Once Lakers Have Rockets on a String, They Don’t Let Go

When wandering minstrel Cedric (Cornbread) Maxwell wasn’t looking at Kurt Rambis on the Laker bench and thinking of how the glory days had passed them both by, the Houston Rockets bench-warmer had plenty of time to reflect on whether he had ever seen the Lakers better than they were for one quarter Monday in the Forum.

“Yeah, once,” said Maxwell, whose memory bank--which is still trying to erase his term with the Clippers--also includes Celtic-Laker championship finals. “In ‘85, the third game of the series (a 136-111 Laker victory over Boston), they were like that. But other than that, no. And offensively, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them better.”

Any better, and the Lakers should have been shipped en masse to the Hall of Fame. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar missed a layup to open the game, and A.C. Green missed two follow shots. For the next 10 minutes, the only thing the Lakers missed was the time capsule that should have preserved this one for future generations.

Eighteen times the Lakers shot, and 18 straight times the ball went in the basket. The league doesn’t keep records on such things, but even the Harlem Globetrotters don’t score at that rate against the Washington Generals.

Magic Johnson, of all people, broke the spell. Johnson, who only had 15 points and 9 assists in the quarter and a season-high 39 points for the game, had the audacity to miss a 360-degree, spinning layup in the lane with about a half-minute to go in the quarter.

By the end of the quarter, it was Lakers 41, Houston 22, and the Rockets might as well have been on another planet. The Lakers eventually cooled off. They went from 82.6% in the first quarter to 69.4% at the half to a mere 60% by the end of the game, but the Rockets never were within less than 10 in a 121-110 Laker victory.

“Quite awesome,” said Maxwell, who watched this one in its entirety from the bench. “They were just sending out a message: They’re still the No. 1 gun. We can’t use that line like Eddie Murphy does in the movie (“48 Hours”): ‘There’s a new sheriff in town.’ Nope, not yet, boys.”

This may have been a Laker first: “We may have even played over our heads,” Coach Pat Riley said. “I’m sure my players are going to appreciate reading that one.”

Not as much as they enjoyed reading the box score. Johnson, in addition to scoring more points than any Laker this season, had 17 assists and 15 baskets in 20 tries. Byron Scott made his first 7 shots, finished 10 of 12 and had 22 points. James Worthy made all five of his shots in the first quarter, was 9 of 15 for the game and had 22 points. Abdul-Jabbar was 8 of 12 from the floor and his 2 free throws with 51 seconds left gave the league’s all-time greatest scorer 37,000 points. He’s at 37,002, a comfortable 5,500-plus points ahead of the runner-up, that star of polo and beach volleyball, Wilt Chamberlain.

“Too much to handle,” said a duly impressed Bill Fitch, coach of the Rockets. “They really put on a clinic in the first quarter.

“We have a half a season yet to catch up to them, but it looks like we’ll need all that time to catch them.”

Riley doesn’t need to remind the Lakers anymore of how the Rockets once made their lives miserable.

“I’ll never forget what I told them the day after we lost (to Houston) in the opener last season,” Riley said. “I said, ‘Stop waiting for someone to come over the hill with a Twin Tower, because there ain’t going to be anybody.

“If you don’t think you’re good enough and have to wait for reinforcements--Coach, get us a big guy--then you’re going to lose.’

“After that, we went out and won nine in a row.”

Then they got Mychal Thompson last February and won a championship. Somewhere along the line, they figure to run into the Rockets before making it two titles in a row.

Rodney McCray was asked if he expected to see a team play another quarter like No. 1 did Monday.

“I hope not,” he said. “At least, not the team we’re playing. They played like world champions.”

Laker Notes

Houston forward Cedric Maxwell had played in the last 12 games before Monday, but his minutes are down to an average of 13.1 a game, only ninth best on the team. “Players are developing, and I’m just moving over for the young fellas,” said Maxwell, 32, who is in his 11th season in the National Basketball Assn. “Buck Johnson is still coming into his own. He’s playing well, and I’ve got to move over because he’s the future. I was looking down there at Kurt Rambis and kind of smiling, seeing how many minutes he’s getting now, and vice versa.” . . . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on scoring his 37,000th point: “I had no idea I was that close.” . . . Magic Johnson’s previous scoring high this season was 31, which came against Golden State on Dec. 17. . . . Joe Barry Carroll came off the bench to score 21 for the Rockets. . . . Another ex-Warrior, Sleepy Floyd, finished with 15 after having 4 at the half. . . . Rambis was the only Laker who played that didn’t score. He only appeared for three minutes. A.C. Green had 4 points; the other four starters combined for 103.

18 WITHOUT A MISS The Lakers made 18 consecutive field goals in the first quarter.

Time Scorer Score 10:45 Green lay-in 4-0 10:24 Worthy jumper 6-2 10:07 Abdul-Jabbar lay-in 8-2 9:28 Johnson drive 10-2 8:54 Worthy jumper 12-4 8:20 Scott jumper 14-4 8:03 Scott dunk 16-4 6:55 Worthy lay-in 18-8 6:08 Abdul-Jabbar hook 20-9 5:41 Worthy jumper 22-9 5:08 Johnson drive 24-10 4:28 Scott jumper 26-10 3:36 Worthy jumper 28-12 3:06 Johnson set shot 30-14 2:42 Green lay-in 32-16 2:04 Johnson drive, foul 35-16 1:27 Thompson dunk 37-20 0:43 Johnson set shot 39-22