Home No Place for the Lakers : Pro basketball: Their rally falls short and they drop their second game in a row to a visiting Pacific Division team, losing to the SuperSonics, 80-79.

Aging aristocracy, the Lakers got another look at the future of the Pacific Division.

Once again, it wasn’t them.

Overrun by the first-place Phoenix Suns in their last appearance in Los Angeles, they returned to the Forum on Wednesday night, fell behind by 17 points and lost, 80-79, to the second-place SuperSonics, who were playing back-to-back games on the road without Shawn Kemp and Benoit Benjamin.

The Lakers cut 13 points off a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit but got no “E” for belated effort from Coach Randy Pfund.

“Obviously, we were not ready to play on our home floor and that’s a major area of concern,” said Pfund, registering anger for the first time in his rookie season.

“It’s a double whammy coming off a game in which we came out flat. We talked for two days about the fact we need to come out and play with energy.

“It’s a huge red flag. It’s been there all season and now it’s firmly planted in my heart.”

The SuperSonics arrived with a four-game winning streak, the most recent victory, if not the most improbable, coming Tuesday night at Portland, where they ended an eight-game, three-season losing streak without Shawn Kemp and Benoit Benjamin.

“It was kind of one of those shockers,” Coach George Karl said before Wednesday’s game. “You go in their building, hoping to stay close and find a way at the end to win the game and we dominated. Up to the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter, we had a 15-point lead.”

The night was young. The SuperSonics flew out afterward, arriving in Los Angeles early Wednesday and bussed to their hotel where Karl was disappointed to learn that ESPN doesn’t carry “SportCenter” here at 2:30 a.m. but “Body by Jake.”

Ignoring the NBA coaches’ rule on back-to-backs--act as if nothing is wrong--Karl faced the issue squarely.

The blackboard in the dressing room read: “Find the energy!”

Said Karl: “Our strength is our depth. We’ll play nine guys, maybe 10. Hopefully, we’ll find one who’s hot.”

It didn’t turn out to be a difficult problem.

Karl’s point guard, Gary Payton, scored eight points in the first quarter as Seattle opened a 22-20 lead. Then two of Karl’s shooting guards, starter Ricky Pierce and backup Dana Barros, went off in the second period, scoring nine points apiece. Pierce finished the half, appropriately enough, driving the length of the floor and going down the lane through the Lakers for a layup and the SuperSonics led, 50-37.

The Sonics increased it to 54-37 in the third quarter before the Lakers got anything together.

A long push brought them to within 75-74 with 3:17 to play.

The Lakers then had four consecutive possessions to take the lead but came up empty on all four.

They had one last chance to tie the score, trailing 78-76, but Sam Perkins’ running 15-footer missed badly. A.C. Green banked in an accidental three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left for the final points.

“We’re going to look back,” Perkins said, “and realize all these games were winable.”

They had better look ahead before it happens again.

Laker Notes

Sedale Threatt suffered a mild concussion when he was hit by Nate McMillan in the first half, played in the second half but left early and went to Centinela Hospital Medical Center for tests. He remained overnight. “Did I just say it a couple of days ago, I shudder to think of playing without him?” Coach Randy Pfund asked.

Byron Scott will practice today to determine if he will be available on the coming trip. If not, Pfund says he will ask Jerry West to find him a guard. . . . George Karl on Doug Christie, his unsigned No. 1 pick who says he will re-enroll at Pepperdine: “I’m very angry about it and sad. It’s hurting both of us and I say that honestly. I think he’s an NBA player. I still hope he’ll be a Sonic, but we’ve thrown a year away.”