Lakers Blow Big Lead, Hang On to Beat Hornets : NBA: Halftime bulge of 18 points disappears in third quarter, but Scott’s 33 points and Johnson’s 31 help save 106-100 victory over winless Charlotte.

Select a date at random, as Pat Riley did Friday night, and there is a chance the outcome of that night’s Laker game could have resembled their 106-100 victory over the Charlotte Hornets before 17,505 at the Forum.

Instead of fretting over the loss of an 18-point halftime lead and having his starters put in a full night’s work, Riley chose to focus on the fact that the Lakers held on to win Friday night, as they had done against seemingly undermanned opponents for years now.

“I’ve been around this team for 10 years, and I’ve seen the same thing happen a lot,” Riley said. “What it is is that they build this cushion and they may not keep it, but they don’t lose it all. You could look back to Feb. 13, 1984, and it was probably one of those things where we were ahead by 30 and almost blew it.

“It’s the same thing then and now. Only back then, I was probably more (upset).”

Sorry, Pat. The Lakers were idle on Feb. 13, 1984.

But the point was made. The Lakers, during Riley’s tenure, will rarely squander a big lead at home to a team of Charlotte’s caliber.

A potential Laker runaway turned into another close game. They needed Byron Scott’s 33 points and Magic Johnson’s 31 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to turn back a team that has won only three of 16 quarters this season and is 0-4.

Make no mistake, though, Riley would have preferred a blowout victory. He has not mellowed that much. But the Lakers’ third-quarter lethargy, in which the Hornets pulled to within one point before being repelled, apparently was not a cause of brow furrowing.

“I’m not disappointed at all,” Riley said. “We made a great effort in the first half, but they mentally lost it in the third quarter and (Charlotte) played well. You can never accept the fact that it’s OK to step back a little, but it happens.

“What we had in the third quarter tonight was ‘ menmotion. ‘ Menmotion is the opposite of momentum. We reversed things in the third quarter.”

Although the Lakers are 4-1 and are tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for first place in the Pacific Division, they have not exactly overpowered opponents. They are not the slightest bit worried, though, since they are struggling to gain syncopation in an altered offense. A lot of time, they are offbeat.

In the first half Friday, little went wrong for the Lakers. They shot 55.8% and took the Hornets out of their offense and, seemingly, out of contention by virtue of a 58-40 lead.

Then came the second half, and Charlotte’s revival. The Lakers, conversely, needed to be revived. They lost motion in their offense and made sloppy passes for a total of 23 turnovers. Defensively, they were unable to stop Hornet guard Rex Chapman, who scored 20 of his 27 points in Charlotte’s third-quarter rally.

But Johnson made nine of 12 shots in the second half.

The lead was 93-85 with six minutes to play when Johnson made perhaps the game’s most important shot. Vlade Divac had rebounded Del Curry’s missed jump shot, dribbled behind his back into the frontcourt then wisely passed to Johnson. The Laker guard sank a three-point shot that gave the Lakers’ a 96-85 lead. Thirty seconds later, two free throws by A.C. Green gave the Lakers a 13-point lead.

Charlotte later cut the lead to five points on a three-point shot by Chapman with 2:50 to play, but Johnson countered by scoring from inside.

Scott, who made 11 of 15 shots, and Johnson constituted most of the Laker offense since James Worthy (15 points) seemed slightly hobbled by the sprained right ankle he suffered during Thursday night’s victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Friday night’s win paled in comparison with the victory in Oakland the night before. But, against the Warriors, the Lakers won despite making just 36.1% of their shots. Against Charlotte, they shot 53.9%.

Riley said he somewhat expected the Laker offense to occasionally sputter in the early season. He has preached patience--to a point.

“We are not being as efficient as we should be on offense,” Riley said. “I’m going to wait about 15 games, and if that doesn’t come back to our offense, I’m going to go back to some of the sets we had before.”

That would mean an emphasis on more of a structured, low-post game, rather than a free-flowing, running game.

But the Lakers are not ready to panic.

“It’s going to be awhile before we get going, but we’re still 4-1,” said Johnson, who had nine turnovers. “We know the offense is eventually going to come. We’re doing some new things, and sometimes we’re out of control.

“For the first time in my career, we’ve almost got more new guys than old guys. Now, we’re better on defense than offense. That’s the first time in my career I can say that, too.”

But it is not the first time--or so Riley’s remembers it--that the Lakers have blown big leads only to salvage a victory at the end.

“I’m not really concerned about that right now,” Johnson said. “It’s not like it’s midseason and we blew a big lead. Then, you’d be saying, what’s wrong with us. You can’t say that now.”

Laker Notes

The Lakers’ pursuit of free-agent center Jawann Oldham apparently is over. “We aren’t going to sign him,” General Manager Jerry West said before the game. “Physically, the knee was the big thing. His (test results) were not what we wanted to see. Plus, he has options with offers (from other teams) that we would not be able to match.” The 7-foot Oldham, waived by the Sacramento Kings, underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee on March 22, 1988, but apparently it has not been restored to full strength.

The Lakers’ 69 rebounds during Thursday night’s 106-95 victory in Oakland were the most by a Warrior opponent since Feb. 10, 1984, when Detroit had 70. . . . Dave Hoppen, a Charlotte reserve forward, suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Wednesday night’s loss to Utah and did not play against the Lakers.