Kareem Comes to the Lakers’ Rescue : Abdul-Jabbar Brings Offense Back to Life as L.A. Wins, 116-101

So, the Lakers don’t always resemble something out of an Esther Williams swimming pageant played at fast-forward speed, elegant motion in breakneck sync, as in Tuesday night’s 49-point third quarter.

There are occasions when they bring to mind the drowning scene in “The Poseidon Adventure,” out of control like passengers on a sliding deck. That was the case at times Thursday night, when the Lakers committed 25 turnovers and were victimized for 16 steals. But at no time in the playoffs can it be said the Lakers have lacked buoyancy.

Those are the Golden State Warriors grasping for a lifeline after catching the Lakers at less than their best and still coming away 116-101 losers Thursday night before a sellout crowd of 17,505 at the Forum.

The win gave the Lakers a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals and left the Warriors with an upstream swim as they return to the Bay Area for Games 3 and 4 this weekend at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The Warriors, down by 14 points in the first half and by 7 after three quarters, 85-78, drew within arm’s length of the Lakers early in the fourth quarter, 85-82.

But that’s when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar rose above the surface of an inartistic game to toss in two straight sky-hooks, starting the Lakers on a 16-4 run that sank the Warriors.

“It looked like we had them searching a little,” Golden State Coach George Karl said. “But they found their answer.”

Abdul-Jabbar finished with 25 points, 12 in the fourth quarter to lead the Lakers. Magic Johnson, limited to 33 minutes by foul trouble, had 23 points, and James Worthy 20.

Center Joe Barry Carroll had 22 for Golden State.

The Warriors, with Eric (Sleepy) Floyd taking just one shot in the first half, fell behind by as many as 14 points in the second quarter but drew within seven at halftime, 58-51.

They tied the Lakers, 68-68, when Floyd fed Chris Mullin for a reverse layup with 4:34 left in the third quarter, but the Lakers responded with nine straight points in their big run and were ahead, 85-78, at the end of the quarter.

A basket by Terry Teagle, a steal by Carroll from Abdul-Jabbar and two free throws by Teagle brought Golden State back, but that was the Warriors’ last thrust of the night.

Abdul-Jabbar threw in a sky-hook, then Worthy tipped the ball away from Carroll, and Purvis Short rushed an airball that resulted in a 24-second violation.

Another Abdul-Jabbar sky-hook and it was 89-82; Teagle put up a wild one-hander from almost behind the backboard, and Byron Scott sent Michael Cooper away for a fast-break basket that made it 91-82.

Karl called time out, but after Carroll broke free for a lay-in, Cooper fed Mychal Thompson for an easy basket, Abdul-Jabbar blocked a shot by Carroll, and Thompson spotted Scott for a breakaway jam that gave the Lakers a double-figure lead, 95-84.

It wasn’t pretty--Karl called it “bad NBA playoff basketball”--but for the Lakers, it would do.

“I don’t expect to sustain double-digit leads throughout the playoffs,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “The first team that made a breakaway obviously was going to have the edge.”

Despite the Laker turnovers, the Warrior effort left Karl unimpressed.

“I was disappointed in our intensity and aggressiveness,” Karl said. “We’re the underdog. We’re the team being maligned by you guys in the (bleeping) papers.

“But we lost just about every battle for loose balls and rebounds.”

The Warriors also were big losers at the foul line, where the Lakers cashed in 30 of 39 chances and the Warriors were 15 of 16.

“The aggressive team shoots free throws,” Karl said. “They shot 23 more times than us tonight. We could blame the referees for bad calls, but I believe the referees honor the aggressive team.”

As usual, no one had to wind up Cooper. The Laker guard didn’t drop any three-point bombs on the Warriors, but he matched his career playoff high with 12 assists and also had 8 rebounds in addition to his 12 points.

The crowd was calling for Cooper as early as the game’s first three minutes, which was as much a vote for Cooper as it was a shot at Scott, who was having trouble getting his shot to drop.

Scott made just 2 of 9 shots in the first half, when he also survived a fearsome collision with Greg Ballard of the Warriors, and finished by hitting just 5 of 14 for 13 points.

“I can hear it, but it doesn’t really cross my mind,” Scott said. “My shot’s not falling, so the only other thing I can do is do other things.”

Scott did have seven assists and drew praise from Riley for his defense on Floyd, who finished with 11 points and 12 assists despite a strained left hamstring.

“It’s their turn now to show what they can do on their home court,” Riley said, mindful that the Lakers have lost twice to Golden State in Oakland.

“All we’ve done is hold service.”