Lakers Waste Their Chance to Work Overtime : NBA: They are shut out in extra period as the Detroit Pistons score a 108-97 victory at the Forum.

When the Lakers’ lead swelled to 14 points in the second quarter, the Detroit Pistons were still there, fighting.

When the Lakers’ lead held steady near 10 points in the third quarter, the Pistons held on.

When the Lakers led by six with three minutes to play, the Pistons were ready to pounce.

And, by the time Friday night’s rematch of last season’s NBA finalists reached overtime at the Forum, the Pistons were poised for the kill. The Lakers, on the other hand, were about ready to call it a night.

What followed was five minutes of Piston domination, as the reigning NBA champions shut out the Lakers, 11-0, for a 108-97 victory.

In fact, the last Laker basket came with 3:02 to play in regulation, when Michael Cooper sank a jump shot for a 95-89 Laker lead. From there, though, it was nothing but free throws and missed shots for the Lakers.

Being shut out in overtime puts the Lakers in exclusive company. The only other NBA team to not score in an overtime period, according to the league guide, was the Houston Rockets, against the Portland Trail Blazers in 1983.

“Our objective was to just hang around,” Piston Coach Chuck Daly said. “If you hang around, just keep hanging around, some things will happen. And they did.”

The Pistons never relented. They cut that 14-point second-quarter lead to seven entering the second half; they reduced the 10-point deficit to six entering the fourth quarter, and overcame a nine-point Laker lead with 7:09 to play to send the game to overtime.

Actually, if the spin Joe Dumars had put on the ball had not been so severe, the Pistons would have beaten the Lakers in regulation.

Dumars’ running jumper from near the free-throw line rolled around the rim and slithered off.

Then came overtime. While the Lakers looked and played like a team that had completed 48 grueling minutes of basketball, the Pistons looked comparatively fresh.

Overtime began with 3:23 of scoreless basketball. But then Mark Aguirre, whose 25 points included several key baskets in the fourth quarter, broke the spell by making a layup.

Aguirre’s basket came after Laker center Mychal Thompson dropped the ball out of bounds, a harbinger of hard times to come.

Cooper was then called for an offensive foul, which led to a looping jump shot by Aguirre with 2:54 to play that made the score 101-97.

The abbreviated rout was on.

Detroit double-teammed Magic Johnson, who had 28 points, and forced the Lakers to seek other scoring. The Lakers failed, missing all six shots, and committed two turnovers.

“I think the overtime was a combination of things,” said Piston guard Isiah Thomas, who was held to 10 points.

“We pride ourselves on our defense, and we executed well. But it also was a little bit of them (not making shots).”

Bill Laimbeer, who was part of a three-way shoving match involving Thomas and A.C. Green in the first quarter, put it succinctly.

“That (overtime shutout) was lucky,” Laimbeer said. “You can’t shut somebody out without them missing shots that should go in. Make no mistake about it, we play great defense. But they missed some open shots.

“We kept persisting. We did not quit. We continued to play good defense and try to stay close. That’s the kind of team we are.”

The Lakers, 11-3 and trailing the Trail Blazers (12-3) in the Pacific Division, have proved to be that type of team as well. But Friday night, they simply were outlasted.

Granted, they had to play the last 4:23 of the third quarter and about half the fourth quarter without Johnson, who was in foul trouble. Granted, too, they had to go without guard Byron Scott, who had 15 points but fouled out with 4:18 to play.

But all told, the Lakers rolled over. After Cooper’s jump shot with 3:02 to play, Laker possessions ended with such calamities as James Worthy stepping on the baseline before making a layup, Johnson missing a skyhook and both Green and Worthy seeing their shots blocked by Laimbeer.

Despite all that, the Lakers had a chance. Green missed a three-point attempt with 7.6 seconds to play in regulation but was fouled by Thomas. Green sank both shots to make the score 97-97.

But overtime proved a disaster. Neither Coach Pat Riley nor Johnson offered excuses.

“We went dead in our tracks,” Riley said.

“I thought we had pretty good control of the game for 46 minutes. We just could not get anything going in overtime, but give them credit for their defense.

“They took it from us. They got aggressive in the last four or five minutes (of regulation). We became tentative in overtime and weren’t getting good shots.”

Johnson agreed.

“They just made the plays to win,” he said. “They made a statement that they are still the team to beat and, if we want it, we got to come get it from them.

“Tonight’s game, it was a measuring stick. And they brought a longer stick than we did. But this will not demoralize us.”

Thompson said: “It’s not finished yet. We’re just halfway through the novel.”

Laker Notes

Forward Orlando Woolridge, on the injured list after arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 17 to remove bone fragments from his right knee, said Friday he has been cleared to participate in a full practice with the team. Woolridge might return to action as soon as early next week.

Reserve center Mark McNamara did not suit up for Friday’s game so that doctors could monitor his heart with a mobile device. McNamara passed out briefly in his Sacramento hotel room Wednesday, but he said he felt well enough to play in Thursday night’s victory over the Kings. McNamara said he asked to visit a Laker internist Friday to be fitted with what he called a mobile EKG unit, about the size of a small radio. McNamara said he will wear the device for 24 hours and, pending results, will be cleared to play Sunday night against the New York Knicks. The Lakers, apparently, were more concerned about McNamara passing out than McNamara, who was slow to recover from a virus recently. “I had been feeling a little lightheaded that day, and when I got up to answer the door when the maid knocked, I opened it and, I guess, fell backward right in front of the maid,” McNamara said. “I fell straight back. I was lucky I didn’t hit my head on anything. I do have a big scratch on my arm. I woke up about 10 seconds after I passed out. I didn’t want to go to the doctor, because I knew they’d do something like this to me. But Gary (Vitti, the Laker trainer) made me.”

Reserve forward Mel McCants, who suffered a sprained right ankle a week ago, apparently recovered more rapidly than expected. McCants worked out with the team Friday and dressed for the game.