NBA PLAYOFFS : Diminishing Return for Lakers : Game 2: They will come back to L.A. for a three-day rest after the Trail Blazers cruise again, 101-79. Duckworth dominates Divac.

Among the diminishing list of questions left to be answered in this series:

Now that the Lakers have played hard and lost, what is there left to try?

Will the Portland Trail Blazers let the Houston Rockets stand in for them for a game?

How long will it last?

At least until Wednesday. The Trail Blazers routed the Lakers again, 101-79, on Saturday, taking a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

It’s three strikes and you’re out, but scheduling problems give the Lakers a three-day respite.

For them, that’s as good as the news gets these days.

“I was actually pleased with the effort our team gave,” Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “I thought our guys played hard. They went after Portland. Everybody gave what they have to give.”

During Game 1, the Trail Blazers needed seven minutes to go ahead by 10 points, 15 minutes to go ahead by 20 and 22 minutes to go ahead by 30.

Saturday, they had to labor 13 minutes to go ahead by 10, 36 minutes to go ahead by 20 and made it to 27 (89-62) early in the fourth quarter.

Not that they ever thought about easing off.

“Who cares who they’re playing with?” Trail Blazer forward Jerome Kersey asked.

“You’ve got to go out and play the game. They’ve got five athletes out on the court trying to win. You can’t feel sorry for them because they don’t have all their guys, or whatever.

“We’re not out there to baby-sit.”

Determined to press their physical advantage, the Trail Blazers have come out looking for the Lakers in general and Vlade Divac in particular.

The book on Divac is to lean on him early. The Trail Blazers started in Game 1 when Kersey shoved him off the floor during a free throw. Saturday even Kevin Duckworth, whom Divac has dominated for a year, turned on him with a vengeance, outscoring him, 19-10.

“In the beginning (Saturday), we do everything Mike said,” Divac said. “He said block out. We do. We are even (in rebounds).

“At the end, they are up by 20 (55-35). That’s the reason they kill us.

“Portland is No. 1 (in the West). We are No. 8. They play so physical, so angry, because they have lost to the Lakers before. They think this is the same team as last year. It’s not. We lost James (Worthy), we lost Sam (Perkins).

“They want to fight with us, I don’t know why.”

He shouldn’t expect it to end soon, or in his lifetime. Duckworth knocked Divac over once Saturday and Divac complained to a referee. This is not the generally accepted mode of self-defense in the playoffs.

Before Game 1, Dunleavy listed rebounding as the No. 2 Laker priority. They got stomped, 41-24.

Dunleavy listed it No. 1 before Game 2 and circled it several times. Saturday, the Lakers got the game’s first three rebounds. Early in the second quarter, they were still ahead in rebounds, 14-13.

After that, they were buried, 42-21.

The Lakers took a 5-0 lead Saturday but the Trail Blazers tied the score, 11-11, with the game 6:02 old. So much for front-running. In 96 minutes of this series, the Lakers have been behind for 88:26.

For all of their effort Saturday, the Lakers simply couldn’t make shots. They shot 28% during the first quarter, when Sedale Threatt went one for six, A.C. Green went one for five and Terry Teagle went one for four.

Inevitably, the Trail Blazers began rebounding and running and rebounding their own misses.

The Lakers cut the Portland fast-break scoring margin--25-0 during Game 1’s first half--down to only 20-8 by mid-fourth quarter Saturday, when both coaches emptied the benches.

Green struggled through the game because of a sore hip. Byron Scott played despite flu, leading the Lakers with 16 points. Teagle banged his right knee and winced in pain when ice was applied later.

“I’m ready to go home,” Teagle said. “It’s been a long, long week.”

They still had to make sure their new bus driver was sober, unlike the one for Game 1, who turned up drunk, forcing them to cab it back to their hotel.

“We’re going to make him walk a straight line,” Scott said.

Laker Notes

Laker center Vlade Divac, on being called a “wimp” by Trail Blazer counterpart Kevin Duckworth: “I heard that. I don’t think nothing. I’m laughing.”. . . Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy, noting the physical nature of the game: “If that’s the way the game is going to be called, we don’t have much of a chance, with all the beef they’ve got.”. . . A.C. Green played despite a sore hip but took only two rebounds in 27 minutes. “It’s around, that’s for sure,” Green said of the pain. “It’s around right now.” Said Dunleavy: “A.C.’s not a complainer. He’s going to go out and battle. I know at the half when he’s played 19 minutes and gets one rebound, he’s hurt.”

* KEVIN DUCKWORTH

The Trail Blazer center, booed in Portland after a poor start, answers his critics with a strong showing against the Lakers. C12

* TO THE RESCUE

Mario Elie comes off the bench to score 17 points in the second half as Golden State rallies to even its series with Seattle. C13