Lakers Get Another L for Effort : Pro basketball: Even lowly 76ers have little trouble with struggling team, 105-94.

Seeing as the measuring stick was handy anyway at the Spectrum, this being the home of 7-foot-6 Shawn Bradley, the Philadelphia 76ers tried the Lakers on for size.

The 76ers came in averaging 93.9 points a game and bettered that by about 11.

The Lakers, the worst rebounding team in the league, were beaten again on the boards, this time by the fourth-worst rebounders in the league.

In other words, the Lakers didn’t measure up to a lottery team. They aren’t stacking up too well against their record book either, not when Philadelphia’s 105-94 victory meant the team’s worst start since 1966-67.

“I understand we’re rebuilding and dealing with circumstances,” James Worthy said after scoring a game-high 22 points. “But we need to do better than this.

“We played hard and had a good effort, but that’s not what we’re after. We are not after effort. We want some wins.”

There has been only one for the Lakers in the last seven games, dropping them to 8-15.

They have two sub-.500 teams left on the trip, Cleveland and Miami, with Orlando sandwiched in between. But that is no great comfort to the Lakers, not the team that has lost to Sacramento, Minnesota and now Philadelphia.

The 76ers began the night having won three of their previous five and had knocked off Utah, Chicago and Denver so far at home. But dangerous? Friday marked the first time all season they have recorded back-to-back victories.

The 76ers (8-13) did it thanks to a 16-5 run late in the third quarter for a 74-62 advantage that held up. There was also the matter of the 20 points and 12 rebounds from Clarence Weatherspoon and 21 points by former Laker Orlando Woolridge off the bench.

The search for Laker encouraging signs, beyond Worthy’s contributions, led to a guy who made three of nine shots. But at least Vlade Divac and his sore right hand were sound enough to return to the starting lineup after a five-game absence.

“I was ready to come back in the lineup,” said Divac, who had nine rebounds and three steals while playing most of his 25 minutes in foul trouble. “So now I can get my confidence back and play like earlier in the season.

“When you try to and cannot, it really bothers you a lot. You lose confidence and are not happy. I want to practice more but can’t because I don’t want to get hurt again. But all that is in the past.”

Laker Notes

Kurt Rambis wasn’t so upset at being taken off the team bus moments before it left for a game Tuesday to be waived by the Lakers. He even rationalized missing out on a $250,000 bonus clause by two days. But coming back for another season only to be cut after 20 games when he thought he had an understanding with the Lakers? That is bothersome. “If I knew this is the way it was going to turn out, I wouldn’t have come back,” he said Friday. “They knew going in this isn’t what I wanted to have happen.” Rambis said he would listen to offers from other teams in the NBA and Europe to continue playing, but he has already turned his attention to part ownership in a sportswear company and a possible future in broadcasting. He does have one basketball commitment lined up: joining Magic Johnson’s barnstorming team for a trip to Argentina in mid-January. Rambis was asked if he deserved a better ending. “Everyone deserves better,” he said. “Everyone deserves to be treated like a king. I just look at it like we’re in an aerospace plant and one of the guys got laid off. It’s happening to everybody these days.”

The Lakers went into the game averaging only 14.8 turnovers, the third-lowest in the league, and had 15 against the 76ers. . . . Shawn Bradley made only three of 10 shots but had 11 rebounds. The impressions of 7-1 Vlade Divac: “I feel good. I’m a short guy for a change.”