A Sweep Would Be So Sweet : Lakers: They have the chance to win three in a row over Rockets. That didn’t seem likely a week ago.

HOUSTON â€”  Break on through to the other side?

The Lakers take the floor for tonight’s Game 3 with a 2-0 lead and the inviting prospect of being able to knock out the Houston Rockets early, an enviable thought after it was widely predicted that “the team nobody wants to meet in the playoffs,� would carry the Lakers to five games or even beat them.

A victory tonight would guarantee that the Lakers would be better rested than their next opponent, the favored San Antonio Spurs or the guerrilla-fighting Golden State Warriors, now deadlocked, 1-1.

A victory tonight, however, won’t come easily.

Ask the home team.

After their Game 2 loss, Rocket Coach Don Chaney mused that the Lakers “hit the shots they needed to make,� a polite suggestion that if the Lakers can make seven three-pointers in one half again, he’ll be one surprised Duck, not to mention a dead one.

Less subtly, Vernon Maxwell, who knows a thing or two about difficult shots, said, point-blank, they can’t.

“I doubt it,� Maxwell said. “(The Forum) is their floor.�

Down 0-2, the Rockets are searching for reasons to believe and answers to the question of what happened to their bubble. The answers are simple enough. Their edge at center diminished when Vlade Divac (with help) all but played Hakeem Olajuwon to a standstill. The Rockets’ running game stalled and they found it hard to exist on long jump shots.

Chaney is concerned about being dragged down to the Lakers’ pace and into a half-court game, where Laker execution and team defense have prevailed.

“That’s a big concern of mine,� Chaney said. “They’re a very good half-court defensive team, and I think they get back real well.�

That’s his problem. The pace the Lakers are playing is pretty standard for everyone in the playoffs, when coaches and players become more conscious about getting back on defense.

And Rocket woes predate this series. They have now failed to score 100 points in nine of 11 games, which coincides with the time when Kenny Smith’s arch turned sore, or when the Rockets stopped working the way they had been.

The Lakers are less likely to see the cornered Rockets hit them with a wave of fast breaks than try to take the initiative by beating on the Lakers with their big front line. Larry Smith, guiding light of the Rockets’ midseason turnaround, has played only 32 minutes so far. But if the Rockets want to pound the Lakers into jelly, watch out for Mr. Mean.

Thus, Divac’s trial by fire continues. He may not get 23 points and 10 rebounds, but Coach Mike Dunleavy wants him to keep getting in Olajuwon’s way.

“I expect 15 straight games of the effort he gave Saturday,� Dunleavy said. “That’s one constant nobody can stop you from giving.�

In Divac’s current predicament, nobody can save him if he doesn’t, either.

Laker Notes

Terry Teagle, having served his one-game suspension, rejoins the Lakers. Teagle got in only four minutes in Game 1 before he was ejected for punching rookie Dave Jamerson. . . . Jamerson, who had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in 14 minutes of Game 1, didn’t play in Game 2. Said Don Chaney, second-guessing himself: “I guess I didn’t have the guts to use him.� . . . History: A year ago in the opening round of the playoffs, the Rockets, a 41-41 team, lost two tough games in the Forum, then won Game 3, 114-109. . . . Chaney, asked if the Lakers are the best in the NBA: “Not to take anything away from the Lakers, but no. I think Portland is the best team in the league right now. . . . James Worthy is shooting 38% in the series, Magic Johnson 36%. . . . Vernon Maxwell, on the Rockets’ problem in this series: “We never doubt that we’re as good as they are. We have a lot of individual athletes. We lack experience.� And Maxwell, asked two minutes later if experience is a problem: “You guys talk about experience--it’s just about ability. That other stuff, that’s . . . nothing.�