Rookie Point Guard Impressive as Lakers Win an Exhibition

After a week of beating up on one another twice daily in the desert, the Lakers finally met someone other than themselves in their exhibition opener Friday night at the Forum.

Overcoming early sluggishness, the Lakers took control during the second quarter and went on to score an easy 123-104 victory over the Chicago Bulls in a game that was artistically lacking but included several outstanding individual performances.

No one was better Friday night than Bull guard Michael Jordan, who scored 44 points on his usual assortment of acrobatic moves. Jordan made 14 of 20 shots and showed no signs of being hampered by his left foot, which he broke last season.

A crowd of 12,368 also was introduced to 5-foot 10-inch rookie point guard Andre Turner, who enhanced his already good chances of making the Laker roster with an impressive showing off the bench. Turner scored 11 points and jump-started the Laker fastbreak in the second quarter after the offense had been bogged down in the first quarter.

“(Turner) supplies us with a great dimension,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “He was under control tonight, and I was surprised with his pressure defense. I was highly impressed with him.”

James Worthy led the Lakers with 27 points, making 12 of 15 shots. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 19 and Magic Johnson 16. Kurt Rambis led the Lakers in rebounding with 11.