Lakers Take Bad News in Large Doses : Pro basketball: A 113-102 loss to Jazz assures them of a sub-.500 season. Peeler is injured.

The worst news for the Lakers in their 113-102 loss to the Jazz Wednesday night wasn’t that they are now guaranteed their first sub-.500 season since 1975-76.

Nor was it that the defeat, their 14th in their last 19 games, means they will be the eighth Western Conference playoff team and draw the Phoenix Suns as their first-round opponent. Neither of those events was surprising.

What hit them harder was losing guard Anthony Peeler, who sprained his right ankle in a second-quarter collision with Utah’s Tyrone Corbin. Peeler, a streaky shooter, had played well recently and gave the Lakers a productive player off the bench. He had eight points and one assist in 12 minutes Wednesday before he and Corbin tangled and fell to the floor under the basket with 4:05 left in the first half and the Lakers leading, 45-44.

Coach Randy Pfund called Peeler’s injury, “the worst thing about tonight,” which was saying a lot because he had several unfortunate events to choose from. Among them: his team’s inability to hold onto a 79-69 lead it held with 3:47 left in the third quarter, as the Jazz mounted a 23-4 blitz.

“Certainly, Anthony has been in a groove for us. It seems like this year, especially early, every time an off-guard is playing well for us, he gets hurt,” Pfund said. “First it was Byron (Scott), then Tony (Smith) and now Anthony. I hope this is not one of those situations because we’re going to need Anthony for the playoffs.”

Corbin, who landed face-first, sustained a bruised pelvis and also did not return. Peeler’s injury, initially described as a slight sprain by trainer Gary Vitti, grew more tender as the evening wore on, and it is doubtful he will accompany the team to Seattle for Friday’s game against the SuperSonics.

“It hurts real bad,” said Peeler, who will be re-examined today. “I took a charge from him and he stepped on my foot.”

Said Vitti: “If there’s no miraculous recovery between now and (Friday), I think he’ll be on a plane back to L.A. to get looked at there.”

Pfund said he needed to look at films of Wednesday’s game to determine “where the bottom fell out,” but at least one fact was apparent. Utah, while only 13-16 since the All-Star break, wasn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves or Dallas Mavericks or any of the lesser teams the Lakers (38-42 with two games left) had beaten in winning four of their previous six games.

With Karl Malone scoring 21 of his game-high 31 points in the second half and a trapping defense holding the Lakers to one field goal over a 7-minute 42-second stretch that began late in the third quarter and carried over into the fourth, the Jazz (46-34) easily blew past the Lakers and delighted a sellout crowd of 19,911 at the Delta Center.

John Stockton had 11 assists and reserve Mike Brown scored 17 points, including 15 in the second half.

“They’ve played together for four or five years and they’re an experienced team. We’re a lot younger, and I think that might have showed in a couple of key times when we made mistakes,” said Benoit Benjamin, who had a Laker-high 17 points.

Said Pfund: “We’ve got two more games, and there’s some things we’ve got to work on and we’ll work on in practice. With a young team, you keep learning. One thing I liked tonight is we challenged some shots, contested some shots. . . . It’s Phoenix, I guess, and that’s who we’ll start preparing for.”

Laker Notes

Elden Campbell was charged with a flagrant foul against John Stockton with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter, after Stockton ran into a pick set by Campbell and fell to the floor. “All-Star players gain their reputation in this league and then keep it,” Randy Pfund said. Campbell said he had done nothing. “It’s no big deal. It happens every day,” he said. . . . Benoit Benjamin’s strong performance relegated Vlade Divac to the bench for the last 17 minutes of the game. Divac picked up two fouls in the first quarter. . . . Doug Christie’s eight rebounds were a season-high.