Lakers Handle ‘Jordanaires’ in 121-103 Victory : Pro basketball: Chicago star gets 32 points, but his supporting cast is overwhelmed by L. A. depth.

Clear the court and leave Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson alone and, sure, you have a show of individual skills worth paying a few dollars to see.

What would be lost, however, are the virtues of team play, rarely better exemplified than in the Lakers’ 121-103 victory over the Chicago Bulls Wednesday night in the Forum.

In their final game before the All-Star break, the Lakers (35-11) increased their Pacific Division lead to two games over Portland.

And, although attention naturally focused on the duel between Jordan and Johnson, the Lakers’ depth and versatility won out.

Johnson and Jordan had big nights. Johnson scored 22 points--nine coming on three-point baskets--and had 17 assists. And Jordan led all scorers with 32 points, a shade under his 33.3 average.

Their matchup was only one of several story lines, if not a subplot.

The Lakers set out to limit the rest of the Bulls--sometimes called the “Jordanaires,” as if they were merely backup singers. Except for Craig Hodges, who made four three-point shots and had 18 points, and Horace Grant’s 12 points and 18 rebounds, the Lakers pretty much controlled the other Bulls.

Conversely, several Lakers contributed. Six players finished in double figures and their floating “help” defense could serve as a model for teams wanting to contain--not stop--Jordan.

Laker forward James Worthy scored 30 points and, Jordan notwithstanding, had the most acrobatic basket of the night when he sank a no-look two-hand scoop shot in the first half--while being fouled. Worthy made 11 of 19 shots.

“We needed that from James,” Johnson said. “He always comes forward in the big games. When he’s scoring, it opens things up for everyone else.”

Michael Cooper guarded Jordan about 15 1/2 minutes and gave up only 10 points, four on free throws. Cooper, on a possession in the first half, remained airborne and blocked Jordan’s shot even through Jordan double-pumped before shooting.

“He has always been a good defender,” Jordan said of Cooper. “He has good foot movement and is very good when it comes to denying the ball.”

Other Laker contributors included center Mychal Thompson, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds and outplayed Bull center Bill Cartwright; guard Byron Scott, who guarded Jordan most of the game but still managed 13 points; and reserves Orlando Woolridge (14 points) and Cooper (11).

Against Jordan, strength in numbers is valuable.

“We wanted to win as a team, play as a team,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “We had to do things that we hadn’t done, as a team, against Chicago before. We didn’t want to pay so much attention on Jordan that we let everyone else go off on us. That’s what happened the last few times.”

The Lakers had lost four consecutive games to the Bulls over three seasons. Included was a 93-83 setback at Chicago in December. In that game, both Jordan and his backup group had big games.

“We played well, we moved the ball well,” Johnson said. “What we wanted to do is try to contain some of those other guys. We knew what Michael could do. We didn’t want the other guys to have big games.”

Scottie Pippen, the Bulls’ All-Star forward averaging 16.7 points, was held to 14, attempting only seven shots in 34 minutes. Grant also was held slightly below his season average, and, although Cartwright scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds, he was not a factor.

Jordan was a factor, but not the determining one. He made 12 of 21 shots, but made only one field goal and four of five free throws in the fourth quarter.

Worthy nearly matched Jordan point for point. Jordan had 18 points at halftime; Worthy 17. Jordan had 26 points entering the fourth quarter; Worthy 25.

“Michael put on a good show,” Thompson said. “He might have won the battle. He may have gotten more ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.’ But James doesn’t care about that. James just keeps playing.”

It was the Bulls’ third consecutive loss, and Coach Phil Jackson blamed it on defense.

“I did not like our defense tonight,” he said. “We had many lapses in the second half, which made it extremely difficult to get back in the game.”

The Lakers opened a significant lead early in the third quarter, when Johnson sank consecutive three-point shots for a 73-59 lead. The Lakers would lead by as many as 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters and would not let the Bulls get closer than six points in the fourth.

Although the Bulls had been in Los Angeles since Sunday waiting for Wednesday’s game, and the Lakers had won in overtime at Portland on Tuesday, the Lakers came out more aggressively.

“They’re just good,” Hodges said. “They play at a very high level and have a high level of concentration. When they do that, they’re even better.”

The Lakers, as instructed by Riley, paid attention to Jordan but did not let him consume their thoughts.

He scored six of the Bulls’ first 10 points, also drawing two fouls on Scott. That prompted Riley to insert Cooper earlier than planned.

In Cooper’s 11 minutes guarding Jordan in the first half, the Bulls guard scored eight points.

Jordan did not have to carry the offensive load in the first half. Hodges, a long-distance shooting specialist who will challenge Jordan in Sunday’s three-point shooting contest, scored 12 points--including two three-pointers--in a substitute’s role.

“Those two guys (Cooper and Scott) did a good job on Michael (Jordan),” Riley said. “But we wanted to stop the other guys. Hodges hurt us a little in the first half, but we stopped him better in the second half, too.”

As entertaining as Jordan was, Worthy’s second-quarter no-look basket was the most crowd-stirring. Setting up in the low post with his back to the basket, Worthy took a pass from Johnson in the air. Still airborne, Worthy flipped the ball with both hands over his head and into the basket. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw.

“It was a super play,” Johnson said, “especially with his back to the basket.”