Magic Has 24 Assists to Set Club Record : Lakers: Johnson also scores 24 points to go along with A.C. Green’s season-high 27 in 119-105 victory over Nuggets.

Put the ball in Magic Johnson’s hands and any number of things can happen, most of them good.

Let him roam free against those running Denver Nuggets, and he is likely to give a virtuoso performance such as Friday night’s masterpiece.

All Johnson did was set a regular-season club record with 24 assists, score 24 points and lead the Lakers to an exhaustive but easy 119-105 victory before 17,505 at the Forum.

Johnson’s 24 assists bettered the Lakers’ regular-season record of 23, set by Jerry West in 1967 and tied by Johnson in 1988.

The record is all Johnson’s now. So is the postseason record. Five years ago, he also had 24 assists in a playoff game against the Phoenix Suns.

About the only one not impressed with Johnson Friday night was Doug Moe. The irrepressible Nugget coach called Johnson’s performance, which also included eight rebounds and six steals, routine.

“You wanna know something,” Moe said. “He didn’t play that well in the first half. You wanna know something, he didn’t have a great game. He didn’t take over; (A.C.) Green did. We were chopped liver by the time Magic took over.”

Green, to be sure, was dominating. He scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and took away any semblance of an inside game the Nuggets tried to establish.

But many of Green’s points, including three consecutive baskets near the start of the third quarter, came off Johnson passes.

“You play enough with (Johnson), and you won’t get hit in the head with his passes anymore,” Green said. “The guy is amazing with those passes. I mean, he knows where you’re going to be.

“He can do anything. You expect the unexpected.”

Passing the ball, finding teammates open underneath when they might not even think they are open, might be Johnson’s greatest attribute.

Because he is playing forward more and handling the ball less, Johnson’s assist average is down to 8.4 per game.

He began the night tied for seventh in the NBA. But against the free-form Nuggets, Johnson had the ball in the open court.

“When the game is wide-open like this, there’s the opportunity to have a lot of assists,” said Johnson, not overly excited by the accomplishment.

“One (assist) is just like the other. You just keep going. Denver doesn’t give you a chance to count them. They keep you moving.”

Johnson already had buried the Nuggets by the time he expunged his and West’s names from the record book. The record-setting assist came with 3:40 to play, when Johnson fed Worthy for an open jump shot. Shortly thereafter, Johnson called it a night.

Johnson’s 24-24 performance helped the Lakers overcome an early deficit to lead by a point at halftime. Then, passing for nine assists in the third quarter, the Lakers pulled away and never looked back en route to their seventh victory in eight games.

Recipients of Johnson’s passing prowess included Green, whose 27-point performance was a season high, and the consistent Worthy, who had 20 points. Byron Scott and Michael Cooper added 16 and 15 points, respectively.

Alex English, struggling this season, led the Nuggets with 19 points, and Lafayette Lever had 14. The Nuggets were outrebounded, 50-46, and commited 17 turnovers to the Lakers’ 14.

The Lakers might not like the work involved in playing the Nuggets (4-4), all that continuous motion, but it seems to fit their style.

After struggling to keep pace with the Nuggets in the first half, the Lakers simply blew past them in the third quarter. A one-point halftime lead expanded to 15 points entering the fourth quarter.

Nearly six minutes into the third quarter, the Lakers firmly established the lead and dictated the pace. An 18-7 run, culminated by Scott’s jump shot, gave the Lakers a 77-65 lead. The lead increased to as many as 17 points before settling at 94-79 entering the fourth quarter. It was an impressive third-quarter performance, perhaps the Lakers’ best sustained effort in the young season. They shot 63.6% and forced the Nuggets to make only 30.4% of their shots.

With the fourth quarter still to play, Johnson already had 20 assists, most by any player in the league this season. It was the 18th time Johnson had at least 20 assists in a game.

Johnson’s performance Friday night was something to be savored, because it might not happen too many times this season. Because he is playing forward, Johnson is asked to do different things, while Larry Drew handles the ball-handling chores.

It is a role that Johnson has adapted to, but at the expense of some of his creativity.

“He struggled the other night (against Indiana),” Coach Pat Riley said. “He was mentally fatigued from switching back and forth (from guard to forward), and it showed he’s human. Tonight, he broke through that and was awesome. He could turn out to be the most versatile player in the history of the game.”

Laker Notes

Forward Orlando Woolridge, recovering from an Oct. 17 arthroscopic procedure to remove bone fragments from his right knee, has started running straight ahead. “I’ve been running for a couple days, and it was better than I thought it’d be,” Woolridge said. “I had no pain.” Woolridge said he does not know when he will be activated. . . . Mychal Thompson, originally reluctant to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s replacement, says he does not want to give up the starting job despite Vlade Divac’s fine play. “We’re 6-1,” Thompson said before Friday night’s game. “So, why mess with success.”

Alex English’s six points in the Nuggets’ victory over the Washington Bullets on Wednesday night was his lowest point output in 386 games. He entered Friday night’s game averaging 11.7 points. “He’ll be there when we need him,” Nugget guard Michael Adams said. “He’s pressing a little right now.”

English’s low point apparently came in a game last week, when Coach Doug Moe inserted English into the game, then replaced him 85 seconds later. Moe reportedly said he forgot that English was in the game. English, speaking with the Denver media, replied: “How do you forget an eight-time All-Star sitting on the bench? I’m not getting the chance to play. If this is the way it’s going to be, I will not deal with it.”

The Lakers conclude a five-game home stand Sunday night with a game against the Washington Bullets. This has been the Lakers’ longest home stand of the season.