Abdul-Jabbar Still Has His Troubles; Laker Streak Ends

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s troubles continued, and the Lakers’ began. Abdul-Jabbar, held to four-points, a 10-year-low, in his last game, scored two points Tuesday night, which certainly represents the low total in consecutive games in his 19-season pro career.

His teammates, suddenly looking a little on the aged side themselves, fought the Seattle SuperSonics late into the third quarter, when Pat Riley took Magic Johnson out of a one-point game. By the time he got him back in, it wasn’t that close any more--and it was going to get worse, a 114-100 loss that ranks as their second-worst of the season.

The Lakers’ worst loss, of course, was also suffered here. The local populace just passed a bond issue to build a new, larger and presumably noisier facility, and you can imagine how anxiously the Lakers await the day.

Thus ended several Laker streaks: 10 victories in a row, 7 straight road wins, their 34 of 37.

Despite the loss, the Lakers mathematically clinched a playoff spot when the Phoenix Suns lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

It all started fluttering toward an open window with 1:44 left in the third period and the Lakers down, 75-74. Riley thought it an opportune time to give Johnson a little rest, since even people named Magic have to catch their breath. It only turned out to be 1:44 too long.

The SuperSonics scored the next eight points. The last two of those came after James Worthy, on a perfunctory, too-casual exchange with Byron Scott, handed the ball instead to Seattle’s Kevin Williams, who fed Olden Polynice for a thundering dunk, producing an 83-74 lead and a roar you could have heard on the Oregon border.

“I took Earvin out because I wanted to give him a rest,” Riley said. “I thought we could survive 54 seconds. We couldn’t.

“Even with the situation (Abdul-Jabbar not scoring), we were in good position. I mentioned to the team in that timeout, ‘This is the way it’s going to be. This game’s going down to the wire.’

“Famous last words. Maybe I meant down to the wire in the third quarter.”

And the situation?

The last two games are the eighth and ninth single-digit games Abdul-Jabbar has had since his double-figures streak was ended at 787 in Milwaukee Dec. 4.

He was 1 for 7 Tuesday night in the second-lowest scoring output of his career. He went scoreless in a 1977 game against the Milwaukee Bucks in which he was ejected for punching Kent Benson.

Is Abdul-Jabbar tired? This wouldn’t be surprising for a 40-year-old man, who recently had the flu, whose peers are pushing pot bellies around in old-timers’ games.

“I think you’ll have to ask him,” Riley said.

“We’re not practicing that much. He comes to work every day. I don’t know. You know, maybe. . . .”

Was it the SuperSonics?

They still swarm him in the low post as if he’s scoring 30 points a night. Tuesday night, they started the Human Personal Foul, Alton Lister, on him. Lister got in the usual early foul trouble after several skirmishes, but after that the calls came more slowly, and Riley’s temperature climbed.

“This team is hard for him,” Riley said. “They come hard and heavy and quick. He does not have any room at all. They defend him as well as anybody.

“Lister roots him out of there. I’m not going to whine. Kareem never has for 10 years. It’s every night.”

Johnson, asked if he thought Abdul-Jabbar looked tired, suggested that Kareem be asked.

Kareem, dressed as reporters entered the locker room, took only one question.

It went like this:

Reporter: “Two games where you haven’t scored too well, what are your thoughts?”

Abdul-Jabbar, starting for the door: “Not playing too well.”

Try to get that one in Quotebook.

Well, he didn’t suffer alone. Byron Scott shot 7 for 20. Johnson shot 4 for 12 with 7 turnovers. The first seven players went 222 of the 240 minutes, while Seattle Coach Bernie Bickerstaff was going 11 deep.

Maybe they had to start missing Michael Cooper sometime?

Maybe they were overdue to start missing him?

“I need him more against this team than any other night,” Johnson said. “This team presses all the time. They just wore me down. They play so many people.”

Chalk one up for the cast of thousands. The Lakers flew home for two days of rest they looked as if they needed.

Laker Notes

The attendance, 14,850, tied the SuperSonics’ all-time Coliseum high. . . . The SuperSonics have now won three in a row, all at home. However, they are an 8-23 road team, 30-27 overall, only 2 games better than last season at this point when they were 28-29. Bernie Bickerstaff: “We’re still not in the Lakers’ class, but I think we can use this as a steppingstone.