Lakers Win a Real Laugher, 105-92 : It’s a Romp Even Without Abdul-Jabbar, Rambis, Worthy

The Lakers made a few changes in their cast Saturday night in an amusing but meaningless game with the Sacramento Kings.

There was no Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, no Kurt Rambis and no James Worthy. So instead of the usual Showtime, it was the Petur and Geeter Show.

Petur Gudmundsson started at center, and Mike (Geeter) McGee got a lot of playing time at guard during the Lakers’ 105-92 victory before the usual full house of 10,333 at Arco Arena.

The atmosphere was more playground than playoff. Maybe that was why the Lakers committed 29 turnovers.

There were some unusual plays, like the 10-foot left-handed hook shot that Maurice Lucas hit in the fourth quarter.

Lucas, who scored 14 points to go along with 12 rebounds, wasn’t surprised his hook went in the basket, but he was glad it did.

“Otherwise, I might have been back sitting down on the bench,” he said.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of action on the bench, too. It all started during pregame introductions when Byron Scott lost a tooth. Nobody hit him. It just fell out.

Scott did all right without it, scoring 22 points in 27 minutes. Another bright spot was Mitch Kupchak, who had 14 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Both Gudmundsson and McGee performed well in their roles. But so did the Gorilla, brought over from Phoenix to entertain the fans.

The Gorilla, dressed in a gray suit and tie and wearing a black wig, did a perfect imitation of Laker Coach Pat Riley, who stopped talking to his team during a timeout to watch the act.

Riley playfully lifted the Gorilla’s wig but resisted when the Gorilla wanted to see if his hair was real.

“I just wanted to see what kind of hair spray he used,” Riley said.

Magic Johnson, who had eight assists in 21 minutes, said there wasn’t anything wrong with a little light-heartedness.

“You want to be loose,” he said. “Hey, let’s have some fun. There ain’t no pressure on nobody no more.”

For the last game of the regular season tonight at the Forum, Riley is planning a few more changes in his personnel.

Again, Rambis won’t play, resting because of a bruise above his right knee. Worthy and Johnson might get a few minutes, Riley said. But the chance of Abdul-Jabbar playing is “highly unlikely.” The Lakers said Abdul-Jabbar has an upper respiratory tract infection.

Laker Notes

The Lakers closed out their road record at 27-14, which tied the Celtics for the NBA’s best. . . . Down 47-45 at halftime, the Lakers turned the game around in the third quarter, when Magic Johnson scored 10 points, and stayed ahead in the fourth quarter with a trapping defense that confused the Kings. . . . LaSalle Thompson led Sacramento with 25 points. . . . The Kings finished the regular season with a 37-45 record.