Magic Returns to Lineup and Rest Is Easy : Lakers Rout Clippers (Again), Win the Pacific Division Title (Again)

Through jaded eyes that have seen it all before, the Lakers’ 126-107 win over the Clippers Friday night was as predictable and boring as pro basketball ever gets. This was, after all, the 20th straight time the Lakers have beaten the Clippers at the Forum, and they could have gone scoreless in the third quarter and still been ahead of their woebegone opponent.

But look, for a moment, at this game through the eyes of 7-year-old Andre Mitchell, who was sitting with Michael Cooper Jr. near the Laker bench. He could have cared less if the Lakers had won by 4 or 40, be it the Clippers or the Celtics.

Like many in the crowd of 17,505, Andre was here to see his dad--Magic Johnson--return to the Laker lineup after an absence of five straight games, 10 of the last 12. Johnson didn’t disappoint, sparking a 26-6 Laker run in the first quarter and ending his night with 16 points and 9 assists in 24 minutes.

The Lakers, who led by as many as 38 points, clinched their seventh straight Pacific Division title when Portland lost in Seattle, 114-100. Now 56-17, the Lakers could match last season’s record by winning their last nine games.

The Clippers, meanwhile, are 16-58, winding up their season series with the Lakers by losing five out of six.

“It was pretty sad,” said Darnell Valentine, who scored a career-high 27 points, 17 in the third quarter, in the only fair showing by any Clipper.

“We came out in the first half playing apologetic . . . It was almost like we were scared to be out on the floor with them.”

For the Lakers, the only bad moment came when A. C. Green took a hard fall on his hip after going up in an attempt to block a shot by Steve Burtt of the Clippers. Green, who was hurt with 1:26 left in the first quarter, was taken to a hospital for X-rays. They were negative, but Green did have a bruise, and his status for tonight’s game in Portland was uncertain.

“I’m all in one piece--that’s the good thing,” said Green, who returned to the Forum after his hospital visit. “I’m going home, for sure.

“Portland, here I come.”

Green grew up in Portland and played for Oregon State.

Johnson, who had been kept out by a strained groin, said he passed the first test Friday.

“We’ll have to see what happens (tonight),” he said. “I felt good. As I went on, it got looser and looser.

“I’m still rusty yet. I think overall, it was a ‘C’ for me.”

The last week, however, has been a much greater plus for Johnson. Andre, who lives with his mother in Michigan, came out during his Easter school break to be with his father. Johnson had chosen to keep the relationship private, especially, he said, because his son had difficulty understanding the distance between them.

“Because he lives in Michigan, we haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time together,” Johnson said. “As a kid, he didn’t understand. He wanted to know, ‘Where’s Dad?’ ‘Dad’s in L.A.’

“But now he’s old enough to know that Dad plays professional basketball, and that I’m all over the place. He’s watched me play on TV, and when we’re in Detroit, he never misses.”

Early arrivals at the Forum Friday night could have witnessed the next generation on the court: Andre went one-on-one with Cooper’s son.

“They both say they won,” said Cooper’s wife, Wanda.

Suffice to say that Magic is delighted that his son--who bears a striking physical resemblance to Johnson--has an interest in the game his father plays like no one else.

“He plays, and he’s learning,” Johnson said. “That’s what he wants to do. And that’s fine.”

The Lakers did what they wanted to do with the Clippers, who shot 43.8% and committed 21 turnovers. Tony Campbell, who had a chance earlier in the season to sign with the Clippers, matched Byron Scott’s 20 points to lead the Lakers in scoring.

“They (the Clippers) offered me a 10-day contract a couple of months ago,” Campbell said. “I turned it down--I felt they weren’t giving me any respect as a player.

“I knew with expansion coming up, if I signed with the Clippers, I’d be losing my bargaining power.”

The game did flare up momentarily when Laker backup center Mike Smrek squared off with Burtt, who quickly found reinforcements in Michael Cage. Smrek was assessed a technical, but no punches landed.

Cracked Mychal Thompson: “I keep telling Smrek that all he needs is 10 fights on ESPN, and he’ll be the next Great White Hope.”