[0] SHOWTIME STOPPER : LAKERS FACE UNCERTAIN FUTURE AFTER EARLY EXIT HOUSTON 102, LAKERS 94.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

The Lake Show, until next October, is a late show.

Season's over, folks.

Killing it Thursday night was a 102-94 Game 4 loss to the Houston Rockets, which will be recorded in playoff history as a rerun of Games 1 and 3. The Lakers played hard, stayed close and then faded to black at the finish.

Click.

``I didn't believe from Day 1 of this series that we were going to lose,'' said Lakers center Vlade Divac, rendered numb by the result that ended the year in franchise history that most resembled a soap opera.

``Especially when we came here, I had the feeling we would win at least one game. I can't believe it.''

That's how it has been since opening night for the Lakers - one stunner after another. And now, because they lost the series Magic Johnson expects will produce the Western Conference champion, they proceed to a summer of uncertainty.

Is Johnson, who was benched for a stretch of more than six minutes in the fourth quarter, going to come back - to basketball or the Lakers?

Did Cedric Ceballos, who paced the Lakers with 25 points and a new playoff best of 12 rebounds, just play his last game in purple and gold?

Can the Lakers land the free-agent sensation capable of preventing the fourth-quarter droughts that plagued L.A. in every game it lost?

``I have no idea,'' said co-captain Nick Van Exel, himself a source of controversy by shooting 16 for 54 from the field (29.6 percent) in the series after serving a seven-game suspension for shoving a referee.

``Got to ask Jerry West those questions.''

The Lakers can only hope their executive vice president summons better responses than they did at the Summit, despite a pregame reminder from coach Del Harris that ``this could be the last go-around'' for a team that ``might not be together again.''

Indeed, why not renovate a group that, just 48 hours removed from a scoreless stretch of 6:19 in the fourth quarter of Game 3, submitted two separate droughts in the final period of Game 4.

One lasted 4:33. The other spanned 3:41. It made for an ending in which everything seemed to be missing - 13 of the Lakers' 20 shots clanked, they didn't even attempt a fourth-quarter free throw and Johnson, who unretired Jan. 29 just for moments like these, went to the bench with 7:22 to go and didn't return until just 1:12 remained.

``It definitely hurts,'' said Johnson, who played his worst game of the series to finish with eight points, five assists and five rebounds in 30 minutes. ``(But) they were a team. Their will, their know-how, that was the difference.

``We just have a lot of little things going on that couldn't bring us together. Hopefully, the young guys on this team will understand and look at Houston and see that that's the way we should be.''

To the end, at least, the fractious Lakers took the Rockets' best shots. Like Houston's early 11-point lead and 63.6-percent shooting in the first quarter. And Kenny Smith's two 3-pointers to start the third, followed by two straight from Robert Horry to restore the 11-point margin at 79-68.

After all that - and 16 points through three quarters from journeyman forward Chucky Brown, the ex-Laker - L.A was trailing only 83-76 entering the fourth. And with an immediate 3-pointer by Anthony Peeler, the deficit was a manageable four.

Manageable until the latest fourth-quarter droughts.

The first dropped the Lakers into an 89-79 hole with 8:08 left; No. 2 made it 95-86 with 57.9 seconds remaining.

``Maybe next year, Magic,'' a fan shouted as Johnson trudged to his seat.

Johnson seemed to handle the benching well, after a series filled with second-guessing of Harris. Late Thursday, a premature end to the playoffs was his chief source of frustration.

``I want to come back,'' Johnson said of next season. ``My main thing is, I want to be like (Houston). I don't want to be on the (losing) side, so we're going to have to address some things in Los Angeles.''

And no longer are the two-time defending champions on the program.

``I don't know if it's embarrassing,'' Van Exel said of the early exit. ``I thought we played our hearts out. We had a lot of things to overcome. Probably all those things affected us.

``And they just kicked our (butt) for three games.''

Said Ceballos: ``I guess that Clutch City is the perfect name.''

How about The Lake Show?

``We can't talk about that today,'' Van Exel said. ``We don't know who's going to be here and who's not going to be here.''

Johnson added: ``They trust one another. We don't trust one another yet. That's the only thing we're missing.''

And maybe the toughest part to write into the script.

LAKERS VS. ROCKETS Rockets win series 3-1

Game 1: Houston 87, Lakers 83

Game 2:Lakers 104, Houston 94

Game 3:Houston 104, Lakers 98

Game 4: Houston 102, Lakers 94

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, 2 Boxes

Photo: (1--color) It was that kind of night for the Lakers, as Cedric Ceballos has the ball stripped away by Houston's Robert Horry.

(2) Lakers' Magic Johnson, right, is in the vicinity, but Houston forward Chucky Brown is in better position to pull down this rebound.

Associated Press

Box: (1) LAKERS vs. ROCKETS (see text)

(2) Missing Magic