The Play Is the Thing They Remember About Worthy : His Diving Pass to Magic While Going Out of Bounds Helps Put Lakers on Top for Good

James Worthy was drenched with champagne as delirious well-wishers congratulated him in the Laker locker room.

Way to go, James!

What a play!

Ah yes, the play .

Years from now, Worthy will be telling his grandkids about the play that he made Sunday in Game 6 of the 1987 National Basketball Assn. finals, which enabled the Lakers to re-establish their purple reign.

Play it again, James.

The Lakers trailed the Celtics by a point early in the third quarter when Worthy stole Kevin McHale’s pass intended for Dennis Johnson.

Worthy stepped between McHale and D. J., picked off the pass and raced down the left sideline with Magic Johnson leading the fast break.

It looked like just another routine break.

However, the overextended Worthy lost his balance, and it appeared that he was going to fumble the ball out of bounds.

But wait.

Just before he went down, Worthy miraculously managed to scoop the ball to Magic, and Magic went in for a dunk to give the Lakers a 57-56 lead.

The crowd went crazy.

Laker Coach Pat Riley thought Worthy’s play was the turning point.

“James made the play of the series,” Riley said. “When he dove out of bounds and made that save, it told me we weren’t going to lose.”

The Lakers never trailed again en route to beating the Celtics, 106-93, for their fourth NBA title of the 1980s.

And Worthy’s play started it all.

The Lakers blitzed the Celtics, 18-2, in the first 7 minutes 22 seconds of the third period to turn a 56-51 halftime deficit into a 69-58 lead. Worthy had two dunks and an assist to Magic during the spurt. L.A. wound up outscoring Boston, 30-12, in the third period to put the title away.

Worthy said he didn’t see Magic at first.

“I never saw him until the last second. I knew I didn’t have a good chance of retrieving it. My main object was just to keep the ball alive.”

Johnson said: “When James went down on the floor that was the best play to me. I expected him to save it, and I kept running. If I didn’t run and he saves it, we lose two points, we lose the crowd and we lose everything.

“James is a money man. He’s been there before. I’m not surprised. Me and James had to take over when Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) went out (44 seconds into the second half after picking up his fourth foul).”

After scoring 33 points in Game 1 and 23 points in Game 2, Worthy went into a slump against the Celtics at the Boston Garden, scoring just 13 points in Game 3. He showed signs of coming out of it with 21 points in Game 4 but had only 12 points in Game 5 as the Celtics cut the Lakers’ series lead to 3-2.

He made just 21 of 55 shots in the three games at Boston.

“I picked the wrong time to go into a slump,” Worthy said. “But we’re paid not to crack. You’re going to have some bad games.

“I wasn’t going to quit. This team depends on me too much.

“It would have been easy for me to crawl under a rock after Boston. Everybody wrote me off in the press back there. But coming home made a big difference for me. It’s not easy to spend seven days on the road in a hotel.”

But Worthy apparently regained his confidence and his shooting touch Sunday when the series shifted back to Los Angeles.

Worthy didn’t waste any time establishing himself as an offensive force in the first period.

“James came back after the downfall he had in Boston,” Laker guard Michael Cooper said. “He showed the sign of a true champion to come back like he did. That’s what this is all about, making it happen.”

Worthy dominated the game early, scoring six of the first eight points as the Lakers took an 8-2 lead. Worthy’s first basket came on a power dunk off a fast break on a pass from Magic. For Worthy’s next trick, he went around Boston star Larry Bird for a little three-foot bank shot from the left side. Then Worthy scored on a 10-foot turnaround shot over Celtic forward Kevin McHale in the key.

“James worked his (bleep) off in practice Saturday,” Riley said. “I wasn’t surprised that he had a big game. He just made the shots, and he was more patient defensively. He had a great playoffs and a great year.”

Said Worthy: “The first couple of times I got the ball, I made strong moves to the basket. I wanted to make a statement. I felt it was important for me to come out early and get involved in the offense. I felt it was important for me to get established quickly because I hadn’t played well on their court.”

Worthy had 16 points in the first half, including 10 in the second period. He scored eight consecutive points in a two-minute span midway through the second period.

Worthy hit 7 of his first 10 shots and 2 of 3 free throws in the first half.

“I took the same shots I took in Boston, but sooner or later the shots are going to fall,” Worthy said. “I wasn’t before, but I’m a strong believer in the home-court advantage.”

Worthy finished with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots before he fouled out with 5:27 left in the game.

“He (Worthy) is the best small forward in the Western Conference,” said Laker Mychal Thompson, who came off the bench to score 15 points and grab 9 rebounds. “Larry Bird and James Worthy are 1-A and 1-B as the best small forwards in the league.”

Worthy dominated the game inside. Of Worthy’s 10 baskets, 4 came on dunks off the fast break and 2 on layups.

Said Kurt Rambis of Worthy: “He’s a clutch ballplayer. He always delivers. I’d be surprised if he hadn’t delivered.”

Worthy also did a good job on defense, shutting down Bird.

Bird, who had been averaging 25.8 points in the finals, had just 8 points in the first half, and he finished with 16 points. Bird hit just 6 of 16 shots.

“I played just a little more aggressively on defense,” Worthy said. “I didn’t allow him (Bird) to get the easy baskets.”

Worthy was asked how he was going to celebrate his second NBA title in five seasons with the Lakers.

“I’m going to go to sleep,” Worthy said.

Will the Lakers repeat next season?

“I’ll let you know in October,” Worthy said. “I’ve got 2 1/2 months to celebrate. I don’t care about next year.”