Lakers Pick Wrong Night for Season’s Worst Shooting : Pro basketball: They make only 36.7% as the Rockets clinch the Midwest title, 100-84. Olajuwon has 29 points.

Laker Coach Randy Pfund didn’t have to review the videotape of his team’s 100-84 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night to reach several painful but obvious conclusions.

For the specifics of his team’s season-low 36.7% shooting, he will analyze frame after frame of the loss that left the Lakers with a 36-41 record. But the overriding message of his team’s 10th defeat in its last 12 home games was clear even as the Forum crowd of 15,187 was still filing out.

“I know we were not aggressive taking the ball to the basket. A few times, it was embarrassing,” Pfund said. “We looked like a junior high school team playing against the pros. That’s our identity this year. We’re not tough enough.”

The Rockets (52-25) would have been a tough opponent for anyone Friday, as they extended their winning streak to eight and tied a franchise record for victories in a season. Hakeem Olajuwon had game-highs with 29 points and 14 rebounds, and Kenny Smith scored 18 points to help Houston win its season series from the Lakers for the first time since 1978-79 and clinch the Midwest Division title.

“I don’t know what else the guy can do,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said of Olajuwon. “(Overall,) I thought it was a real good defensive effort by us, and that’s been the key to our success with this team. We can’t go out and say, ‘We’re going to trade baskets and play offense.’ ”

But the lackluster play of the Lakers’ offense, the meekness of their resistance and the energy injected by rookies Duane Cooper, Doug Christie and Anthony Peeler during a fourth-quarter charge had Pfund talking about changing his lineup again.

“Obviously, the plan I’d hope to go with isn’t working very well,” said Pfund, who replaced James Worthy with Elden Campbell at power forward eight games ago.

Cooper, Peeler (15 points) and Christie (15 points) stated their case during the fourth quarter when they accounted for six consecutive points and cut Houston’s lead to 85-79 with 3:39 to play. But it wasn’t enough for the Lakers to close the gap after Vlade Divac fouled out with 2:42 to play.

Said Cooper, who played point guard: “I try to be the catalyst out there. I try to put some fire in the guys and in the crowd. I just want to play hard and continue to improve.”

However, he said he would be surprised to see the same unit--the other two rookies and A.C. Green and Campbell--get much playing time Sunday against Golden State.

“It would be (a surprise),” he said. “All I can do is prepare for the game and if I’m put in there, try and play the best I can offensively and defensively.”

Houston’s front line, which combined for 27 rebounds and 59 points in its 126-107 rout of the Lakers on Tuesday, dominated again Friday. Olajuwon, rookie Robert Horry and Otis Thorpe combined for 56 points and 35 rebounds, compared with 29 points and 28 rebounds for Campbell, Green and Divac.

“When you get 70 games into the season and they’re 25 games to the plus in the win column, you know no matter what you throw at them, they’ve got pretty good counters,” Pfund said. “If you double-team them, they can go outside. You’ve got to play a good all-around game to beat them.

“It’s an either-or situation. If you stop one thing, you know you’re going to give up something else with a good team. For a lot of years we were on the other side of that. Teams would double-team Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) or Earvin (Johnson), and we’d hit them from the outside.”

Campbell, starting his eighth straight game, guarded Thorpe.

“When we went to the different lineup, it was to get some victories, and I’d feel better if we’d won more games,” said Campbell, who had nine rebounds. “The biggest thing for me is defense and rebounding. I’ve got to get more rebounds.”

The Rockets led, 26-21, after the first quarter and by 51-39 at halftime after holding the Lakers to 31% shooting.

Laker Notes

Broadcaster Chick Hearn called his 2,600th consecutive game. He last skipped a game on Nov. 20, 1965. . . . Sunday’s game time has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m. from noon.