THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : LOS ANGELES LAKERS vs. DETROIT PISTONS : Worthy Sleeps On It : Then He Awakens the Lakers With a Team-High 28 Points and Big Rebounds

James Worthy said he had nightmares after his mediocre performances in Game 4 and Game 5 of the National Basketball Assn. Finals last week in Detroit.

“I played three quarters in my sleep last night,” Worthy said. “My wife told me that I have to wear elbow pads from now on.”

Worthy, who had 19, 26 and 24 points in the series’ first three games, wasn’t a factor as the Pistons defeated the Lakers in the next two games to take a 3 games to 2 lead before Sunday. Worthy, who got into early foul trouble in both games, scored just 7 points and had only 1 rebound as the Lakers were beaten by 25 points in Game 4. Then, he had 14 points and 4 rebounds as the Pistons beat the Lakers, 104-94, Thursday night in Game 5.

Worthy also heard about his poor outings from some disenchanted local fans: “I went to get a haircut yesterday and I had to listen to the barber talk about how badly I played,” Worthy said.

Worthy, however, cut the criticism short Sunday by scoring a team-high 28 points as the Lakers gained a 103-102 victory over the Pistons in the Forum to even the best-of-seven series at three games apiece.

“I think James felt a lot of frustration coming out of Detroit and he centered it on today’s game,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said after Worthy had his best game of the 1988 championship series.

“He made more big plays for us today than he has throughout the series. He got a lot of big rebounds for us today. He was vital to us today.”

Said Magic Johnson, who had 22 points and 19 assists: “James knew that we needed him today. He missed his first couple of shots but I kept going to him. Sometimes he just has to keep shooting.”

Worthy, who had scored a total of 21 points in his last two games, had 19 points in the first half as the Lakers took a 53-46 lead. He helped get the Lakers off to a fast start, scoring 6 of their first 10 points as they got their fast break rolling again. Worthy had 8 first-quarter points and added 11 in the second quarter when the Lakers outscored the Pistons, 33-20, to take a 7-point halftime lead.

“The only thing I had to prove today was to prove that I could stay in the game,” Worthy said. “I was really frustrated because I wasn’t able to contribute. But in this business, you have to be strong. You can’t let a couple of bad games destroy you.”

Worthy, who played just 26 minutes in each of his last two games, was more effective because he stayed out of foul trouble. He was called for just 1 foul in 46 minutes of action Sunday.

“I didn’t get any touch fouls like I did in Detroit,” Worthy said. “I watched the referee early to see how he was going to be calling the game.”

Worthy, who had made 15 of 39 shots (38.5%) in his last 3 games, hit 12 of 22 shots from the floor and made 4 of 6 free throws.

“Riley made it a point to tell us that the Lakers had the Celtics (the NBA’s last repeat champion) down 3-2 in 1969 and they came back and won the last two,” Worthy said. “For some reason, it takes a bad situation for us to respond.

“Coming into the playoffs this year, I knew that this would be the toughest one and it has. It’s a one-game series now and I love it.”

Worthy, who made just 3 of 8 shots in the second half, had only 9 points in the final two quarters, but he played a key rebounding role as the Lakers outrebounded the Pistons for the first time since the opening game, 41-33. Worthy, who had just 2 rebounds in the first half, got 7 rebounds in the second half, including 4 in the final quarter.

His biggest rebound came with 27 seconds remaining when he rebounded the ball after Pistons guard Isiah Thomas missed an 18-foot jump shot from the left corner. The Lakers then called a timeout, and when play resumed, center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made two game-winning free throws after being fouled by Bill Laimbeer while attempting a skyhook.

After the Pistons cut the Laker lead to 81-79 going into the fourth quarter, Worthy also got a big basket in a 9-2 Laker blitz at the start of the final quarter. He beat the 24-second clock with a 14-foot fallaway jumper.

“Worthy’s a great basketball player and he got on a roll today,” Detroit forward Adrian Dantley said. “We should have gotten this one. They gave us the knockout punch, but we only lost by one.”