Laker Play in Beating Jazz Wins Approval of Magic

The Lakers, who have been to one too many masquerade parties lately, tried a different look Tuesday night at the Forum. They decided--even without Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper--to come as themselves.

And the result--a 122-111 whipping of the Utah Jazz--met the approval of at least one intensely interested observer.

“This is the Laker team I know about,” said Magic Johnson, who had become as perturbed as the next fan about the Lakers’ recent unsightly appearance--six losses in their last nine games.

“We didn’t back up. We went forward, and that was the key from the beginning.

“We were all upset and disappointed at the way teams like Phoenix and Sacramento beat us. They killed us. The guys were upset and mad.”

And ready to take a meeting, which is precisely what they did Monday at practice--players only. That happens, Johnson said, about once a year.

“Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and myself started it off,” Johnson said, “but then everyone has the chance to say something about what was going on.”

Somebody must have recognized what was going on, because it abruptly stopped Tuesday night. The Lakers rolled to a 15-point lead, 36-21, after one quarter, shot 75% in the second, and jilted the Jazz on the boards all night by a whopping 54-26 margin, the biggest advantage they’ve had on anyone this season.

Kurt Rambis had eight rebounds in the first quarter, a season-high 12 for the game. Wes Matthews had 11 assists in the first half, and finished with 13, tying a season high. Abdul-Jabbar had 21 points, his first 20-plus night since March 6 against Dallas, all but toying with Utah’s 7-foot 4-inch center Mark Eaton.

Byron Scott did his usual number in the absence of Magic and Cooper--44 minutes played, 29 points--James Worthy had a game-high 31 points and 6 assists, Mychal Thompson had a double-double off the bench (13 points, 10 rebounds), and an active A.C. Green contributed a mixed line: 8 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 6 turnovers.

“The only adjustment we made was that we stopped looking over our shoulders at Magic and Coop sitting on the bench and hoping they would come in and help us,” Thompson said. “We have to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and just go out and play.

“We have to stop wondering and hoping because we have enough left to make it a long way in the playoffs without them.”

They don’t have to convince Frank Layden of that.

“Adversity later on can prove to be a benefit to you,” the Jazz coach said. “If you’re really a championship team, you have to learn to play without your big players.

“What are they going to do if Magic or Kareem or Worthy get hurt going into the playoffs--pack it in?

“No, I think they’re going to reach back and other guys are going to come in and win for them.”

It became apparent early that the Jazz would have little chance to win this one.

“They just murdered us on the boards,” Layden said. “I think they had something like 16 points on second shots in the first half. It wasn’t really what we did--they just beat the hell out of us.

“Pat (Riley) had a lot to motivate them with. If I were a sub, I’d be saying, ‘At last I get my chance, but I’m not producing. Over the winter, they may start looking for other players.’ ”

Layden scoffed when someone suggested that Eaton has been known to give Abdul-Jabbar fits, but not Tuesday night.

“That’s like saying Tommy Lasorda struck out Babe Ruth,” said the Dodger fan from his Brooklyn childhood. “Every time I’m here, Kareem is breaking another record.

“When he gets in the Hall of Fame, he ought to invite me to dinner. I did my share.”

A look at the box score would suggest that Jazz forward Karl Malone did his share as well--25 points and 12 rebounds--but the Mailman was a bit late with his deliveries. He had 12 points in the third quarter, but the Jazz never were able to get closer than eight in the second half.

Malone did have some awesome slam dunks, one in particular over Thompson that sent tremors clear back to the Bahamas.

“It was like watching a runaway freight train coming at a 200-year-old barn,” Thompson said. “If that barn gets in the way, you know what’s going to happen. There’s going to be nothing left but toothpicks.”

The Lakers showed Tuesday night they still have something beside a certain M. Johnson. They’d better, because he won’t be back this weekend. Neither, almost certainly, will Cooper, as they try to recover from a strained groin and sprained ankle, respectively.

“We came in and we were physical and we banged, and we fought,” Johnson said. “That was a big part that was missing. But the competitive nature of this team came out.

“And we have to compete more so than at any time before. With me and Coop there, that’s a lot of talent, and sometimes we don’t have to compete as hard, we can win on talent. But now we have to compete even more.”

The Jazz tried to compete with a trapping defense, which was instrumental in creating 21 Laker turnovers, but it wasn’t enough.

“I think we do it as well as anybody else . . . but sometimes we react too slowly and it looks like an illegal defense,” Layden said. “I think the referee should call us for bad defense, not illegal defense.”

Laker Notes

The Lakers didn’t sign Tony Campbell Tuesday, but they’re definitely interested in the 6-7, 215-pound forward. The Lakers may have agreed to wait until the end of the Continental Basketball Assn. playoffs to take Campbell away from the Albany (N.Y.)Patroons, who finished the regular season with a 48-6 record, the best in professional basketball history. When the Lakers have to open a roster spot for Campbell, cutting Billy Thompson is not an option. Instead, Thompson--who has played sparingly since coming back from his knee injury Feb. 23--could end up back on the injured list.