With Magic Back, Lakers Celebrate : Kings’ 115-103 Loss Is Their 37th Straight at the Forum

Even though the Dr. in front of his name signifies a doctorate in chemistry and not an expertise in orthopedic medicine, it was Laker owner Jerry Buss who gave clearance Friday night for Magic Johnson to return to the lineup after he had missed five games due to a partially torn left hamstring.

But it did not take Buss, who had the final say on Johnson’s return simply because he signs the paychecks, to determine that Johnson is once again healthy.

The Lakers might not have really needed Johnson to beat the Sacramento Kings, 115-103, before 17,505 fans at the Forum, but they certainly thought it was nice to see him on the floor again.

Jerry Reynolds, the coach of the Kings (14-38), said he approached Johnson before tipoff and told him to take another night off. But Johnson apparently listens to Buss more than Reynolds.

“It was just our luck Magic played tonight, although we knew he would,” Reynolds said. “I told him he shouldn’t play, but he did anyway. He should. He’s the best player in the world. He reminded me of myself in my prime, the spring of ’47.”

Byron Scott, seemingly hitting his prime, probably could have subdued Sacramento on his own. Scott, who had 33 points Monday night in Sacramento, scored 31 points Friday night. It was the first time in nearly a month that the Lakers had Scott and Johnson together for a full game.

Johnson played 23 minutes in his return, scoring eight points and passing for eight assists. More important, from a Laker standpoint, was how Johnson felt after playing for the first time since Feb. 8, when he was injured while scoring a layup.

“I felt pretty good,” he said. “It’s going to take a game or so to get back your timing and senses, but it was all right tonight. It was good to get this game under my belt and know I’m back.”

The plan, according to Laker Coach Pat Riley, was to play Johnson sparingly in the hope of having him close to full strength for Sunday night’s showdown against the Phoenix Suns, who remained 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers with a victory over Philadelphia.

“It was a good time for him to come back, with our most important game of the season coming up,” Riley said. “He looked sharp, strong and confident. He played 17 minutes in the first half and, to me, he didn’t show any effects (of the injury), except maybe being physically (tired).”

This was not vintage Johnson, but that also was the plan. Johnson said he consciously curbed his usually aggressive game in order to ease the strain on his hamstring.

“I had already set it in my mind to ease back into it, rather than just come back the way I was,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to come back, not go wild and crazy. I had to tell myself to stay under control.”

Johnson, according to Scott, seemed more in sync with teammates during the Lakers’ half-court game, as opposed to the fastbreak, which was to be expected. Still, Johnson demonstrated in the first half that he can cut and drive to the basket without hindrance.

“In the first half, (the hamstring) was great,” Johnson said. “In the second half, I got a little tired. I felt it more then.”

All told, Johnson missed 15 days with the hamstring tear, which Laker trainer Gary Vitti termed “moderate to serious” at the time of the injury. But by working out twice daily, at the Forum during the day and at a private health club at night, Johnson reduced the length of his absence.

Johnson said he felt ready to play after Friday morning’s practice, but he called Buss to get permission.

“It’s his team, so he makes the decisions,” Johnson said. “If he would have said no, then I wouldn’t have played.”

And the Lakers probably would have won, anyway.

Scott made 13 of 22 shots, including four three-pointers. It was a vast improvement over his 5-for-20 shooting performance in Wednesday night’s loss at Utah.

A.C. Green contributed 13 points and 15 rebounds, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper 13 points each and Mychal Thompson 12 points.

The Kings, such as they are after a week of trade upheaval, were led by guard Kenny Smith, who had 30 points. Jim Petersen, now the starting center at 6 feet 10 inches, fouled out with 14 point and 8 rebounds as the Kings were saddled with their sixth straight loss.

Those really were the Kings at the Forum Friday night. You could tell just by the fact that they lost to the Lakers in Inglewood for the 37th straight time since 1974.

In some respects, however, this was a vastly different Sacramento team, and the change was not necessarily for the better. After a flurry of trade activity this week, the Kings are left with only five players who were on the roster at the start of the season.

Wayman Tisdale, acquired from Indiana Monday, was in the lineup Friday, but newly acquired Danny Ainge and Brad Lohaus had yet to make the trip from Boston. That left the Kings with only nine players to take on a Laker team that had added Johnson.

The disparity between the teams became evident almost immediately. After the Lakers needed late free throws by David Rivers to beat the Kings by three points in Sacramento Monday night, Los Angeles dominated from the outset Friday night.

They built a quick 13-6 lead in the first three minutes and extended the advantage to 30-14 with 3:20 remaining. At that point, Riley brought in Rivers to replace Johnson, who had assumed his usual playmaking role from the opening tip.

The first sign that Johnson was back and not ailing came 40 seconds into the game, when he drove through heavy traffic in the lane and drew a foul.

About a minute later, Johnson posted low on Kenny Smith and sank a hook shot for his first field goal since being injured in that game against the Warriors.

Johnson would only score one other basket in the first half, but the Lakers were not in need of his scoring. They had a 32-21 lead heading into the second quarter, before the Kings made a brief run, cutting the Laker advantage to 44-39 with 6:21 to play in the half.

But after a timeout, the Lakers regained command. Abdul-Jabbar began the run by sinking a sky hook. Two missed King shots were converted into a Worthy inside move and a Scott jump shot, returning the Laker lead to double figures. It remained that way for the remainder of the half, the Lakers taking a 64-49 lead into the locker room and a 16-point advantage into the fourth quarter.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson, coming back from a partially torn left hamstring, said before Friday night’s game that his lateral movement had improved to the point where he could play without fear of reinjury. But he said he wants to return gradually to maximum capacity. “I feel good,” Johnson said. “I know it’s going to be a longtime thing. I don’t want to try to do too much. But it’s good to be back.” . . . Danny Ainge, acquired along with Brad Lohaus Thursday for Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney, is not expected to join the Kings until Monday night’s game against Seattle. Thursday, Ainge told the Hartford Courant: “I always thought I’d be here (in Boston) the rest of my career, until this season. But with the team struggling, something had to happen. When it finally did happen, I wasn’t prepared for it.” . . . Pinckney told the Courant that he was just happy not to be traded to the Clippers. A deal involving Kleine and Pinckney for Benoit Benjamin had been discussed, without success.