Lakers Miss a Chance : Pro basketball: Poor foul shooting down the stretch is costly in 93-92 loss to Timberwolves.

Sedale Threatt, sent to the hospital Tuesday night after the back of his head slammed against the court, might suffer temporary amnesia and forget this game ever happened. Lucky guy.

His Laker teammates, meanwhile, have no choice but to remember. Missing five of the last eight free throws, and six of 11 in the fourth quarter, will be on total recall. You don’t forget losing a close game to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Coach Del Harris blamed the 93-92 defeat before 14,756 at the Target Center on poor ball movement and bad team defense, factors in the bigger picture that is the Lakers’ 1-2 start heading into games against Utah and Seattle. On the other hand . . .

They were a disaster at the charity stripe. Cedric Ceballos came in having made 35 consecutive free throws, five away from Gail Goodrich’s team record, made his first three and then collapsed to miss five of his last six attempts, including the final four.

No record. No victory.

“It’s not too hard to believe,” said Ceballos, who led the Lakers with 27 points. “I make the free throws, we win.

“Thirty-eight in a row, and then I can’t make two. It’s tough.”

His last two misses came with 1:32 left and kept Minnesota in the lead, 92-91. The Timberwolves called timeout. Ceballos walked to the Laker huddle and pulled his jersey over his face.

When the Timberwolves failed to score, the Lakers got another chance. Divac got the ball on the left post, started to roll into the lane, and was fouled. He missed the first, then made the second, for a 92-92 game with 33 seconds to go.

This time, Sean Rooks got fouled and made one of two. That was enough for a 93-92 lead for the Timberwolves, but 15.5 seconds still remained. The Lakers called timeout with 11.5.

Nick Van Exel took the inbound pass, eventually drifting to the right side. With about five seconds showing, he launched a 20-footer that missed. Anthony Peeler got a hand on the long rebound, but Terry Porter ultimately controlled for the Timberwolves, just as the clock expired.

“It’s real tough because we feel like we should beat teams like this,” said Peeler, back in action after sitting out the final two exhibition games and the first two of the regular season because of a strained shoulder. “We can’t let teams like this beat us or it’s going to be a long season.”

Added Divac, after the Lakers finished 15 of 26 (57.7%) from the line: “No question. I can say we gave the game away. A present. A gift.”

What Threatt gets out of it remains to be seen. He landed awkwardly after a twisting layup attempt with 7:05 left in the second quarter, with the back of his head hitting the floor. He walked off but was sent to a local hospital as a precaution.

The injury was not thought to be serious, and Threatt joined his teammates in time for the charter flight to Salt Lake City. All tests were negative, and he should be available to play against the Jazz tonight.

Laker Notes

James Worthy will have his uniform No. 42 retired by the Lakers during ceremonies at the Dec. 10 game at the Forum against the Detroit Pistons. Many former teammates are expected to attend. Worthy, who retired a year ago this week, will join Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson and Jerry West in being so honored. . . . Leon Wood, the replacement referee who ejected Nick Van Exel with two technicals in the fourth quarter Saturday at Seattle, is more than a former NBA player. He was once teammates with two players in that game: Frank Brickowski of the SuperSonics and Sedale Threatt, who said he and Wood were good friends during their days with the 76ers. “I heard he had been reffing in the L.A. summer league and trying to get into NBA officiating,” Threatt said. “But I definitely was surprised to see him there. He kind of looked at me and smiled. I looked at him and smiled.”

Minnesota’s Tom Gugliotta, on whether the Lakers’ inability to make free throws down the stretch resulted in the victory: “That’s a big factor, being that each free throw is worth a point. Big factor. But again, I think we had a lot pressure on them. We were banging on them pretty good, so those free throws were not easy.” . . . Isaiah Rider, the Timberwolves’ leading scorer last season, played for the first time after sitting out the first two games because of a groin injury. He had 16 points and four assists in 25 minutes off the bench.