Lakers Get Seattle in Long Run : Going Distance, Scott Is Difference in 116-109 Victory

It was the kind of scene reminiscent of a 20-year-old Magic Johnson leaping into the arms of a startled Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to celebrate his first win as a professional.

Only this time, it was a 40-year-old Abdul-Jabbar--supposedly too cool, too detached, too old for this kind of behavior--sprinting nearly the length of the court during a timeout to deliver a high-five to Laker teammate Byron Scott.

From where he was sitting Sunday afternoon, in his living room back in Los Angeles, Michael Cooper might have missed that rare display of exuberance by Abdul-Jabbar in the waning moments of the Lakers’ 116-109 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics here.

“Wanda (Cooper) was probably hitting Coop over the head with a frying pan for all the money he’s about to lose,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said.

But Cooper--who was suspended and thus couldn’t even be in the Coliseum Arena for the game--would have appreciated the reasons behind Abdul-Jabbar’s grand gesture. Scott compensated for Cooper’s absence by playing 48 minutes, the first time he has gone the distance as a pro. He limited Seattle’s all-star candidate, Dale Ellis, to only 5 field goals in 21 attempts. He made a game-high four steals, stripping Ellis of the ball in the game’s last half-minute, and did not commit a single turnover.

And he also scored 19 points, the biggest basket being the 21-footer off an Abdul-Jabbar feed that gave the Lakers a 111-105 lead with 35 seconds to play. That was the basket that assured an end to Seattle’s 17-game, home-court winning streak--longest in the league this season--and the play that had Abdul-Jabbar acting like a kid again.

“I think Kareem was showing a lot of respect for Byron and the job he did,” said teammate Mychal Thompson. “It was only fitting that Byron hit the big shot.”

As far as the Lakers are concerned, it would be just as fitting if the league’s Western Conference coaches--who are casting their votes today--would add Scott to the all-star team. It didn’t hurt that this virtuoso performance came on national television.

“Byron solidified his spot today,” Thompson said. “He’s like quick-drying cement. He’s solid.

“And if he doesn’t get picked, there should be an investigation like they had for the Contra hearings, because there obviously (would be) some underhanded deal going on.”

For a time Sunday, it appeared that the Lakers were cast in plaster of Paris. While the Lakers committed 15 first-half turnovers, only one turnover fewer than they average a game, Seattle forward Xavier McDaniel exploded for 25 first-half points (he finished with 35), and the SuperSonics were threatening to duplicate the 18-point whipping they had laid on the Lakers here in November.

Only Magic Johnson’s 14 points in the second quarter--he wound up with a team-high 34, including a season-high 16 free throws in 19 attempts--kept the Lakers from being totally eclipsed by McDaniel’s shaven skull.

“We were struggling,” Riley said. “We were out of sync, and they were fired up. But Earvin kept us in there. He decided to put his head down, and kept driving the gap, driving the gap.”

The gap that separated the teams increased to 61-50, when McDaniel and Nate McMillan scored the first two baskets of the second half. But, the SuperSonics scored just one basket--a jam by rookie Derrick McKey--in their next 19 possessions in a span of 5:15. The Lakers went on a 29-7 run to open an 11-point lead of their own, 79-68, before Seattle finally rallied to within 81-78 at the end of three quarters.

The Lakers’ lead increased to 97-88, during a three-minute appearance by Wes Matthews, the reserve guard who hadn’t been off the bench in the last nine games. Matthews grabbed two defensive rebounds and scored a basket while giving Johnson some much-needed rest.

There would be no such breather for Scott. While McDaniel cooled off--”Nothing we really did, he began missing a lot,” Riley said--Tom Chambers started to groove, scoring seven straight points on a three-point shot, two free throws and a driving baseline jam that pulled Seattle within 101-99.

They would get no closer, however, and one big reason was Ellis. The Seattle guard, who had matched his career high with 47 points against Detroit on Friday, never could shake Scott. In the last four minutes, both of his three-point attempts were airballs, though he got credit for one of them when Abdul-Jabbar touched the rim. And he also had Scott take the ball out of his hands right under the Seattle basket.

Riley had told Scott he might have to go the distance Sunday.

“I told him I was ready,” Scott said. “I thought about Dale Ellis. Usually, Coop and I share the assignment, but I knew I’d have to go 40-minutes plus. When I saw him (Ellis) go out (of the game), I thought I might come out, too, but it didn’t work out that way.

“I knew, to guard him, I had to go through (Alton) Lister, Chambers, X, through their picks. Usually, when I get hit, I stop. But today I knew I had to either run through them or jump over them. I kept my hand on his hip and got my shoulder under the picks.”

When Danny Young missed from three-point range, Scott saved the ball from going out of bounds and flipped a pass to Abdul-Jabbar. Johnson buried a jumper and the Laker lead was 103-99. It was still four, 109-105, when a double-teamed Abdul-Jabbar spotted Scott open at the top of the key for the game-breaking basket.

“A big shot,” Scott said simply. “They were coming back. All game long, we kept saying, the man on the high post will be open if he can get into Kareem’s vision. I got in his vision, hollered for the ball, and Danny Young got there too late. I had a wide-open shot.”

And the Lakers had free passage to their 30th victory of the season--13 of which have come on the road. James Worthy, who had played 17 scoreless minutes here on a sore knee in November, finished with 24 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Johnson had 10 rebounds to go along with his 34 points, and Abdul-Jabbar had 18 points and 7 rebounds.

In the end, though, this one belonged to Scott.

“He showed big-time today,” Riley said. “Having to shut Dale down, playing 48 minutes, he showed a lot of poise.”

He has shown that and much more this season, Johnson said, enough to merit all-star billing.

“I take a lot of pride in him,” Johnson said. “It’s nice to see a guy develop into a player you know he can be. That’s the difference in him now and in other years. He hits the big shot in the fourth quarter, he gets the big rebounds. He makes the big steal--and at money time.”

Laker Notes

The Lakers, who committed 15 turnovers in the first half Sunday, made just three in the second half, none in the fourth quarter. . . . Xavier McDaniel (35 points) and Tom Chambers (32 points) accounted for 67 of Seattle’s 109 points. Seattle had three more baskets than the Lakers (46-43), but the Lakers made 29 of 35 free throws, whereas Seattle was 13 of 19. . . . A.C. Green and Chambers were involved in a brief shoving incident which resulted in a double technical foul in the third quarter. . . . Seattle, which came into the game with the second-best record in the Pacific Division, is 24-16, seven games behind the Lakers. . . . Seattle guard Dale Ellis on his subpar 5-of-21 shooting: “I wanted to play too well. I wasn’t approaching this game as just another game. I really wanted to beat the Lakers.” . . . McDaniel, on why he had 10 points in the second half after scoring 25 in the first: “I just missed some shots. I missed some turnaround jump shots I usually make, and I didn’t take as many shots in the second half.” McDaniel, on the absence of suspended Laker guard Michael Cooper: “If I’m hot, and I see Cooper come in the game, I just run from box to box (along the baseline). I have the strength advantage, the height advantage and the jumping ability to shoot over him when I want to. There’s no way he’s going to stop me.”