Drew Gets Points on the Point : Lakers: In 107-98 victory over the Mavericks, new guard shows that L.A. no longer is at a loss when Johnson isn’t on the court.

Sprawled between a trio of Laker Girls after making his first three-point basket as a Laker, Larry Drew quickly jumped to his feet and harassed Dallas Maverick guard Brad Davis into a turnover in the second quarter Sunday night.

Another player might have lingered, if only for a moment, to savor the shot and inadvertent landing. But Drew is a man of continuous motion, of dogged determination, attributes the Lakers have not had in a true backup point guard in recent seasons.

Drew came from behind to steal the ball from Davis, leading to a basket and a quick five-point turnaround that helped turn what was a close game into an eventual 107-98 Laker victory over the Mavericks before 16,927, the first non-sellout in 37 Laker games at the Forum.

“Maybe I should apologize to her,” said Drew, referring to the Laker Girl he leveled. “But that steal, that has to be the easiest steal of my career. I don’t think Davis even saw me coming.”

The Lakers figure to see more of this from Drew. Proving an able backup to Magic Johnson at point guard, Drew scored 15 points and had four assists, his most productive offensive game of the season. He added to his usual steady ballhandling by making seven of nine shots, most of them from outside.

This is new to the Lakers. In recent seasons, Drew’s predecessors--Wes Matthews and David Rivers--hardly played and did not produce when called upon, so Coach Pat Riley was forced to play Michael Cooper out of position.

But Sunday night, Drew not only fulfilled his role of feeding passes to James Worthy (22 points) and Byron Scott (20) and backing up or playing alongside Johnson (22), but he also looked for his own shots.

And already, it looks as if Drew is the Lakers’ best off-season acquisition, Vlade Divac notwithstanding.

“That’s what Larry is about,” said Riley, whose team improved its record to 5-1. “As the season progresses, he’ll get more confidence.

“For the last four or five years, Coop has been our backup point guard, but he was more of a maintenance guard, just keeping us in the game. But Larry can run the break and create other things. Right now, he’s still learning the plays and adjusting to our style.”

The Lakers appear near top form, even though they shot just 45.2% and were outrebounded, 42-39. Their defensive pressure forced the Mavericks into 20 turnovers, and they received scoring inside and outside from Worthy and Johnson, and almost exclusively outside production from Drew and Scott.

Defensively, the Lakers held the Mavericks under 100 points. That is not unusual, though. The Mavericks have been held under triple figures in all four losses this season, their only victory coming over the Clippers.

Forward Roy Tarpley was held to 12 points, but had 14 rebounds. Adrian Dantley led the Mavericks with 18 points. But the starting backcourt of Rolando Blackman and Derek Harper combined to make nine of 25 shots and 26 points.

The Lakers’ backcourt, whatever the combination, has been productive. Drew’s acquisition has allowed Riley to play Cooper at forward, his natural position, and either rest Johnson or play him on the front line with Worthy and A.C. Green.

Rather than being wary of a newcomer, as sometimes happens in the NBA, Laker veterans embraced Drew.

“When I was asked last summer what we needed, the first thing I said was a point guard,” Johnson said. “I’ve been enjoying it since we got Larry here. It frees me up to do other things. There’s no more wear and tear on me.”

Well, not as much. Johnson missed a nearly four minutes of the first quarter after being hit in the head and sustaining a neck strain. Riley went with Cooper at point guard in that instance and, coincidentally or not, the Lakers lost a nine-point lead.

Drew spelled Johnson in the second quarter and scored seven points, then played with Johnson for part of the fourth quarter and sank four jump shots.

Before Sunday night, Drew made just 34.5% of his shots. But he attempted only 25 shots in 96 minutes. Riley, among others, urged Drew to look for his shot more.

“Right now, I’m just trying to get the feel for the system,” Drew said. “I haven’t been worried about my shooting. When I’m out there with Earvin and James, I look to get them the ball where they like it.

“(Riley) has been talking to me about stepping in and taking the shot when I’m open. But I’m not concerned. My philosophy is to play tough defense and let your offense generate from that.”

Said Johnson: “We kept saying to him, L.D., shoot. Shoot. Shoot. He finally did tonight. Then, everybody said, OK. He showed us. He used to light it up against us all the time. We were waiting for him to light it up for us.”

Drew admits coming to the Lakers has been an adjustment, not just learning Riley’s offense but also adjusting to a backup role on a winning team. Last seen in the NBA two years ago, Drew was a member of the chronically losing Clippers. He spent last season playing in Italy.

“With the Clippers, it was more me having to create for myself,” Drew said. “Here, I am running the offense and putting us into the flow. Now, I’m giving it to guys who can create with the ball.”

On evidenced Sunday night, Drew can be creative himself.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson on the recurrence of his neck injury: “It’s a little sore, but it’ll be all right.” . . . Statistic of the night, courtesy of Laker public relations director Josh Rosenfeld: Sunday was the 54th consecutive Laker victory on a night when they have not sold out the Forum. . . . Forward Orlando Woolridge is eligible to come off the injured list, but there is no timetable for his return after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 17 to remove bone fragments from his right knee. “We haven’t had any word yet,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “I’d have to say it’ll still be a couple weeks. We aren’t going to rush him. But when we do get him back, he’ll be a big addition for us.” . . . James Worthy, who slightly sprained his right ankle Thursday night against the Golden State Warriors, played 44 minutes Friday against Charlotte but rested the ankle on Saturday. “It’s better,” Worthy said before Sunday night’s game. “The day off helped. But I’m getting used to the soreness--all through my body.”

Partly because of the Lakers’ 44% shooting from the field, Riley is starting to implement more offensive patterns from last season and less of what he calls free-flowing. “We’ve only been using about 25% of the things that were in our offense last year,” Riley said. “What I wanted to do was keep it really simple, but what I’m not satisfied with right now is that we’re getting random shot selection. There’s nothing wrong with guys having the green light, but they are getting shots at random. We used to have a very controled offense. The design was to get the ball to specific guys for high percentage shots. Playing in the flow right now, we are allowing the ball to be shot by whoever has the best shot . . . but we do have to get back to some very specific plays we’ve run for a long time. In the next 15 games, we’ll be back to 25% more controled plays.”

The Mavericks probably were happy to get back on the road Sunday. They played the Clippers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, earning their only victory, then returned to Dallas and lost to Portland, 99-91, on Friday. The Mavericks are 0-2 at home and hearing it from disgruntled Reunion Arena fans. “Of all the teams I’ve been on,” forward Adrian Dantley said, “I’ve never heard the fans go off like that.” That’s saying something, since Dantley has played on six teams in his 14-year career. . . . The Lakers are off today and Tuesday, then play the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night at the Forum.