When Magic Gets an Elbow, Lakers Get Going and Beat Pacers, 122-100

It took some serious finger-pointing by Magic Johnson, who had just taken an elbow to the head, to whip the Lakers into some sort of Sunday-night fever and get them serious about beating the Indiana Pacers, which they did, 122-100.

Not until the third quarter at the Forum, when the Pacers’ Bill Garnett stuck his left elbow in Johnson’s right cheekbone, did the Lakers appear to be very interested.

But inspiration is where you find it, and Johnson discovered his the instant Garnett’s elbow connected with his face.

From that moment on, the Lakers increased a five-point lead to 84-69 four minutes later. Guess who did most of the damage?

Johnson, aching cheekbone and all, scored seven consecutive points in an 18-8 Laker run through the rest of the third quarter that finally subdued the Pacers.

“I’m looking up at the ball in the air and all of a sudden, boom, he hit me with his elbow,” Johnson said. “That set some sparks off in me. I just wanted the ball. I said ‘Give it to me, I’m upset.’

“Maybe it helped us,” he said. “He got the best of it, no question about it. I just felt the whole thing was unnecessary.”

Johnson had to be separated from Garnett by 6-11 Pacer Herb Williams, but that didn’t keep Johnson from jabbing his finger at Garnett or prevent him from getting in a quick shove that earned him a technical foul.

Garnett, Johnson said, later explained that somebody had elbowed him, too, so Johnson interpreted what transpired next as out-and-out retaliation.

Speaking in his own defense, Garnett said he didn’t think he had to offer one.

“Really, I didn’t think anything (happened),” Garnett said. “I was just going to the offensive boards and I didn’t even realize he was coming after me until I turned around and saw Herbie holding him.”

Garnett thought Johnson over-reacted a wee bit.

“Anytime you touch him, he cries,” Garnett said.

At least the Garnett-Johnson duet livened up what was otherwise a pretty routine evening. The Pacers, who have five rookies on the roster and are the youngest team in the league, aged rapidly once Johnson got upset.

Kurt Rambis was convinced the Lakers needed something to shake them up.

“This wasn’t just a game we were fooling around with,” he said. “Magic is our leader. He’s not going to take anything they dish out and back down.”

George Irvine, the Pacers’ coach, admitted that Johnson’s episode with Garnett gave the Lakers a lift.

“Maybe we should start jawing at people, too,” Irvine said. “We can’t start backing down to people just because they’re Magic Johnson.”

The Pacers didn’t receive much of anything from Williams and Clark Kellogg, but they got 21 points from first-year guard Tony Brown and 20 more from center Steve Stipanovich to stay close.

But the Pacers were pretty much out of it after the “discussion,” as Johnson called the incident with Garnett.

Laker Coach Pat Riley said what happened was a natural progression from the type of defense Brown was playing on Johnson.

“Magic will give and take because he’s a guy who gets hammered all the time taking the ball upcourt,” Riley said. “Eventually, he gets fed up.”

Eight Lakers wound up scoring in double figures, led by James Worthy with 18 points. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rambis and Johnson finished with 17 points apiece.

Take away one elbow and the big story would be Rambis. He had 15 rebounds and shot 8-for-10, including a 20-foot jump shot during garbage time.

Rambis, whose normal shooting range is about 19-feet shorter than that, said he recently discovered his jump shot.

“I found it in the attic,” he said. “I saw it up there covered with dust, so I decided to bring it down and use it.”

The Lakers also found out that Mitch Kupchak can play pretty well even with 40 stitches above his right eye. Kupchak worked for 12 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes backing up Abdul-Jabbar.

And, lastly, the Lakers found out they can play five games in six nights, win four of them, and maintain a 10-game lead over Phoenix. If it takes an elbow to the head to get them there, then that’s probably OK, too.

“Only next time, I wish they’d use somebody else,” Johnson said.