McGee Scores 41 as the Lakers Win

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn’t play at all, Magic Johnson and James Worthy didn’t play much, and still the Lakers beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 145-131, at the Forum Friday night as Mike McGee got considerable playing time and responded with 41 points.

With the playoff pecking order already set for the Lakers and with no playoffs in sight for the Sonics, this game was played for the record books.

The routine victory for the Lakers ran their home-court winning streak to 17 in their last home game of the regular season.

With only one game remaining before the playoffs--at Kansas City Sunday--the Lakers have won 61 games and lost 20, their second-best record ever. The best record, 69-13, belongs to the 1971-72 team.

Seattle’s record dropped to 31-50. But then, the Sonics didn’t expect anything else. Things have not been going well for them, at all. Center Jack Sikma has missed the last 13 games because of a torn ligament in his left hand, and the Sonics have lost 12 of those games.

Thursday night, the Sonics lost to Dallas, 124-80.

So there wasn’t much danger for the Lakers in letting Abdul-Jabbar sit out the game to rest a sore right knee. He’ll need it later. He’s also going to skip the trip to Kansas City Sunday.

Johnson (who will stay home with Abdul-Jabbar Sunday) and Worthy did start the game, but they sat down with 5:39 remaining in the first period.

McGee was therefore able to play 32 minutes and produce not only the career-high 41 points but also a career-high 9 rebounds.

Mitch Kupchak, who started, had 29 points, his career high with the Lakers. And Ronnie Lester, with 15 points and 11 assists, and Kurt Rambis, with 18 points, had season-high totals.

Of the Laker ability to win without Johnson and Worthy, Seattle Coach Lenny Wilkens said: “They keep the pressure up, keep things going their way. I think they’ve got the best team in the NBA at this point.”

Laker Coach Pat Riley said: “It was very gratifying to see our second unit play most of the game and dominate in most areas. Now, we see why some of them complain about playing time--they can play. . . . They got a chance to convert short minutes into long minutes. when you see what Mike McGee can do over 40 minutes, it’s scary.”

When Johnson and Worthy left the game, the Lakers were up by 7 points. By the end of the first quarter, they were up by 19. That lead went to 22 before Sonic guard Al Wood hit a hot streak. Wood, who had 21 points at halftime and 35 points by game’s end, scored 15 of the Sonics’ next 17 points as they closed within 13.

The Laker lead was still 13 at the half, but in the third period, they broke away, leading by as many as 26, to make it the kind of game for filling out highlight films--no one need be left out.

The fans’ favorite, 7-5 center Chuck Nevitt, even got in on the act, receiving a big reaction from the crowd for a nice, crisp pass inside to Lester, who scored to give the Lakers a 19-point lead in the waning minutes.

Laker Notes

The Laker record of 36-5 at home tied the home-court record of the 1971-72 team, which also had the club’s longest winning streak (33 games). Only the 1976-77 team and the 1979-80 team, both 37-4, had better home-court records. . . . By evening their series with Seattle at 3-3 Friday night, the Lakers finished the season with the distinction of not having lost a season series with any team in the league. They tied some. . . . The Lakers will be playing the Kings Sunday in their last game in Kansas City. The club is moving to Sacramento next season.