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Lakers Sink to New Low : Pro basketball: They lead in first and are tied at half, but then go downhill fast in 103-76 loss to Warriors.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The roller coaster that is the Lakers’ season started back down again Thursday night, the drop getting steeper as the game went along.

From an 11-point lead in the first quarter, they fell back into a tie at halftime, to a 15-point deficit in the third period, to embarrassment in the fourth, ultimately resulting in a 103-76 loss to the Golden State Warriors before 15,025 at Oakland Coliseum Arena.

They have gone from a good showing against Cleveland to a gritty showing against the Clippers to a near no-show against Golden State.

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“With young people come inconsistencies,” Coach Randy Pfund said.

Kids do the darndest things. The only saving grace this time, on a night when Elden Campbell’s 15 points were a team high, was that the Lakers missed breaking their record low of 74 points set in 1990 against Cleveland. That and six steals by Anthony Peeler.

Otherwise, the Lakers got the book thrown at them in the second half, trailing by 13 heading into the fourth quarter and then falling behind by as many as 29 points. It marked the fourth time they have trailed by at least 23 points in the last seven outings.

“We’ve got some people who did not come to play tonight, for whatever reason,” Pfund said after the Lakers shot 33.3% and were beaten on the boards, 59-44.

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Both teams were in the dark early. Literally.

A circuit breaker malfunctioned a few minutes after 6 p.m., when players were arriving for warm-ups, causing the main lights to go out. The lights that continued to work were turned off so repairs could be made, resulting in about 30 minutes of darkness, though some Warriors shot around anyway.

It could only have helped. Golden State, once feared for its offense, came in averaging only 95.7 points, second-worst in the Western Conference. The Lakers had shot 31.2% and 39.3% in two of their previous three games, sandwiched around a 50% performance.

So what followed was hardly a surprise: A 19-point first quarter for the Warriors, helping the Lakers take a double-digit lead within 8:36 of tip-off, and a 43-point half for both teams.

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The Lakers had an 11-point lead, but the Warriors went on a 16-5 run to tie the score with 2:12 to play in the second quarter.

That momentum carried into the third quarter, when the Warriors used an 18-5 rally to take a 69-57 lead. It was 74-61 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers having managed only two field goals the previous five minutes.

Laker Notes

Sam Bowie still had a headache and the his head still had a bump a few inches above the neck, but he was back in the lineup Thursday at his familiar role as reserve center, 48 hours after a concussion from a fall against the Clippers left him frightened and in the hospital. “Obviously I’ve had some injuries in my career, but I’ve never been hit in the head,” said Bowie, who has a history of leg problems. “When you lose your memory and all your thoughts for a moment, it’s scary.” The concussion was regarded as mild and the hospitalization was only a precaution, but the events following his first-quarter fall under the basket after getting tangled with Clipper Bob Martin brought temporary and delayed amnesia. When trainer Gary Vitti rushed on the court, Bowie was able to answer basic questions to determine if he was coherent. A few minutes later, Bowie turned to teammate James Edwards on the bench and said, “When did we get Elden?” Elden Campbell had been activated earlier in the day, a red flag that earned Bowie a trip to the locker room, where he flunked the same questions he had answered a little while earlier. His memory eventually returned.

Eight games into the season, the projected starting lineup finally became reality: Campbell and Doug Christie at forward, Vlade Divac at center and Anthony Peeler and Nick Van Exel at guard. . . . Laker Coach Randy Pfund on Chris Webber, the No. 1 pick by the Magic only to be traded to the Warriors: “He’s special. It almost makes you wonder if Orlando knew what they were doing.” . . . The 70 rebounds by the Lakers in Tuesday’s double-overtime victory over the Clippers was the most in the NBA by a team since San Antonio had 75 in the 1982-83 season.

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