Lakers Spin Extra Magic in Overtime : Pro basketball: They hold off Portland, 121-119, even though Johnson fouls out near the end of regulation play.

Sometimes great success must be preceded by miserable failure. Byron Scott, the Lakers’ shooting guard, saw one jump shot clang off the rim and his next miss altogether in the first minute of overtime against the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night.

He had the failure part down cold. Success would have to wait.

Normally, in such circumstances, Scott might defer to Magic Johnson. But Johnson had fouled out in regulation, so Scott had no choice but to keep shooting and hope for better results.

Maybe only slightly daunted, Scott then made two jump shots, one a three-pointer, in overtime to lift the Lakers past the Trail Blazers, 121-119, in the battle for first place in the Pacific Division.

Thanks to Scott and James Worthy, with free-throw support supplied by Mychal Thompson, the Lakers were able to beat the Trail Blazers and increase their Pacific Division lead to 1 1/2 games despite the absence of their leading scorer and floor leader.

Johnson, who made a 14-foot jump shot with 2.2 seconds left that gave the Lakers a 113-112 lead, fouled out with a half-second to play when he collided with Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter after an inbounds pass.

But Porter missed one of the two free throws, forcing overtime. The Lakers then turned to Scott and Worthy.

“This was one from the heart,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “Without Buck (Johnson) in overtime, to get the job done, is great. We went from sure victory to impending doom three or four times, but Byron hit some big shots.

“Byron showed great character. That air ball (in overtime) could have been very deflating to him. But he bounced back and lifted us up. He had to do it without Buck.”

If Scott felt the pressure, he did not show it. He hardly seemed fazed after the two missed shots in overtime.

“You miss a couple, you make a couple,” Scott said. “When I miss, I want to make up for it and soon as possible.”

After Scott’s two misses and Trail Blazer baskets by Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth, the Lakers trailed, 117-113, and called time out to regroup.

“I told (Scott) when he went out there (for overtime) that he had to be the guy,” Johnson said. “They were not really playing him, even then. During the timeout (after Scott’s two misses), I told him to pull up and make those shots. I’m glad he didn’t say, ‘Hey, I’m not making them’ and pass off.”

Scott made an 18-foot jump shot after taking a pass from Worthy, cutting Portland’s lead to two points. After Portland missed several scoring chances, the Lakers regained possession with 2:24 to play. With time dwindling on the shot clock, Scott pulled up behind the three-point line on the right perimeter and sank a shot for a 118-117 Laker lead with 2:06 to play.

The Trail Blazers unraveled, giving the Lakers the ball with 1:09 to play.

Again, the Lakers looked for Scott. This time, his long jump shot was far short. But Worthy, who led the Lakers with 25 points, grabbed the air ball under the basket and laid it in. The Lakers had a 120-117 lead with 45 seconds left.

Portland and the Lakers then proceeded to miss scoring chances, the Trail Blazers on missed shots and the Lakers because of another turnover.

Eventually, the Trail Blazers were forced to foul. They picked Thompson with 7.4 seconds left. Thompson, who had a season-high 24 points, made the first shot for a four-point Laker lead. Although Thompson missed the second free throw, the Laker victory was secured even after Williams’ basket at the buzzer.

The Lakers felt they should have won in regulation. After making the jump shot over Williams with 2.2 seconds left, Johnson began a celebration. His arms outstretched, Johnson backpedaled all the way to the Laker bench for a timeout. That celebration proved premature, however.

Portland still had the ball and 2.2 seconds with which to work. Williams inbounded the ball to Porter, who took two quick dribbles forward and made contact with Johnson, who appeared to be trying to leave the area.

But Porter took a tumble after the contact, and Johnson was called for the foul, his sixth, with 0.5 seconds to play.

All Porter had to do to ensure a victory that would bump the Lakers out of first place was make both free throws. But he missed the first, coming up short. He made the second to force overtime.

“There were a lot of chances for both teams to win,” Riley said. “We didn’t see Portland at its best for the first three quarters. They played well in the fourth quarter.

Still, neither team could hold the lead in the final minute of regulation.

The Lakers took a 109-108 lead with 53 seconds left when Johnson sank a jump shot off a Vlade Divac screen. But the Trail Blazers countered with two free throws by Porter 12 seconds later.

Johnson’s two free throws with 34 seconds left gave the Lakers a 111-110 lead. Then, after a scramble for the ball following a missed shot by Clyde Drexler, the Trail Blazers had two more chances to take the lead. They finally did it, 112-111, with 21.5 seconds left when Drexler was fouled by Johnson underneath.

At that point, Riley called a timeout to set up what he thought would be the last shot. But Johnson’s jumper didn’t end the game.

“I thought I had enough arch to make that first free throw,” Porter said. “But we didn’t play that well in the first half. We missed the shots that got us here tonight.”

As a result, the Lakers will break for the All-Star game after tonight’s game against Chicago at the Forum in first place in the Pacific Division.

“We started out the season in first place and I guess we’ll be there at the All-Star break now,” Riley said. “But this game, from our point of view, wasn’t about making statements. I think Portland felt it had to make a statement.”

Laker Notes

James Worthy said he understands Philadelphia 76er forward Charles Barkley’s desire to sit out Sunday’s All-Star game to rest a groin injury. NBA officials have threatened Barkley with a week’s suspension if he doesn’t play, the same penalty with which they threatened Worthy in 1988 when he wanted to rest his injured left knee. “I can relate to that situation,” Worthy said. “My reason (for not wanting to play) was just to get the three days of rest. We had a game right before the break, so they figured, ‘If you can play in that game, you can play in the All-Star game.’ Maybe if (Barkley) had waited until after his last game before the break, then told them that he couldn’t play, it might have worked.”

Russ Granik, the NBA’s executive vice president, explained the league’s position: “Our view is that the All-Star game is a very important event. It’s as important, though not necessarily more important, than any other game in the league. The NBA is going to be skeptical about any player injured only for the All-Star game.”