroom vigil in which the coaching staff watched the Rockets blow a late lead and lose to the Dallas Mavericks.

Byron Scott, Tony Smith and Sedale Threatt were in Chucky Brown’s room, playing video games. They got the news from Jack Haley, whose wife, Stacey, watched it on TV and did a play-by-play of the last minutes over the phone.

Let’s say they were surprised.

“A couple of the guys started saying, ‘No, no,’ ” Scott said before Saturday’s game. “It looks like someone is saying, ‘I’m giving you one more chance after you blew it in Denver and Sacramento.’ ”

Vlade Divac was in the hotel gift shop he heard the Rockets had blown a lead in the final minutes.

“It’s a shame,” he said, laughing.”

Saturday Divac went in against Kevin Duckworth, whom he undressed in last season’s playoffs.

Duckworth only recently began to emerge from a season-long funk, but Divac dropped him right back in it. Emerging from his own slump, Vlade tortured Duckworth with a variety of finesse moves, slipping from behind him to steal the ball, batting it away whenever Duckworth dribbled it.

In all, Divac went for 25 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Duckworth had 11 points and two rebounds, and was ejected in the third quarter.

The Lakers came out burning, hitting 10 of their first 13 shots, jumped ahead early and stayed there most of the way.

They never ran off and hid, though.

Ainge’s four-point play--a three-point basket on which he was fouled--started a 9-2 run, boosting the Trail Blazers into the lead, 88-87, with 6:50 left.

Divac scored on a short jump hook to put the Lakers back ahead.

Moments later, Sedale Threatt stole the ball from Ainge and went in for a breakaway layup.

That started an 18-7 run, including three baskets by Elden Campbell--a turnaround 10-footer over Mark Bryant; a driving layup in traffic that he shoved over the rim with two hands, and a 10-footer over Cliff Robinson. The Lakers led, 105-95, with 1:21 left.

After that, the teams traded elbows and jibes and wishes, nice and otherwise.

Ainge says he wondered why the Laker players were yelling and screaming after the game, so he went over to see.

“I think it was Jack Haley,” Ainge said, laughing. “Consider the source.”

Besides challenging the Lakers to a return visit--in fun, he said--Ainge also exchanged genuine good wishes with longtime adversary Scott.

The Lakers flew home. They were assured of 24 more hours and wanted to be ready.

Laker Notes

The Trail Blazers played without Clyde Drexler and Jerome Kersey, which was poetic justice. Both sat out Tuesday’s loss at Houston. . . . Did the Trail Blazers lose in the hope of playing the Lakers in the first round? They were 4-1 against the Lakers this season, 1-3 against Houston. “I don’t think Terry Porter wanted us to win, or Danny Ainge, the way they were hitting three-pointers (Porter made two of five, Ainge four of five),” Mike Dunleavy said. “Hey, I hope that’s the way it turns out. If they want us, I hope that’s the way it turns out to be.”