Kareem Returns to L.A. After Phoenix Altercation

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Lakers flew back to Los Angeles Thursday from Phoenix after being involved in an altercation with a tourist who was videotaping the Laker center at a Phoenix shopping center.

Abdul-Jabbar will miss tonight’s game against the Suns.

The incident began when Fernando Nicola, 40, of Frosinone, Italy, refused a request from Abdul-Jabbar to stop videotaping him while he was shopping at the Metro Center, a complex near the team’s hotel.

Abdul-Jabbar allegedly pushed the camera into Nicola, who reported the incident to police but declined to file charges.

“I didn’t touch him,” Abdul-Jabbar told the Arizona Republic. “All I did was brush the camera out of my way.”

The Lakers released a statement through Forum publicist Bob Steiner that said: “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in an incident in Phoenix that involved an uncalled for intrusion into his privacy (Thursday). As the result of the upsetting nature of this incident, the Lakers decided that it was in the team’s best interest for him to return to Los Angeles and requested that he do so. Kareem has returned to L.A., and will not play in (tonight’s) game against the Suns.”

The Lakers, one of only two teams in the National Basketball Assn. that have won more road games than they have lost, will be playing their final away game of the regular season against the Suns, who will miss the playoffs for the third straight season after eight consecutive appearances.

The Lakers are 25-15 on the road. Only Boston, with a record of 21-18, is also above .500. The Lakers were 22-7 at one point but have lost 8 of 11 on the road and had a 5-game losing streak that ended this week with consecutive wins at San Antonio and Dallas.

The Lakers did not practice Thursday, and a decision will be made today whether James Worthy--who sat out the Dallas game with a sore left knee--will play tonight.

The Suns, who have lost 4 of 5 meetings to the Lakers, were eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday night with a 121-98 loss at Seattle, where they were outscored in the fourth quarter, 39-18. That loss put them in the running for the Danny Manning sweepstakes, also known as the NBA lottery draft.

The Lakers announced dates and times of the first two games of their opening-round playoff series against San Antonio. They will play the Spurs in Game 1 next Friday at the Forum at 7:30 p.m., with Game 2 scheduled for Sunday, May 1, also at 7:30 p.m. Prime Ticket will televise both games.

Times staff writer Gordon Edes contributed to this story from Phoenix.