NBA PLAYOFFS : Lakers Take Toughest Road to Win, 110-107 : L.A. Holds Off Suns to Grab a 3-0 Lead

That 29-point comeback victory in Seattle two weeks ago was memorable, no question. But to the Lakers, this win was their most challenging and most difficult to acquire, particularly because of the venue.

Returning to the scene of three lopsided regular-season losses for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals Friday night, the Lakers fended off repeated Phoenix Suns’ comebacks to win, 110-107, and take a three-games-to-none lead in the best-of-seven series.

Winners of all 10 of their playoff games and only one victory away from a return to the National Basketball Assn. championship series, the Lakers are making it look almost too easy.

So, in case anyone felt compelled to take this victory for granted, Magic Johnson reiterated the magnitude of Friday’s accomplishment. After all, the Lakers had lost three games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum by an average of 18 points.

“This was definitely the toughest (playoff) win,” Johnson said. “That and the last Seattle game are the ones I remember. This one was good because we hadn’t done well here, and they would not give up.”

But the Lakers, who keep winning in seemingly every imaginable way, overcame a three-point deficit in the final 1:22 to hand the Suns a rare and somewhat stunning home-court loss.

They did it with the outside shooting of forward James Worthy, who had 29 points, the defensive prowess and surprising free-throw accuracy of Mychal Thompson and a half-court trap.

It put the Suns on the verge of elimination when the teams meet here again for Game 4 Sunday.

And, like the SuperSonics before them, the Suns face the ominous statistic that no team in NBA playoff history has rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win a series.

Things didn’t look that bad for the Suns when they erased a 10-point Laker lead in the final seven minutes.

Though still shooting poorly, partly because of the Lakers’ trapping defense that Sun Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons later called a zone, the Suns took a 103-102 lead when Eddie Johnson sank an off-balanced jump shot and converted the accompanying free throw with 1:50 to play.

It was one of the few shots Johnson sank. He made five of 16 attempts, dropping his playoff shooting percentage to 29.5%.

At that point, the Lakers called a timeout to plan their two-minute offense, which did not immediately kick in. Magic Johnson turned over the ball while driving the lane, and Sun forward Armon Gilliam scored after an offensive rebound to give the Suns a 105-102 lead with 1:22 to play.

Worthy, rebounding from a poor offensive performance in Game 2, pulled the Lakers within one point after making two free throws with 1:04 to play.

The Lakers then resumed their trapping defense with vigor. The best shot the Suns could get was a Tom Chambers jumper under duress. Worthy grabbed the rebound with 45 seconds left and, eight seconds later, Thompson was fouled.

Only a 67% free-throw shooter in the playoffs, Thompson swished both attempts to give the Lakers a 106-105 advantage. As impressive as those clutch free throws were, they paled compared to Thompson’s defensive play that followed.

Rushing the ball upcourt, rookie Sun guard Dan Majerle drove toward the basket. He pulled up about 13 feet away for a jump shot. Thompson moved in and lightly swatted away the ball. The Lakers retrieved it, Thompson was fouled and he sank two more free throws for a 108-105 lead with 22 seconds to play.

“I just wanted to force him to take a shot he didn’t want to,” Thompson said. “I wanted to get in front of him. We are making the defensive plays. That’s what is going to win it for us.”

Fitzsimmons called a timeout after Thompson’s free throws, bringing in a lineup saturated with three-point specialists.

Phoenix eventually got the ball to its best three-point shooter, Eddie Johnson, but he passed to Majerle, who let it fly with 15 seconds left, and Orlando Woolridge grabbed the rebound away from Kevin Johnson, who promptly fouled Woolridge.

Even more erratic a free-throw shooter than Thompson, Woolridge missed both attempts, giving the Suns renewed hope. After another timeout to set up a three-point shot, Majerle found himself momentarily open beyond the three-point line.

But Majerle’s attempt bounced wildly off the rim. Michael Cooper ran it down in the corner, was fouled with eight seconds to play and made both free throws for a 110-105 lead.

Kevin Johnson was allowed to drive uncontested to the basket for a layup that only cut the Suns’ losing margin to three points.

“We know that, if it’s close, we’ll win it,” Magic Johnson said. “We have that confidence. We don’t get rattled. We just keep working until we get something that works.”

The Lakers’ offense was erratic. They made only 48.8% of their shots.

Worthy, however, found his shooting touch after failing to make even one jump shot in Game 2. On this night, he made 11 of 17 shots and added 12 rebounds.

Midway through the fourth quarter, when the Lakers built a 93-83 lead, Worthy sank three consecutive perimeter jump shots, the Suns opting to sag in the lane and dare Worthy to beat them from long range as Magic Johnson rested on the bench.

“I missed almost all my perimeter shots in Game 2,” Worthy said. “But I just decided to keep shooting them. Tom was laying off me, so I really had no choice.”

But Worthy was not alone in leading the Lakers. Johnson had 20 points, including a one-handed three-point basket from just inside mid-court to end the first quarter. Johnson also had 11 assists and nine rebounds.

Support also came from Cooper, who had 16 points including four three-point baskets. Cooper’s two three-point baskets within a two-minute span early in the third quarter helped the Lakers erase a 54-50 deficit.

But it was defense that won this one for the Lakers. They limited the Suns to 45.9% from the field. After making only two of 10 shots in the first quarter, Chambers finished with 26 points and eight rebounds.

Jeff Hornacek scored 19 of his 21 points through the first three quarters, and Kevin Johnson had 15 of his 22 points in the first half.

“The best move Riley made was putting in the trap in the second half,” Johnson said. “It got them out of their offense and kept the ball away from Kevin. It was a big key.”

Fitzsimmons thought so, too. But he also thought it was a blatant zone defense that the referees ignored.

“They went into their zone defense in the middle of the third,” Fitzsimmons said. “Part of the time, it was just a straight zone. The other was a so-called trap zone, so they could keep Kevin away from the basketball as much as possible.

“But we had our chances to win, and we missed a couple of opportunities.”

Which is the story of this series, as well as the other nine Laker playoff victories. They give teams brief hope, before snatching it away.

“I just hope we don’t have to get it over like we got it over in Seattle--being down 29 points,” Riley quipped.

Laker Notes

Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons was presented with the National Basketball Assn. coach of the year trophy in a pregame ceremony. Sun forward Tom Chambers made the presentation. “This has been my most enjoyable season, only because of Cotton Fitzsimmons,” Chambers said. “It’s been a great year. It’s not over yet. This is a team of the future, but we’ve got a lot left to do this year.”

Pat Riley, who has never won a coach of the year award despite guiding the Lakers to consecutive league titles, said he felt Fitzsimmons deserved the honor. Fitzsimmons was the overwhelming choice in the media voting. “I think there were three coaches who really did a job this season--Cotton, (Golden State’s Don) Nelson and Chuck (Daly, of the Detroit Pistons),” Riley said. “What Cotton did to turn this franchise around is incredible.”

LET IT FLOW James Worthy’s jump shot has returned and the result is a very Worthy-like playoff performance. Scott Howard-Cooper’s story, Page 9.