Lakers Sizzle, Rockets Fizzle, 119-107 : Kareem Has 31, Magic 26 as L.A.’s Running Game Burns Houston in Opener

What does it mean when Michael Cooper pulls up on the fast break just so he can shoot a three-pointer?

What happens when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar actually lunges into the first row of seats to save a loose ball?

What is the only possible outcome when Magic Johnson wends his way through four players--the Twin Towers and two condominiums--and throws in a shot off the glass?

The answers are, in order, three points, the start of a fast break and two points.

Through all of Saturday’s game at the Forum, a game they won, 119-107, the Lakers had more answers than the Houston Rockets had questions. They also had more points, and now the Lakers have something else: a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Western Conference final series.

Abdul-Jabbar, who is supposed to be one tired old-timer, scored 31 points in 35 minutes, though he shot only a handful of skyhooks. And Magic Johnson, who is supposed to be one overworked young-timer, scored 26 points to go along with 18 assists as the Lakers welcomed the Rockets to the Big One in the playoffs.

If there was a single advantage that the Lakers exploited in Game 1, it was in the backcourt, where, except for Mitchell Wiggins, the Rocket guards did not shoot the ball well enough to prevent the Lakers from getting out and running.

When it got to be that kind of game, the Rockets were already out of it.

By the time Cooper coaxed in a breakaway layup with just under 10 minutes to play, the Lakers were controlling a 100-86 lead, but they had also outscored the Rockets, 40-15, on the fast break.

This was something new and different for the Lakers, who were burned repeatedly in the Dallas series. But these are the Rockets, and the Lakers believe they’ve got an edge.

“We don’t think they can keep up with us running,” Laker forward Kurt Rambis said. “It really isn’t suited to them, as big as their team is.”

Akeem Olajuwon held his own inside and put up remarkable numbers: 28 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocked shots. But 7-4 Ralph Sampson never really got involved and wound up with 19 points and 6 rebounds.

Sampson also finished work early. Coach Bill Fitch removed him with 4:25 left and the Lakers ahead, 110-97. Sampson didn’t come back, and neither did the Rockets.

“I was very surprised,” Sampson said about staying on the bench. “I thought I was getting it done on the court, but I was getting the ball only one out of every 10 times down the court. Maybe the coach thought I was tired.”

Fitch said he did, indeed, want to rest Sampson and intended to bring him back if the game got close. But since it didn’t, Fitch didn’t.

So now, it’s back to studying the game plan for Fitch, who was asked if he would change anything for Game 2 Tuesday night.

“Yes, I’m going to change every damn thing,” he said.

That might not be a totally bad idea. The Rockets may not have played as well as they can, but the Lakers were seldom prevented from doing exactly what they wanted to do, which was to run like crazy.

No one did it any better than Johnson. He was either running up the floor or falling on it. The Lakers got a brief scare in the third quarter when Johnson bumped knees with Rocket guard Lewis Lloyd, fell in a heap and limped to the bench. The Lakers led by only three points at the time.

As it turned out, the bruise was to Johnson’s left knee, not the right knee that he had injured when he ran into Phoenix’s Larry Nance, causing him to miss seven games.

Johnson sat out only a little more than a minute this time, and when he returned, the game swung quickly.

James Worthy scored on a three-point play after taking a pass from Johnson; then, after Lewis Lloyd missed from long range, Magic weaved through four Rocket defenders in the middle and broke away for a layup and a 77-68 Laker lead.

The Rockets were still hanging close, 80-72, when Rambis scored, followed by a play that Abdul-Jabbar must have been saving just for the playoffs.

First, Abdul-Jabbar poked the ball away from Sampson, then he went after it.

Just before the ball went out of bounds, Abdul-Jabbar got a hand on it and flung it back to Byron Scott to begin another breakaway.

Johnson took the pass and immediately slowed down, but when he saw the Rocket defense relax momentarily, he rifled the ball to Rambis, who scored for an 84-72 lead.

The Rockets never came closer than eight points thereafter. And they may have to shoot better, especially the guards, if the results are going to be much different in the rest of the series.

Lloyd was 2 of 7 in 22 minutes, Reid 4 of 12 and Allen Leavell 4 of 11. Only Wiggins, who had 24 points in 26 minutes, scored consistently from the outside. He made 10 of 16 shots.

“They didn’t shoot as well as Dallas did,” Johnson said, “and that takes away from the guards and puts it on the frontcourt and inside game.”

In the first half, which ended with the Lakers up, 64-58, Abdul-Jabbar had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, which was countered nicely by Olajuwon’s 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Sampson had 11 points in the first half.

Scott thought the Lakers did a good job of containing the Twin Towers.

“We didn’t let them get loose like they can, but it’s going to be tough to do that for the whole series,” he said.

Laker Notes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said he is definitely not tired. “The only thing tired around here is Tommy Heinsohn’s commentary,” he said. Heinsohn, the CBS-TV commentator, has remarked several times that the key to playing Abdul-Jabbar is to make him shoot the ball enough that he is worn out late in the game. . . . Laker Coach Pat Riley changed his defensive matchups against the Rockets for the first time this season. James Worthy took Lewis Lloyd, Byron Scott took Robert Reid, and Magic Johnson took Rodney McCray. “James can play any off-guard in the league if he’s focused,” Riley said. Worthy’s offense suffered (5-of-13 shooting for 12 points), but he said he is only following orders. “I just do what the boss says,” he said. “I don’t question that. It ain’t an easy job, though.” Riley said the Lakers will continue to pressure the Rocket point guard as long as it’s the 6-8 Reid, normally a forward. “Robert’s done a great job for them, but they don’t have a real point guard,” Michael Cooper said. “I think it’ll work to our advantage.” . . . Mitchell Wiggins said the main adjustment the Rockets must make is to play better defense against the fast break: “If we eliminated half of those easy layups they got, it would have been an even ball game.” . . . The game marked a first for Laker rookie A.C. Green--for the first time this season, he did not play. . . . Coming into this series, the Lakers have won 12 consecutive conference playoff series. They have won more playoff series (57), playoff games (233), home playoff games (152) and road playoff games (81) than any franchise in NBA history. . . . Maurice Lucas had seven rebounds in 24 minutes to match Magic Johnson for the team high, although the Rockets outrebounded the Lakers, 41-35. . . . So far in the playoffs, Johnson’s ratio of assists to turnovers is 100-18.