Defense Does Trick for Lakers, 123-121 : Pro basketball: They shoot 62.8%, but win because they stop Pistons’ best options in final minute.

Strange that a game played at breakneck pace, one in which the Lakers shot 62.8% and the Detroit Pistons shot 51% and the teams combined to launch 23 three-pointers, was decided on defensive play.

Tenacious defense by the Lakers, who converged to stop a potential game-tying layup by Terry Mills after ensuring Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars weren’t open, enabled them to hold on for a 123-121 victory over the Pistons on Tuesday before 21,454 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

After 11 lead changes and two ties in the fourth quarter, the Lakers led, 121-119, with 18.2 seconds to play. Alvin Robertson inbounded the ball to Thomas, who had 21 points, and everyone looked for him to shoot or to find Dumars, who had made five of six three-pointers and had a game-high 41 points.

With the Lakers swarming, and with Sedale Threatt in Dumars’ face, the Pistons were denied their favorite option. The ball went to Mills, whose shot bounced off the rim and to Vlade Divac, who was fouled by Dennis Rodman. Divac made both free throws, making Thomas’ final driving layup meaningless.

“It just wasn’t there,” Mills said of a possible three-point try instead of his layup attempt. “They played excellent defense down the stretch, and they didn’t give us much.”

Said Divac, who had 10 rebounds and 25 points and tied his career high with eight assists: “We expected they would shoot a three-pointer, but they didn’t have a chance. We didn’t give them the chance. We played tough defense.”

At least when it mattered, they did. The Lakers’ defense was less than exemplary in the middle stages of the game. Dumars scored 13 points in the third quarter, and the Pistons erased a 51-38 second-quarter Laker lead. Dumars’ 41 points was the second-highest total by a Laker opponent this season, behind the 54 by the Bulls’ Michael Jordan on Nov. 20.

“Tonight took everything I think we had, and we still came up short and that’s what makes it extremely frustrating,” Dumars said. “It’s a hard way to live. You live like this and you’re going to have a lot of nights like this, nights we’ve given ourselves a chance to win and didn’t capitalize.”

The Lakers (31-26) knew they were lucky the Pistons (25-33) didn’t turn Dumars’ stellar effort into a triumph.

“We’ve seen Joe do this to the Lakers over the years,” Coach Randy Pfund said. “We went to a big lineup, which for a possession or two took the ball out of their hands, but then they exploited that. Sedale went on him late in the game and did a good job.”

Threatt did a good job orchestrating the offense, too, scoring 24 points and establishing a career high with 15 assists. Three of those assists set up three-pointers in the fourth quarter by James Worthy, who had a team-high 28 points.

The first three-pointer tied the game, 109-109, with 4:38 to play; the Pistons surged back ahead on a shot by Dumars, but Worthy hit again with 3:29 to play to put the Lakers ahead, 112-111. His final three-pointer tied the score, 119-119, with 53.1 seconds to play, and A.C. Green gave the Lakers the lead for good by hitting one of two free throws.

Those were the only three-pointers attempted Tuesday by Worthy, who had made only 23% of his previous three-point attempts (14 of 61).

“When it’s there, it’s a good shot, but sometimes it’s not there,” he said. “You’ve just got to take it like a regular shot.”

Tony Smith, dressing in the next cubicle, laughed at that. “Maybe you should call that accidental offense,” Smith said.

Laker Notes

A.C. Green played in his 542nd consecutive regular-season game, tying Otis Thorpe for the ninth-longest streak in NBA history. . . . Green played 46 minutes Tuesday despite a sore back and tied his season high with 17 rebounds. . . . Benoit Benjamin didn’t play. Instead, Coach Randy Pfund went to former Piston James Edwards as the reserve center. . . . Doug Christie’s Friday debut is all but set, with only a roster move delaying his activation.