Worthy Is Injured as Lakers Are Beaten by Warriors, 122-116

A 24-foot sailboat was presented to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Saturday night, to better help him lead a life of leisure once he retires.

If the Lakers do not improve their play soon, however, Abdul-Jabbar’s retirement and his teammates’ vacations might come earlier than expected.

At least, that was the indication as the Lakers’ vulnerability surfaced for the second straight game in a 122-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors before 15,025 at the Coliseum Arena.

Although the Lakers still have the best record in the Western Conference and tend to increase their intensity in the playoffs, there appears to be room for concern. Their Pacific Division lead over the Phoenix Suns dwindled to 1 1/2 games, the smallest margin since late February.

And, pending results of X-rays today, the Lakers might be without forward James Worthy for an indeterminate time. Worthy suffered possible tendon damage on the first joint of the third finger on his left hand late in the fourth quarter, just as the Lakers’ comeback bid began to falter.

Worthy will be examined today to determine the severity of the injury.

Unlike the Warriors’ gift to Abdul-Jabbar, this loss was not a Laker gift to the Warriors, who clinched a playoff berth with the victory.

Instead, after recovering from a dismal first half, the Lakers battled the Warriors to the end before losing. They pulled to within two points with 1:45 to play when Byron Scott sank a three-point shot. After that, though, the Warriors simply executed better.

So, the Lakers return home for Monday’s game against the Clippers with the look of a team that is struggling.

When the Lakers last came to the Bay Area in mid-March, they beat the Warriors by nine points to conclude a 4-1 trip. They seemed in command of the division. Since then, though, they are 7-6. They do, however, play five of their last eight games at home.

Asked if he was worried, Magic Johnson intially said a curt “No.” Later, he added: “We’ll have to wait and see. We aren’t going to worry about what other guys are doing. We’ve got to play our game.

“Now, if we don’t do something in the next eight games, then you have problems turning it on for the playoffs. Nobody can turn it on and off when the playoffs start. If we go 4-4 in the (final games), then we could get beat in the playoffs, even in the first round.”

Saturday, the Lakers were done in by a poor first half, 18 turnovers and hot shooting by the Warriors.

Chris Mullin made 11 of 19 shots for 33 points, and rookie guard Mitch Richmond contributed 31 points and Winston Gardlan had 20.

The Lakers, meanwhile, received 24 points, 12 assits and nine rebounds from Johnson and 22 points from Worthy before he was forced to leave the game.

Coming in, the Lakers were 10-5 in games played on the second night of consecutive outings. But after a two-point loss to Utah at home on Friday night, they executed poorly in the first half Saturday.

Falling behind quickly, the Lakers trailed, 68-52, at the half. The only time they held the lead was in the first two minutes. The Warriors dominated after that.

In the third quarter, the Lakers cut a 16-point defecit to four entering the fourth quarter, thanks to tougher defense, a renewed concentration on rebounding and hot shooting.

But none of those qualities was evident in the first half. Even when the Lakers made a sustained run, Golden State did not buckle.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson played Saturday night despite a swollen and sore right thumb. The nail on Johnson’s thumb was nearly torn off when he reached for a loose ball in Friday night’s loss to Utah. He said he had trouble gripping the ball Saturday, and wasn not sure until after pregame warmups whether he could play. “It’s still swollen, but I’m going to give it a whirl,” Johnson said. “There’s nothing you can do about it. There’s no treatment you can do. It was an ugly sight (Friday night). The nail almost came off.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar received a 24-foot sailboat from the Warriors during a pregame ceremony, the 21st stop on his farewell tour. It was one of the more lavish gifts Abdul-Jabbar has received. Jim Fitzgerald, the Warriors’ owner, was a minority owner of the Milwaukee Bucks when Abdul-Jabbar was drafted in 1969. . . . The Warriors went with a Hawaiian theme, complete with torch bearers. The Warriors lowered the sailboat, named “Cap’s Sky Hook,” from the ceiling. For one of the few times during the farewell ceremonies, Abdul-Jabbar expressed surprise. He also received a compact disk player and a collection of Hawaiian music.

Former Warrior great Nate Thurmond served as the master of ceremonies. Thurmond called Abdul-Jabbar the “greatest big man ever to step foot on the basketball court . . . You remember (Wilt) Chamberlain. He had the fall-away. Bill Russell had rejection written all over his left hand. But you, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, have the prettiest and most effective weapon of all--the sky hook.”