Lakers Give Seattle a Message : They Run Off to Their Sixth Straight Win, 103-94

Xavier McDaniel walked out of the Forum with his bald head intact Sunday night, but that doesn’t mean the Seattle SuperSonics avoided a Laker guillotine.

The Lakers won their sixth in a row, their defense chopping and dicing the SuperSonics into a 103-94 submission before a sellout crowd of 17,505 at the Forum.

McDaniel had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and didn’t so much as exchange a hello with Laker backup guard Wes Matthews, with whom he had scuffled a month ago in Seattle.

But the Lakers, who had lost by 18 in Seattle in their most one-sided defeat, held the SuperSonics without a basket in their first dozen possessions and maintained a double-figure lead until the outcome was no longer in doubt.

“We definitely wanted to let them know what time it was,” said Magic Johnson, who gave the Lakers a scare when he hurt his neck in the third quarter. He later returned to the game with what was described as a strain.

“We’re still here, we’re still the champs, and anybody coming through the West has to go through the Lakers.”

These days, the SuperSonics have had to pass through just about every place but home. They’re in the middle of a stretch where they’re playing just three home games in 31 days.

“Again, we’re not in the class of the Lakers,” Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said.

“Obviously, we’re the upstarts on the block. We’re coming. I feel we’ll certainly arrive before it’s over.”

For a while, there was a question whether Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would show up Sunday night. The Laker center missed his first seven shots and didn’t get his first basket until he made a little hook shot with 8:15 to go.

He had just one other basket and finished with nine points, the second time in three games and third time this season he’s been held below double figures.

Mychal Thompson, however, came off the bench to score 22 points and grab 7 rebounds, the second time this season he’s led the Lakers in scoring. James Worthy, who sat out Saturday’s win against the Clippers, didn’t start Sunday, but came off the bench to score 19.

Seattle, meanwhile, had no one to compensate for the near no-show by forward Tom Chambers. The most valuable player of last season’s All-Star Game made just one of seven shots, scored eight points, and spent the bulk of the fourth quarter with his legs crossed on the Seattle bench.

It was only last Thursday night that Chambers seemingly emerged from a season-long shooting slump with 42 points against Sacramento, but he had just six points Saturday night against Golden State and was not a factor here.

The other members of Seattle’s high-scoring troika--McDaniel and Dale Ellis (24 points) did their part, although Ellis was only 3 for 12 in the first half.

“I can’t tell you what’s going through Tom’s mind--only Tom knows,” Ellis said. “But it’s something he has to work out. He’s got to motivate himself.

“Last year, when there were three of us, it made us more of a threat. Teams had to match up with us. This year, we haven’t been able to accomplish that.”

The biggest impact Chambers made on this game was when Magic Johnson picked a defensive rebound off the floor, spun around to head upcourt, and collided head first into Chambers’ shoulder at the Seattle free-throw line.

Johnson lay on the floor for several minutes while being attended by trainer Gary Vitti and Dr. Steve Lombardo. He walked off the floor under his own power, and returned to the game with 4:56 left in the third quarter after sitting out just over five minutes.

“It happened so quickly,” said Johnson, who wore an ice pack as a collar after the game. “Once you mess with your neck, that’s the danger zone, you know.

“I was scared, especially the way it snapped back the way it did. I didn’t think about nothing but the pain. Tomorrow it’s going to be real sore.”

While there were no renewal of hostilities involving McDaniel, that’s not to say it was a night for peace on earth, good will to men. Seattle center Alton Lister and Laker forward A.C. Green drew double technicals after a heated exchange in the first quarter, and Seattle guard Danny Young said he blacked out briefly after running into Abdul-Jabbar’s elbow on a pick.

Green, who had 17 points and 9 rebounds after failing to make a basket in Seattle, said he didn’t know what caused Lister to flare. Lister was happy to inform him, however.

“A.C. plays with his elbows up a lot,” Lister said. “I ran into him, and I thought he did it intentionally. I got upset about that.

“That’s just the way he plays, but you can get hit like that. I want him to keep his elbows down.”

The physical play didn’t come as a surprise, except for those who believe they only have tong wars in the Eastern Conference.

“It was tough inside,” Mychal Thompson said. “There were blows to the stomach you don’t usually see. You have to be able to take it and give it, so it was physical both ways.”

Bickerstaff wanted to make it clear, however, that the SuperSonics did not leave battered in spirit.

“I’m disappointed in the loss, but I understand the circumstances,” he said. “We hung in there, we didn’t surrender.”

The way the Lakers came at them from the start, however, the SuperSonics were never in anything but a position of submission.

“We want to come at teams right away,” Johnson said. “We’ve been waiting back too late. Now we want to go out and jump on them. We’re trapping, passing, everything.”

And that includes winning.

Laker Notes

Laker backup guard Wes Matthews, who only played the last two minutes Sunday, hurled an insult at Seattle forward Xavier McDaniel in the tunnel leading to the teams’ dressing rooms after the game. Said McDaniel: “You had your chance.” That exchange caused Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff to turn and say: “Clean that . . . up.” Laker assistant coach Bill Bertka, who was standing near Matthews, responded: “You talking to me?” . . . It wasn’t a completely lost night for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Laker center did have eight rebounds and four assists. . . . Tom Chambers, on his non-productive night: “They haven’t gone to me like they did in the Sacramento game. No plays were called for me. You saw the game. I took about six shots (seven), and two of them were desperation three-pointers.” Chambers said he can live with low-scoring nights when Seattle wins, as it did Saturday night even though he scored just six points. “But I think the team could have used me a little more against the Lakers than they did.” . . . Why doesn’t James Worthy just take a month off, give his sore left knee a rest, then come back and play at full strength? “I don’t feel any pressure to go out and play,” Worthy said when that question was posed to him. “They leave it up to me and my analysis of the situation. Before I do anything drastic, I want to see what else I can do. I don’t think it’s gotten to the point where I’m feeling guilty that I’m not helping the team. It’s just a day-to-day thing.” Laker Coach Pat Riley, asked the same question, said: “I’ve thought about it, but I’e been assured it’s a problem he has to try and fight through. He has to try and adapt his game. Until he tells me that it’s best for him to take an extended rest, I’m considering him ready to play. I think he’ll use his best judgment.”