Magic Gives Hawks the Hook as Lakers Win Sixth Straight

Magic Johnson did something Friday night at the Forum that he hasn’t done in a long time. He amazed even himself.

It happened during the first quarter of the Lakers’ 120-111 victory over Atlanta, their sixth straight victory.

Described in a sentence or less, it was a 45-foot hook shot.

But some longtime visitors to the Forum were ready to write poems about it following the game, calling it the best shot they had seen since Jerry West’s 60-foot desperation basket in the 1970 championship series against the Knicks.

Oddly enough, it never would have happened if Johnson’s teammate, James Worthy, hadn’t almost thrown the ball into the backcourt from his position under the south basket.

Turning his back to the basket, Johnson chased the ball almost to the midcourt line. Only after retrieving it did he notice from looking at the 24-second clock over the north basket that time was running out on the Lakers.

With two seconds remaining on the shot clock, Johnson, who had one foot in the circle at midcourt, turned and heaved a hook shot. It hit nothing but net.

As the quarter came to an end a few seconds later, the crowd of 13,862 gave Johnson a standing ovation.

Worthy was disappointed afterward because he wasn’t credited with an assist.

Johnson called it a one-in-a-million shot.

“I was just hoping and praying it would hit the rim,” he said. “I got lucky. It was one of those magical things, I guess.

“It’ll go down as one of my best shots. No question. I’ll always remember that one.”

Laker Coach Pat Riley said Johnson practices the shot in practice every day.

That exact same shot?

“Oh,” Riley said, “maybe not that same shot.”

“We practice three-point shots but not that one,” Johnson said.

Worthy said he wasn’t surprised when he saw the ball fall through the net.

“I sort of expected it to go in,” Worthy said.

You expected it?

“He’s shot a lot of shots like that and come close,” Worthy said. “I knew it was only a matter of time before he made one.”

“He’s got sonar,” Riley said.

All of the Lakers did for a while in the first half Friday night. At one point, they had hit 18 of 21 shots. Johnson hit six in a row during that stretch.

For the game, he made 8 of 16 shots and finished with 23 points. The other starting guard, Byron Scott, had 21 points. Worthy had 19. Kurt Rambis had 10 rebounds. Johnson had 15 assists.

The Hawks’ best player also was a Johnson, guard Eddie. He had 29 points and 13 assists. Dominique Wilkins, the National Basketball Assn.’s new slam-dunk champion, had 19 points.

The Lakers built a 16-point first-half lead, cooled off while the Hawks cut it to four in the third quarter and then turned it back on again for a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Riley was pleased the Lakers weren’t looking ahead to the game Sunday afternoon at the Forum against Boston, the team that beat them in seven games for the championship last year and has beaten them in their only game against each other this season.

“If you look past Atlanta, they can beat you,” Riley said.

But even he admitted he has been looking forward to the game against Boston for a week. If the Lakers win, it will be his 200th victory as a head coach.

“It’s a big game for us,” Riley said. “We’ve lost some games to Boston we probably should have won. Somewhere along the line, we’re going to have to beat that team.

“It’s not a must game for us, but it’s a big game. We have to make a statement to ourselves that we can do it against them.”

The Lakers no doubt will have on their serious game faces before that one. But even though they played well enough Friday night, they also had fun.

Magic liked his no-look hook so much that he tried a couple of passes that way. Bob McAdoo was unable to hold on to one of them, killing a fastbreak, and the other went astray, but at least Magic was trying.

Mike McGee had a trick of his own, blowing a breakaway layup late in the game but then returning from off the court to get his own rebound and score on the followup.

The Hawks also had some fun. After rookie Kevin Willis got poked in the eye, he wandered aimlessly around while the Hawks tried to continue their offensive play.

The Laker defenders finally forgot about Willis, who had one hand over his eye. Left wide open, he called for a pass and hit a 15-foot jump shot. He also scored the next time he touched the ball. The injury must not have been to his shooting eye.

Laker Notes

Loyola Marymount will play host to four NBA teams today, when the Lakers, Hawks, Clippers and Celtics work out there. . . . The Celtics arrive in Los Angeles today after playing games Thursday night at Seattle and Friday night at Golden State. . . . The Hawks play the Clippers Sunday night at the Sports Arena. . . . After the game against the Celtics Sunday, the Lakers play six of their next seven games on the road. The Lakers are 14-11 away from the Forum. . . . With a 23-5 record, the Lakers had the league’s third-best home record behind Boston (23-2) and Philadelphia (20-4). . . . Atlanta’s starting off-guard, Doc Rivers, missed Friday night’s game with a sprained ankle. Guard Mike Glenn returned to the Hawks after missing 14 games with a sprained ankle. . . . Before Friday night, the Lakers had a shooting percentage of .539, ahead of their 1984 percentage of .532, which set a league record.