Lakers Run Knicks Right Out of Forum In Their 111-88 Win

The Lakers, who care about style almost as much as substance, usually don’t like playing the New York Knicks. It’s not that the Knicks are particularly difficult to beat, just that they often make the Lakers radically alter the manner in which they go about winning.

But the Knicks’ appearance at the Forum Sunday night did not turn into a typical slow-tempo, pressure-defense affair that inhibits the Lakers’ running game. Instead, it was the Lakers who pressured the Knicks on defense and then ran them off the court for a 111-88 win that provided the sellout crowd of 17,505 with unexpected visual delights.

The problem of the Knicks’ twin 7-footers and hounding defense was easily solved this time. The Knicks were forced into 22 turnovers, and they shot a miserable 41.5%. That enabled Lakers to segue into their fastbreak mode and win for the third time in four games.

The season is still young, but the Lakers have so far followed Coach Pat Riley’s mandate that they will run even more than in the past. They did it against the short, quick Denver Nuggets on Friday night and did it even more impressively against the methodical Knicks.

In both games, defense did it for the Lakers.

“We knew we had to run on them, and we knew that (defense) was the only way to do it against them,” Laker guard Byron Scott said. “We just had to pressure them for 48 minutes. Somewhere along the line, they were bound to crack.”

The first signs of the Knicks’ undoing came in the first six minutes of the second quarter, when the Lakers put together a dizzying 17-4 run to open a 17-point lead. From that point, the Knicks dissolved under the Lakers’ pressure, falling behind by 31 points early in the fourth quarter.

Four of Laker starters spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench, but an ill Magic Johnson went back to the locker room to lie down. Having scored 21 points and having passed for 15 assists, Johnson’s work was done for the night.

Scott had only 10 points, but he contributed 4 steals and caused many other New York turnovers. James Worthy, who had 18 of his 22 points in the first half, started nearly as many fastbreaks as he finished by contributing 4 steals and grabbing 4 rebounds.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar added 15 points, marking the unprecedented 700th consecutive time in his career that the 39-year-old center has scored in double figures.

Fittingly, the basket that gave Abdul-Jabbar double figures on Sunday was a rare (for him) fastbreak layup. It happened with 2:20 left in the second quarter and Lakers comfortably ahead. Abdul-Jabbar found himself on the right wing and dropped in a layup on the run as if he were a 6-2 guard instead of a 7-2 center.

Afterward, Abdul-Jabbar said he wasn’t even aware that his consecutive double-figure streak had reached 700.

“I thought it was somewhere in the 600s,” he said. “It’s great, but the victory is better.”

Abdul-Jabbar seemed much more impressed with the Lakers’ defense, which probably would have made even a defensive purist such as Knick Coach Hubie Brown satisfied.

“We were able to run so much because we got the defensive effort and we didn’t give them a whole lot of second shots,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

Worthy said that the Lakers, if so inclined, could play what he termed New York’s bump-and-grind style and still win. But, why do that when it’s so much more fun to run?

“That’s our game,” Worthy said. “We can’t emphasize that enough. When the Lakers aren’t running, the Lakers aren’t playing. We have to approach every game thinking we’re going to run.”

But all the Lakers have heard so far this season is that they are going to have problems with big front lines. The Knicks certainly had one, starting 7-1 Bill Cartwright, 7-0 Patrick Ewing and 6-8 rookie Kenny Walker.

“Every game is a test,” said Laker reserve center Frank Brickowski, who had, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 fouls. “Obviously, we didn’t just beat Boston or Houston, but this was a big game for us.”

The Knicks, whose 22 turnovers resulted in 28 Laker points, were caught at the end of a five-game trip that resulted in four losses. Brown blamed the latest loss on the tough schedule and the tough Laker defense rather than the Knicks’ ineptitude.

“The Lakers took us out of our game,” Brown said. “They were quick, they doubled-down hard on defense. It was the best defense they’ve played against us since I’ve been in New York.”

The Knicks were led by Ewing and Rory Sparrow, who each scored 14 points. Louis Orr and Ewing each had nine rebounds and all Knick players contributed mightily to the turnover total.

The Lakers had 16 turnovers, and many of those were committed by reserves in the fourth quarter. Although the Lakers’ 29-point lead after three quarter was cut a little in the fourth, it was important to rest the starters.

Also, A.C. Green made his second appearance after tearing a ligament in his thumb. Green played tentatively in 12 minutes, making 1 of 5 shots and gingerly grabbing 5 rebounds with his left thumb heavily wrapped.

Laker Notes

The Lakers don’t play again until Wednesday, when they host the Seattle SuperSonics. . . . Laker guard Magic Johnson was awarded the NBA/American Express man of the year award. . . . Interestingly, Laker forwards Kurt Rambis and Frank Brickowski used to be Knicks. Rambis was New York’s third-round pick in 1980, Brickowski the Knicks’ third-round pick in 1981. Both players went to Italy before returning to the NBA. . . . Going into Sunday night’s game, the Lakers actually had a better three-point shot percentage (54.5%) than field-goal percentage (51.2%). The only Lakers to attempt three-point shots had been Michael Cooper (3 of 6) and Byron Scott (3 of 5). . . . After a six-day wait, Laker reserve center Petur Gudmundsson will undergo back surgery today.