Lakers Outduel the Bucks : L.A. Has Enough Left to Deliver 118-117 Victory

Sunday night began with a shove and a near brawl involving Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and, in a recent change of form, ended with a Laker knockout punch that they had been missing in close games.

The Milwaukee Bucks, the designated combatants on the Forum card, came out relatively unscathed after the first-quarter incident involving Abdul-Jabbar and Buck forward Larry Krystkowiak.

But the Bucks, who had battled back from an 18-point third-quarter deficit, dropped a 118-117 decision to the Lakers, who almost let another victory slip away in the final seconds.

In the end, though, the sellout crowd of 17,505 saw the Lakers make most of the right moves in the stretch to subdue the Bucks, whose flurry of three-point shots from Jack Sikma and Ricky Pierce enabled them to come off the canvas for a late charge.

Taking the lead for good, 109-105, with 3:52 to play, the Lakers then set out to prevent the Bucks from catching them. On Saturday night, in Denver, the Lakers could not hold a three-point lead over the Nuggets with 13 seconds to play.

But this time the Lakers took a 114-109 lead with 2:05 to play when James Worthy scored on a three-point with a dunk over Paul Pressey and an accompanying free throw. The Bucks did not succumb, though, as Sidney Moncrief answered with a three-point shot to cut the lead to two points.

Abdul-Jabbar, who received only a technical foul for his earlier transgression, made one of two free throws to give the Lakers a 115-112 lead. It stayed that way until Moncrief missed a jump shot with 48 seconds to play.

Then Worthy scored on a double-pump drive with 36 seconds to play for a 117-112 Laker lead.

Still, victory was not secured.

The Lakers let Pressey drive uncontested for a layup with 32 seconds to play, making it 117-114. On their next possession, the Lakers ran the clock down to nine seconds before Tony Campbell missed a jump shot. Pressey’s three-point attempt missed and A.C. Green was fouled on the rebound.

Green, who had won two games in the Forum in March with last-second free throws, sank one to make it a four-point Laker advantage with one second to play. Milwaukee needed an unlikely four-point play, but Sikma sank only a three-point shot to make the final 118-117, Lakers.

Byron Scott, who had fouled out with 2:22 left, led the Lakers with 32 points, including five three-pointers.

As effective as Scott was from long distance, Sikma was equal to it. The Buck center had 27 points, including five three-point shots in the second half. Pierce added 29 points, including two three-pointers.

For the Lakers, Magic Johnson had 26 points. Abdul-Jabbar added 10 points and provided motivational help stemming from his fight.

The confrontation occurred just 3:38 into the game. Abdul-Jabbar attempted a short jump shot near the basket and apparently was struck on the forehead by Krystkowiak’s elbow.

Abdul-Jabbar momentarily fell to his knees, as his goggles fell off. After the whistle had blown for the foul on Krystkowiak, Abdul-Jabbar arose and charged the Bucks’ forward from behind.

With Krystkowiak’s back still turned, Abdul-Jabbar administered a hard shove that sent Krystkowiak sprawling. Regaining his footing but not his composure, Krystkowiak then charged Abdul-Jabbar.

Players from both teams intervened, and referee Ron Olesiak put a bear-hug on Abdul-Jabbar and wrestled him across court to avoid a potential fight.

Abdul-Jabbar received a technical foul, Krystkowiak a personal foul, and the Lakers received a wakeup call after the second of back-to-back games.

Abdul-Jabbar was not available to comment on the incident.

Krystkowiak, however, said his foul underneath was not blatant and said that Abdul-Jabbar should have been ejected.

“I’ll tell you one thing, I know where I’d be if I’d done that,” Krystkowiak said. “I wouldn’t be in the game. . . . I’m out there to play basketball. My rule of thumb is to never give up a layup. I’m not taught to hurt anybody.

“If I was going to hurt him, I would have been sure he wouldn’t have gotten up to hit me back. But then I’m there with whiplash (after the shove).”

But it wasn’t until the third quarter, long after the Abdul-Jabbar furor died, when the Lakers were able to build a significant lead. It didn’t last long, though.

A 14-6 run in a three-minute stretch midway through the quarter gave the Lakers a seemingly commanding 90-72 lead. Included in the run were three-point plays by Mark McNamara and Scott.

But the Lakers could not hold that third-quarter advantage. The Bucks answered with an 11-0 run, made possible by four Laker turnovers in their final six possessions of the quarter. It cut the Lakers’ lead to 90-83 entering the fourth quarter.

Milwaukee resumed its surge early in the fourth quarter, after the Lakers had briefly rebuilt the lead to 11 points. Johnson was given a rest, and the rest of the Lakers seemingly rested with him. A 16-2 Buck run, highlighted by consecutive three-point shots by Pierce and Sikma, gave Milwaukee a 101-98 lead 7:14 to play.

The Bucks’ last lead was 105-102 with 5:15 to play after Pierce’s three-point play. The Lakers responded with a 7-0 run highlighted by Scott’s three-point basket.

After starting the night with five consecutive misses, Scott made 11 of his last 13 shots, including all five three-point attempts.

“I don’t think about missing,” Scott said. “After the first five, I brought it in a little closer and made a few (shots). Then I got the rhythm back.”

Scott was coming off a poor performance in Saturday night’s overtime loss at Denver. He missed the defensive assignment that led to Walter Davis’ game-tying three-point shot.

But Scott, and his teammates, made up for it Sunday night. The victory over a difficult Eastern Conference opponent improved the Lakers’ record to 49-22 and moved them 3 1/2 games in front of the second-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division.

“We hung tough at home and made some big defensive plays down the stretch,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “We were coming off a tough loss. Give the guys (Laker players) credit for not folding. It was one of our better wins of the season--and we needed it.”

Laker Notes

Laker guard Michael Cooper, who suffered a badly bruised left thigh in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s overtime loss to Denver, received treatment before Sunday night’s game and played after trainer Gary Vitti fitted him with a protective fiberglass sleeve. . . . Four stitches were required to close the wound to reserve center Mark McNamara’s lip Saturday night after being inadvertently hit in the face by Danny Schayes of the Nuggets. McNamara’s upper lip was swollen Sunday night, but he was available. Mychal Thompson, normally the first backup to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, missed his second straight game to be with his ill father. The Lakers said Thompson will join the team tonight in Seattle.

The Bucks’ Paul Pressey, on the injured list since March 21 with a sprained right ankle, was activated Sunday night. . . . The Lakers make their last regular-season visit to Seattle Tuesday night. The SuperSonics have beaten the Lakers in Seattle by three points in November and 10 points in January. Against their three main Western Conference rivals--Utah, Phoenix and Seattle--the Lakers are a combined 0-7 on the road. However, the Lakers are 6-0 against those teams in the Forum.