Lakers Get a Victory--Barely

A victory was all that mattered to the Lakers Thursday night. Not point differential. Not aesthetic value. Not even the fact that they struggled against a team that hasn’t beaten them in a decade or so.

No, the Lakers happily gained a 118-115 win over the Sacramento Kings--made possible because of a clutch basket by Magic Johnson, 38 points by James Worthy and a key defensive play by Mychal Thompson--then fled the premises almost faster than the Forum gathering of 17,505.

As the Lakers dashed off the court, after narrowly averting a late-season shock, public address announcer Lawrence Tanter drove home the importance of the victory in his deepest, most ominous tone, pointing out that their lead was now one full game over the Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division.

Tonight, with a win in Portland, the Lakers can clinch at least a tie for their eighth consecutive division title and assure home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

To win the division outright, rather than win via tiebreaking procedures, the Lakers must win tonight’s game and Sunday’s regular-season finale at home against Seattle.

Considering their lackluster showing Thursday night against a Pacific Division also-ran, another title and home-court advantage is nothing to be taken for granted.

Which is why the Lakers didn’t care how they looked in beating the Kings (26-54) for the 37th straight time at the Forum. They just wanted to look to the scoreboard and see a win.

“It’s not about being concerned at this point,” said Coach Pat Riley, when asked about the glaring inconsistencies evident against the Kings. “It’s about winning games now. We have to win. We won tonight, and we are very, very happy about it.”

Victories over a King franchise that has traveled the country from Omaha to Kansas City to Sacramento has been a virtual certainty for the Lakers at home for the last 15 years. This time, though, only a late rally pulled it out.

All night, the Lakers had sprinted ahead of the Kings, only to see significant leads disappear as a result of accurate three-point shooting by Harold Pressley and strong inside play by Wayman Tisdale.

So, with 3:08 to play, the Kings held a 107-103 lead after the Lakers had failed to score on three straight possessions, two of which resulted in turnovers by Worthy and Johnson.

Then came the game-winning drive, which prevented the Lakers from having to win both of their final games in order to repel the Suns’ threat.

It began with 2:59 left when Worthy scored inside on Johnson’s assist. That cut Sacramento’s lead to 107-105, and King Coach Jerry Reynolds called a timeout.

That didn’t help much. Worthy, who tied his career high with 38 points, followed a missed jump shot by Byron Scott with a savage dunk to tie it, 107-107, with 2:16 remaining.

Tisdale, who led the Kings with 22 points, followed by missing a short jump shot, and Danny Ainge fouled A.C. Green while fighting for the rebound. Green made one of two free throws, giving the Lakers a 108-107 lead and prompting another timeout by Reynolds.

But the Kings, who had shot well through 3 1/2 quarters, fell flat at the end. Ainge missed a three-point attempt, and Johnson converted a drive inside on Scott’s pass for a 110-107 Laker lead with 1:23 remaining.

Reynolds wanted to talk it over one last time, but it didn’t help. After point guard Kenny Smith received the inbounds pass, he immediately looked inside for Tisdale, posting up against the Lakers’ Thompson.

When Smith lobbed in his pass, Thompson swung around Tisdale’s wide frame and stole the pass. Scott converted that turnover by sinking a jump shot to extend the lead to 112-107 with 53 seconds left.

At that point, it looked as if the Kings were finally subdued. But 10 seconds later, Smith scored on an uncontested layup to cut the Lakers’ lead to three points with :43 left.

Considering that the Kings made eight of 19 three-point attempts, including four of six by Pressley, this one was far from over.

That’s when Johnson, who had 19 points and 16 assists, took control. With time expiring on the shot clock, Johnson drove across the lane and sank an off-balance, one-handed shot.

That made it 114-109, Lakers.

Thereafter, the Kings were forced to score as soon as possible, which they did three times, and foul the Lakers right away.

But Scott, who finished with 20 points, made two free throws with 17 seconds to play. And Worthy sank two free throws with 8 seconds left.

Worthy went to the line again with one second remaining and the Lakers leading, 118-115, and missed both shots. But the Kings, with no timeouts left, had no chance to send it into overtime.

Laker Notes

Jerry West, the Lakers’ general manager, said he is making phone calls trying to find a big man to replace reserve center Mark McNamara, who severely sprained his right ankle Monday. But there is a strong possibility that the Lakers will leave McNamara on the playoff roster--due Sunday night--and hope he will return in three weeks. “Unless there is someone out there who can help us, we might not do anything,” Coach Pat Riley said. “I mean, we could go with Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Mychal (Thompson) and even A.C. (Green) at center. But if Mark is going to be out two months, we’d need a big body for practice.”