[0] LAKERS CAUGHT IN FUNK; ON '80S NIGHT, THEY CAN ONLY MANAGE 76 : GOLDEN STATE 81, LAKERS 76.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

Just a little more than a quarter into the game, Lakers point guard Derek Harper took a step off the court, and shook his head.

``This is Friday the 13th or something,'' Harper said.

Saturday's contest was billed as '80s Night at the Forum, but Harper wasn't referring to the decade's most famous series of slasher movies. He was merely exasperated over the Lakers' oddly sluggish showing against the lowly Golden State Warriors.

Not that the Lakers wouldn't have minded using Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Jamaal Wilkes, Michael Cooper or any of the other 80's legends honored at halftime.

The '99 Lakers certainly seemed to be in a time warp, playing in an offensive funk throughout their 81-76 loss to the Warriors.

There was one semblance of normalcy. Dennis Rodman received a pair of technical fouls with two minutes remaining for arguing a foul and was ejected from the game, proving the Lakers' performance wasn't completely abnormal.

How bad were they? The Lakers shot 28.6 percent in the first half, making 12 of 42 shots. Kobe Bryant was 1 for 8. Derek Harper was 2 for 8.

Their 3-point shooting was nonexistent, as they went 1 for 9 in the first half, with designated sharpshooter Glen Rice 0 for 3.

Rick Fox shot an air ball. Rice shot an air ball. Everyone else just missed shots the old-fashioned way.

The Lakers were nearly as bad from the free-throw line, making 11 of 21 attempts (52.4 percent). Shaquille O'Neal was 2 for 9, which probably is the reason coach Kurt Rambis had him on the bench at the end of the Phoenix game on Friday night.

For the game, the Lakers (22-12) shot an abysmal 35 percent from the field, and 57 percent from the free-throw line.

Meanwhile, the Warriors (14-18) weren't close to being as cold, and that was the difference. Golden State shot 47.5 percent from the field, which enabled them to take a 47-36 halftime lead.

It was probably something that the Lakers were even as close as they were at the break. But Golden State quickly scored the first six points of the third quarter to stretch the lead to 17 points.

From then on, the Lakers were in major catch-up mode.

When O'Neal picked up his fourth foul with 4:57 left in the third quarter, the situation appeared fairly dire.

The Lakers did manage to cut the lead to 12 points, 65-53, after three quarters, but there was still a light smattering of boos inside the Forum. By then, the Lakers had also raised their shooting all the way up to 32.2 percent.

Bryant (4 for 12) and Rice (4 for 11) were still struggling. O'Neal (7 for 12) was the only Laker shooting better than 50 percent entering the fourth quarter.

And their 53 points was a new season-low after three quarters, eclipsing the previous record of 54.

A semblance of a comeback finally began when Bryant converted two free throws to start the fourth quarter, drawing the Lakers within 10 points (65-55) for the first time since the second quarter.

Fox's jump shot brought the Lakers within eight (67-59) and Derek Fisher's 3-pointer closed the gap to 67-61 with 7:40 left. John Starks followed up with the Warriors' own air ball on a 3-pointer, and Bryant slashed his way inside to cut the lead to 67-63.

Bryant's eight-footer brought the Lakers with two (69-67), and suddenly it was the Warriors who had turned cold, scoring just four points in the first eight minutes of the quarter.

Just as it appeared the Lakers were going to apply the finishing touch, the Warriors got back-to-back baskets from Terry Cummings and Bimbo Coles to stretch their advantage back to six points.

Then came Rodman's technicals, and the Warriors were able to maintain their lead. The Lakers never got any closer than two points the rest of the way.