Lakers Put Up Fight in Their Latest Loss : Pro basketball: SuperSonics win, 99-92, after Christie, Peeler and Seattle’s Pierce are ejected following third-quarter melee.

This time, at least, the Lakers went down with a fight.

They lost for the 10th time in 12 games, but didn’t go quietly, taking Seattle to the wire before falling, 99-92, Wednesday night at the Forum after Ricky Pierce of the SuperSonics and Doug Christie and Anthony Peeler of the Lakers were ejected following a third-quarter melee.

Fines are almost sure to follow and suspensions are also a possibility before the Lakers’ next game, Sunday at San Antonio.

“It’s the irony of ironies,” Laker Coach Randy Pfund said. “Here we are, trying to get a young team more aggressive, more gritty and more competitive, on a night when we’re finally running and have got the competitive juices flowing.”

Then this.

“With a couple of pushes,” Pfund said. “There wasn’t even a punch thrown.”

It started with Pierce committing a flagrant foul against Laker Sedale Threatt on a driving layup with 11 seconds to play in the third quarter. Christie, a Seattle native who has never hidden his dislike for the SuperSonics after a contract dispute last season prompted a trade to the Lakers, came over and got face to face with Pierce, and the two engaged in a brief wrestling match under the basket.

When they were separated, Peeler grabbed Pierce and put him in a chokehold from behind. Or at least the Laker guard did until he was knocked from behind and into, then over, the press table just beyond the baseline.

Shawn Kemp tried to get at Christie, but he was held back by Laker James Worthy, SuperSonic Coach George Karl and assistant coach/scout Terry Stotts.

When order was finally restored, with the Lakers trailing, 75-72, Pierce, Christie and Peeler had been given single-technical ejections for fighting. That meant each team was without its leading scorer for the fourth quarter, when the SuperSonics used a 12-4 run during the final 5:21 to improve to 22-3.

“Just one of those things,” Christie said. “The game got a little heated. I was just standing up for my teammates. I saw him (Pierce) standing over my teammate and I went over to see what was happening and he grabbed me.”

Said Pierce, who two games earlier served a one-game suspension after a fight with Indiana’s Byron Scott: “He (Christie) tried to bump me with his chest. Just unnecessary talking. He probably had hard feelings (from the contract situation) because he’s a young player. But it’s still uncalled-for.”

Lost amid the craziness was a good showing by the Lakers, especially in light of their poor shooting. They made only 36.5% of their shots, but outrebounded an opponent for only the third time in 20 games. Elden Campbell and Vlade Divac each had 13 rebounds, with Campbell also adding a team-high 20 points and three blocked shots.

Laker Notes

Laker Anthony Peeler has shot only six free throws during the last 10 games, a sign that he may be settling for jump shots and not driving to the basket as much as last season. Peeler disregards such talk--”I’ve got nothing to say about that,” he said--but the stat has caught the eye of his coach. “I am concerned with it,” Randy Pfund said. “I’ve tried to analyze it and look back at last year, at the how and why this might be happening.” Peeler is on pace to shoot only 134 free throws, down from 206 as a rookie, but says his game has not changed from the driving style that made him a first-round draft choice. Pfund agrees, to an extent. “Some nights he’s out running and really into it,” Pfund said. “I don’t think it’s as easy as that. I don’t know if he’s getting the calls (from officials) like last year. I don’t think he is.”