FIRST QUARTER / JAZZ 21, LAKERS 20

* Highlight Reel: Welcome back to the Dump, er, the Great Western Forum. If somebody yanked down those championship banners and retired numbers cluttering the walls, maybe the old place would look better. Yeah, right. But the atmosphere was indeed downcast for Game 3. A 2-0 series deficit will do that to an L.A. crowd.

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: A cure for the Laker shooting woes. The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight had another rough first quarter, making only 33.3%.

* Winning Number: All things considered, a one-point deficit was easy to stomach given the Lakers’ brutal shooting.

* Wrong Number: The Lakers’ Eddie Jones missed six of seven shots.

* Leading Scorers: Lakers: Shaquille O’Neal 5; Jazz: Bryon Russell 8.

* Leading Rebounders: Lakers: O’Neal 4; Jazz: Howard Eisley, Karl Malone 2.

SECOND QUARTER / JAZZ 49, LAKERS 43

* Highlight Reel: He looks like death warmed over. He hasn’t smiled on a court since before Utah was granted statehood. Fun will never be John Stockton’s middle name. But he continued to torch the Lakers in a businesslike manner. Stockton’s best move of the quarter was his runner in the lane with the 24-second clock about to expire. It gave the Jazz a 10-point lead.

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: Utah built a 10-point lead thanks to its reserves, particularly sharpshooting Chris Morris.

* Winning Number: The Lakers’ limited Stockton and Malone to two and four points, respectively, by halftime.

* Wrong Number: The Jazz blocked eight Laker shots.

* Leading Scorers: Lakers: O’Neal 9; Jazz: Morris 10.

* Leading Rebounders: Lakers: O’Neal 3; Jazz: Morris 3.

THIRD QUARTER / JAZZ 79, LAKERS 71

* Highlight Reel: Once upon a time in a league far, far away. . . . Twenty-one springs ago, the earthbound Portland Trail Blazers carved up the slam-dunking Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA finals with precise passes and simple plays. You’re seeing the same sort of mismatch of brains over brawn in this series. The Lakers have no clue how to solve Utah’s pick and roll.

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: A Laker to shoulder some of the scoring burden handled by O’Neal. He was all the Lakers had.

* Winning Number: The Lakers made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.

* Wrong Number: The Lakers’ 38% shooting certainly wasn’t helping their hopes to rally.

* Leading Scorers: Lakers: O’Neal 13; Jazz: Malone 12.

* Leading Rebounders: Lakers: 3 with 2; Jazz: Malone, Morris 4.

FOURTH QUARTER / JAZZ 109, LAKERS 98

* Highlight Reel: Look out in the parking lot, there they go, leaving the Forum in a hurry. Russell, the pride of Long Beach State, sent a dagger into the hearts of the Lakers and their fans with a three-point basket that gave the Jazz a 99-92 lead. Game over. Series (almost) over.

* What You Won’t Find in the Box Score: The same sort of team-wide contributions the Lakers had in upending Seattle in five games.

* Winning Number: O’Neal fouled out with 39 points.

* Wrong Number: The Lakers have faced a 3-0 series deficit three other times since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. They were swept in four games each time.

* Leading Scorers: Lakers: O’Neal 12; Jazz: Shandon Anderson 11.

* Leading Rebounders: Lakers: O’Neal 6; Jazz: Malone 3.