MOTOWN LETDOWN LAKERS SET PLAYOFF LOW IN POINTS AS PISTONS RACE TO 2-1 EDGE.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - The thickest and proudest among them was propped up by a brace, the most dynamic among them was strikingly ordinary and the one often called most dominant was mostly dormant, and it all led the Lakers to the only place it could.

With the championship on the line and the shadow of four superstars still defining their fate, the Lakers hit a historic low point Thursday night and edged closer to an ignominious end.

Routed 88-68 by the Detroit Pistons at the Palace, the Lakers set a Los Angeles-era low for points in a playoff game and fell behind 2-1 in the NBA Finals.

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, who for three championship runs powered the Lakers to the parade route, combined for 25 points. Karl Malone dragged around on a bad knee. Gary Payton was with them.

It was the least Hall-of-Famerish they have ever looked since joining forces last summer.

``I guess there's a first time for everything,'' said Devean George. ``It feels a little odd for our team. But we still feel there's hope. The series is not over.''

That the Lakers are talking of ``hope'' at all is a sign of how difficult things have become.

There was no sign of the offensive juggernaut that once caused opponents to recoil and wither. O'Neal was rarely involved. George shot a 3-pointer in transition that fell a foot shy of the rim. Bryant zipped a pass so errant that it sailed over every Laker player, coach, trainer and alumnus (Brian Shaw and Ron Harper) until it was finally caught by a member of Eminem's posse, four rows deep.

``We couldn't do anything right today,'' Payton said.

Aggression was a domain solely occupied by the Pistons, who pushed the action and pressed their advantage in athleticism, youth and depth. Detroit outrebounded the Lakers 51-39 and shot more than twice as many free throws, 30 to 13.

``They beat us to the punch,'' coach Phil Jackson said. ``They've shot almost two-to-one in free throws in this series ... and that a lot of times is a sign of the aggressor.''

The next two games are also at the Palace, with Game 4 on Sunday.

Detroit was hosting its first Finals game in 14 years. Somehow the Pistons looked far more at ease on the stage than the team that recently won three straight championships.

Richard Hamilton was steady and relentless, scoring 31 points. Chauncey Billups scored 19 points, each basket pushing Gary Payton closer to irrelevance. The Wallaces, Ben and Rasheed, hustled the Lakers into submission.

The Lakers never led in the game, the Pistons' advantage never dipped below 11 points in the second half.

``I'm shocked,'' Pistons coach Larry Brown said. ``You know, I'm a big fan of the Lakers. It's difficult with Karl's situation.''

The morning newspaper foretold of such disaster. The headline topping the sports section of the Detroit News declared, ``Ground is crumbling under Lakers dynasty,'' and pointed to Malone's fragile health, the team's aging core and the lack of depth on the roster.

It sounded reasonable, if slightly premature, until the Lakers took the court and made it all seem positively prescient.

Malone managed just 18 minutes on his sprained right knee. O'Neal banged around for 38 minutes and came up with just eight rebounds and no blocked shots. Payton turned in what has now become an almost standard performance: 6 points in 35 minutes.

Derek Fisher played just 16 minutes, finishing with 9 points and three turnovers. Rick Fox never got off the bench.

Jackson kept plugging in young guns where he could, but Slava Medvedenko and Devean George were typically erratic, Brian Cook too wide-eyed under the bright lights. And Game 2 darling Luke Walton could not replicate his smooth playmaking, finishing with as many turnovers as assists (two).

A 2-1 series deficit isn't the kind of thing that produces much panic among the Lakers, but O'Neal for one wants to see changes before the bottom falls out.

``I would personally like to see a guy like Bryon Russell play,'' O'Neal said. ``He's been in the league nine years, great shooter, pretty good defensive player, has been to the Finals twice. I really don't understand why he's not in the game.''

Hurried and out of synch, the Lakers never found an offensive concept that worked. They didn't score their 20th point until the 4:36 mark of the second quarter. They got to 30 with 56.6 seconds left in the first half.

And, finally, with one second left in the third quarter, the Lakers crossed the half-century mark, on a reverse layup by Fisher. They trailed 63-51 heading into the fourth quarter, looking inept but, miraculously, not yet done.

Then Detroit scored seven straight points to open the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 19 points and the Lakers to the edge of despair.

Two nights after sinking the 3-pointer that saved the series, Bryant had one of the worst playoff games of his career.

He reached halftime with a single point and missed his first five attempts from the field, finally scoring his first basket with 7:35 left in the third quarter. He reached the fourth quarter with just 7 points and finished with 11 - his lowest playoff total since scoring eight in Game 5 of the 2000 Finals, at Indiana.

Malone did what he could, playing with a sprained right knee, covered by a brace - the one he swore he wouldn't wear - and stayed on the court as long as necessary. In 18 minutes, he gamely defended Rasheed Wallace, grabbed four rebounds and hop-limped from possession to possession. He left the game for good with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter, the Lakers trailing by 14, and said he would try again Sunday.

``We're not searching for answers,'' Malone said. ``We just need one ballgame. It might not seem like a monumental task, but we just need one game here to go back home.''

Howard Beck, [phone]

howard.beck(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

14 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Lakers' Luke Walton (4) Kobe Bryant (1) and Kareem Rush sadly walk off the floor during their Game 3 loss to the Pistons on Thursday.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

(2) Chauncey Billups (1) goes to the basket between the Lakers' Kobe Bryant and Gary Payton.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

(3) KOBE BRYANT

(4) GARY PAYTON

(5) SHAQUILLE O'NEAL

(6) KARL MALONE

(7) DEVEAN GEORGE

(8) DEREK FISHER

(9) RICHARD HAMILTON

(10) CHAUNCEY BILLUPS

(11) BEN WALLACE

(12) RASHEED WALLACE

(13) TAYSHAUN PRINCE

(14) CORLISS WILLIAMSON

Box:

(1) NBA FINALS: LAKERS vs. PISTONS: Pistons lead best-of-seven series 2-1

(2) REPORT CARD

(3) A CLOSER LOOK: GAME 3

By Lauren Gustus