Lakers Ignore Warning Signs vs. Mavericks : Pro basketball: Dallas ends 12-game losing streak, 102-95, despite Pfund’s reminders and extra practice.

At least the Lakers don’t have to worry about coming home with a big head, because the Dallas Mavericks handed it to them.

The Lakers fell asleep not once but twice Wednesday night, blew a 13-point lead and performed the virtually impossible, falling, 102-95, to the Mavericks, who won for the first time in a month and a day and the second time this season.

It ended the Lakers’ five-game winning streak, the Mavericks’ 12-game losing streak and any thought Coach Randy Pfund had that prior warning prevents letdowns.

Pfund called a special walk-through Wednesday afternoon, he said, “just so this wouldn’t happen.”

“We talked in the locker room about the danger of all the talk about this team (Mavericks) being bad. We talked about the fact that on any given night how any NBA team can beat any other NBA team.

“Then we came out allowed them to score 37 points in the first quarter, which is a graphic expression of the fact that talk is cheap.”

The Lakers began this memorable night by allowing the Mavericks to make their first 10 shots and an incredible 20 of their first 24 by the early minutes of the second quarter, when Dallas led, 43-30.

At that point, Pfund threw his team into a zone trap and the fragile Mavericks blew up.

The Lakers seized the lead at 56-55 by halftime and ran it up to 70-57 with 6:43 left in the third quarter when the most amazing thing happened:

They swooned again.

“We did let down in the third period,” Sam Perkins said. “We started playing around with them and they had some people who came off the bench and helped them. We couldn’t contain (Sean) Rooks. The more energy we let them have, the livelier they got.”

The player coming off the bench was Walter Bond, a 6-5, 213-pound former Continental Basketball Assn. kamikaze who didn’t play in the first half. He entered the game in mid-third quarter and went off on the cruising Lakers, scoring 21 points in the final 19 minutes.

Bond’s 18-footer at the third-quarter buzzer cut the Laker lead to 84-81.

The Mavericks then held the Lakers to one field goal in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter while Pfund went through his offensive options, looking for a warm hand, finding none.

With 4:59 remaining, Rooks dunked in Vlade Divac’s face, was fouled, exchanged words with Divac and made the free throw for a 95-90 lead.

Rooks, the second-round draft pick from Arizona, finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists in his finest pro showing, despite a problem knee and the weight of more defeats in a season than in four in college.

“Of course,” said Rooks, from Fontana High. “Yeah. Correction--in five years at Arizona.”

The Mavericks (2-15) ran out the clock and celebrated as if they had made the playoffs.

“We needed it desperately, desperately,” Coach Richie Adubato said. “In this league, when you get beyond eight, nine losses, even your coaches become unnerved. The coaches start to doubt themselves. The players start to doubt each other.”

Said Derek Harper: “We needed it just like cereal needs milk.”

The Lakers (13-7) slunk home to get ready for Friday’s game against the Suns, no longer matching the teams with the NBA’s first and third-best records.

“Doesn’t seem nearly as big now,” Pfund said. “It’s still one loss and it doesn’t make any difference where you get your losses, but we were headed for a big-time matchup with Phoenix. This takes a little of the edge off that.

“We were on a large roll, but we took five giant steps back.”

Laker Notes

Anthony Peeler got his first NBA ejection, drawing consecutive technicals from referee Ken Mauer after being called for an over-and-back violation in the fourth quarter. “The first thing I said was, ‘That was a player’s call, the (Dallas) player made the call,’ ” Peeler said. “Then I played like I was going to throw the ball away, but I dropped it and I called it atrocious. That was it.” . . . Sean Rooks was advised this week by the Dallas team physician to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery. “I’m going to get a second opinion,” Rooks said. “If the doctor in Tucson says I need surgery, I’m going to have it.” . . . Sedale Threatt led the Lakers with 23 points.