L.A. AT ITS WORST IN THIRD.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

It started so slowly, so innocently, no one could have imagined the mayhem that was to follow.

The Lakers began the third quarter poorly Monday but were trailing only 56-51 when Blazers guard Steve Smith drove the lane for a routine layup.

Then a jump ball between Shaquille O'Neal and Rasheed Wallace turned into an easy Portland fastbreak. When Wallace drained an 11-foot jumper, things were picking up steam, but still far from out of control.

Only it never did let up, the flood kept raging, pounding on the Lakers until the Blazers had gone on a jaw-dropping, game-turning 20-0 run.

The Lakers trailed 76-53 at the end of the third quarter. They still played the final quarter, the Lakers falling 106-77 in Game 2 of their series with the Blazers, one that they may well remember deep into their summer.

``We didn't bring our `A' game tonight,'' O'Neal said.

Not their ``B'' or ``C'' games, either. It was their worst loss of the year, and that playoff home-court advantage they had fought so hard for during the regular season was lost.

``We didn't lose home-court, we just got beat one basketball game tonight,'' maintained Lakers guard Ron Harper. ``This series is going to be a dogfight. They're a good team and played a great ballgame.''

The third quarter was a complete Lakers meltdown. No element of their game emerged untarnished. No area where they weren't completely beaten. No player left unscathed.

The more aggressive Blazers exposed L.A. weaknesses, exploited their strengths, and just generally took charge.

Wallace drained 3-pointers, controlled the boards and looked at the officials any way he wanted. He had 11 points and five rebounds in the quarter.

The 6-8 Smith posted up the 6-7 Kobe Bryant like he was a dwarf. Scottie Pippen drove to the basket like days of old. Greg Anthony came off the bench and made like Oscar Robertson.

All while the Lakers fumbled and bumbled through their worst quarter of the season, their feet stuck in something unseen. All while Lakers coach Phil Jackson watched without calling a timeout.

``I take credit for this,'' Jackson said. ``I left them to hang out to dry a little too long and try and find their own way back out of that morass, and they just couldn't find their way out.''

The Lakers hit just 2 of 15 field goals in the third period. They were outrebounded 14-5. They turned the ball over five times.

The Lakers scored but eight points in the entire quarter, matching their record team-low for a playoff game.

The Blazers kept swarming around O'Neal down low, and the Lakers kept firing blanks from outside. They did not score a field goal in the last six minutes of the quarter, a pair of Bryant free throws at its end preventing a complete shutout.