Buck Coach Makes Official Complaint : Lakers: Harris claims crew favors Los Angeles, which has 34-19 edge in free-throw attempts in 100-91 victory.

Veins bulging from under his shirt collar and his face flushed crimson, Milwaukee Buck Coach Del Harris raced from the bench to the free-throw line almost quicker than the Lakers had commenced a fast break heading in the opposite direction.

Harris, on his mad dash, was arguing what he perceived as a non-foul call by official Ken Mauer on a missed layup by Buck guard Jay Humphries. But really, he was lodging his personal protest of the game-long officiating that he felt greatly contributed to the Lakers’ 100-91 victory Friday night at the Forum.

Harris was slapped with his second technical foul for his outburst and endured the final 1:07 of the Bucks’ loss in the locker room. Solitude did not calm Harris. Speaking with reporters afterward, Harris unleashed a scathing critique of the officiating crew of Mauer, Joe Forte and Pete Quinn, one of the youngest and least experienced in the NBA.

Among them, the crew has six years of NBA experience. And, Harris charged, the Lakers received preferential treatment because they were at home and, well, because they are the Lakers. The Bucks attempted 19 free throws and made 16. The Lakers, who made two fewer field goals than the Bucks, made 28 of 34 free throws.

As a result, the Lakers (31-9) won for the seventh time in the last eight games, and the Bucks (24-18) lost for the second time in three games on the road.

“It’s a shame to have the teams playing the best basketball in the league right now having to be stuck with referees searching for an identity,” Harris said. “They are all nice guys, but we’re strapped with three inexperienced referees.

“It’s unfair, but I had to (complain). It makes me look bad because I’m arguing. It just makes the officials look bad. And it just hurts the league in general. People want to see the calls go both ways equally.

“If there is jostling on both sides, call it both ways. It shouldn’t be that one team (the Lakers) gets jostled and they get the foul, and the other team has to draw blood to get a foul called for them.”

Because Harris said what he felt--that the officiating cost the Bucks the game--his comments undoubtedly will cost him some money. The NBA routinely fines coaches and players for publicly criticizing officials.

The Lakers would maintain that their strong second-half play, overcoming a second quarter in which they shot 20% and scored only 13 points, was the difference in their victory.

They pointed to the strong play of reserve center Vlade Divac, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Credit also went to James Worthy, who made eight of 13 shots and led the Lakers with 21 points, and Magic Johnson, who had 17 assists.

But the Bucks’ eyes focused on the disparity in free throws. Johnson, for instance, made only one of nine field-goal attempts but was 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. The Bucks, conversely, attempted only nine free throws in the second half, despite consistently pushing the ball inside on low-post moves and drives to the basket.

Harris’ frustration over the officiating first bubbled over with 4:09 left in the third quarter. Alvin Robertson drove to the basket and missed his shot, but he appeared to be bumped by a Laker.

No foul was called, so Harris jogged down the sidelines and was slapped with his first technical. His second came on Humphries’ drive, when A. C. Green appeared to jostle the Buck guard after he released his shot.

Mauer did not call a foul, and Harris blew. Mauer, approached by a pool reporter afterward, declined to comment on the situation.

Laker Coach Pat Riley did not say the officiating was one-sided, but he did agree with Harris’ assessment that the NBA should not put inexperienced officials in the same group.

“There’s been a big turnover in officiating,” Riley said. “They should have veteran officials in every group. We have to go through that. But I do agree that in three or four games, we’ve been caught with officials who are not veterans. I know where he’s coming from.” The Lakers, in fact, had gripes with two late calls by Mauer in a close loss at Phoenix earlier in the month.

This time, however, the Lakers welcomed all the free-throw opportunities because they were not as sharp as in previous games.

They made only 49.3% of their shots and seemed stagnant in their half-court offense part of the night. Defensively, the Lakers limited the Bucks to 37% shooting, but many of Milwaukee’s misses were open shots.

“We were flat,” Riley said. “We were coming off a great road trip, and we exhaled a bit. They (the Bucks) didn’t play well. They missed some open shots. But we played better in the second half.”

Johnson said the Lakers did not hope for a masterpiece after playing four road games in six days.

“We weren’t going to fool ourselves,” Johnson said. “All we wanted to do is win. We were happy to get it.”

Laker Notes

Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone reportedly has changed his mind and will play in next month’s All-Star game, assuming that Western Conference coaches vote him in. Laker guard Magic Johnson said it would be a mistake if Malone carried through on his threat to boycott the game because fans had selected Laker forward A. C. Green instead of him. “He should realize there’s nothing you can do, because it’s the fans,” Johnson said of Malone. “He shouldn’t take it personally. Everyone knows he’s an all-star and an all-pro. . . . The Lakers will next play the San Antonio Spurs Monday night at the Forum.