Lakers Get Double Dose of Bad News : Pro basketball: Bowie has knee surgery, then L.A. loses to Kings to fall back into last place.

The Lakers lost a key reserve and a game Wednesday, falling to the Sacramento Kings, 106-98, at Arco Arena hours after learning they will be without Sam Bowie for at least six weeks because of arthroscopic knee surgery.

Both were significant setbacks. The Lakers were coming off an emotional one-point victory the night before at Denver, and the two previous games were close losses to San Antonio and Seattle. Then this, which knocked them back into last place in the Pacific Division.

“Because this was the third game of a road trip and the way they (the Kings) had been playing, I thought it would be a real tough game for us,” Laker Coach Randy Pfund said. “It was just another example of a team that can’t find consistency night after night.”

The loss of Bowie hurts in several areas because he had become such an integral part of the rotation while backing up Vlade Divac at center and Elden Campbell at power forward. He was third on the team in rebounding despite averaging only 22 minutes, an especially big loss considering the Lakers were already last in the league in that category.

“For me, it is a challenge,” Divac said after collecting a game-high 19 rebounds against the Kings. “Before the season, my goal was to average 10 or 11 rebounds. I’m trying to get more now, especially on offense.”

To replace Bowie, who went on the injured list, Kurt Rambis was signed to his third stint with the Lakers and second this season.

Bowie has a well-chronicled history of injuries, once playing only 25 games over a stretch of three seasons because of leg problems. However, he went a long way toward shaking that reputation the last two seasons with New Jersey. In 1992-93, he missed only three games and two of those were because of a mild stomach ailment.

Until the Dec. 21 game at Orlando, Bowie had never faced a knee problem. That night, though he can’t pinpoint when the injury occurred, he started feeling pain around the fourth quarter, then it worsened afterward. He hasn’t played or practiced since.

Doctors originally diagnosed it as a sprain, but more extensive tests later found bone chips. Bowie at first declined the inevitable surgery, hoping to wait until the summer, but when he failed to respond to therapy and left the Lakers on their three-game trip, he returned to Los Angeles and changed his mind.

Wednesday’s 45-minute procedure removed the chips, which can be a common wear-and-tear knee problem among many players. How soon he returns depends on the recovery, including degree of swelling. Orlando Woolridge missed about three months when he had a similar procedure as a Laker.

“This is another giant asterisk as to how we are going to win games if we don’t have anybody to rebound for us,” Pfund said.

Rambis, who played the first five games of the season before going on the injured list with tendinitis in his left knee, was cut Dec. 14, two days before he would have received a $250,000 bonus. By signing Wednesday, four days before he was scheduled to be in Argentina as part of Magic Johnson’s touring team, the popular power forward got the money, increasing his guaranteed contract for this season to $400,000.

“Like I’ve said before, I understand the business end of what they did and why they did it to me,” said Rambis, who was not upset at losing the money as much as having signed only to be waived so early. “I just wish they could have handled it in a different way. I guess this was their way of apologizing.”

Laker Notes

King guard Bobby Hurley, recovering from a Dec. 12 car crash, underwent an operation Wednesday to stabilize a fractured left shoulder. Doctors also determined his left knee will not need reconstructive surgery. Hurley could begin riding a stationary bike within a week or 10 days. . . . Vlade Divac, third among centers, is the only Laker in the top 10 in early voting for the All-Star game. . . . Kurt Rambis is expected to rejoin the Lakers today for practice and be in uniform Friday against the Clippers at the Forum.