Green Rescues Lakers : Pro basketball: Forward has his best game since All-Star vote announced. L.A. holds off the Nuggets, 113-111.

A.C. Green arched an eyebrow skeptically and insisted he has not struggled or slumped or pressed in recent weeks.

So, even after Green scored 21 points and made two big plays in the Lakers’ 113-111 victory over the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night, the Laker forward still seemed stuck in the denial stage.

“Not really,” Green said when asked if he was concerned about his recent play. “Personally, I don’t feel anything desperate needed to be (changed) in the way I play. The only thing I needed to do was play hard and do what the team needs to win.”

For Green, statistics mean little. It apparently did not faze him that since his controversial All-Star selection, his scoring average had tumbled from 14.3 to 11.3 per game. And, Green maintained that being benched in the second half last Sunday against Boston was of little consequence.

All that matters is that the Lakers continue to win.

To that end, Green contributed greatly Wednesday night.

Green, who also had 12 rebounds, cut across the lane for a basket with 33.3 seconds left that gave the Lakers a 112-111 lead. Then, after Byron Scott sank a free throw for two-point Laker lead with 10.2 seconds to play, Green blocked Michael Adams’ last-second follow shot to preserve the victory.

Coming a night after the Lakers’ emotional overtime victory at San Antonio, Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory may have been more impressive. Coupled with Portland’s loss to Cleveland, the Lakers (39-12) increased their Pacific Division lead to 2 1/2 games over the Trail Blazers.

As the publicity-shy Green would want it, he was not the only Laker standout Wednesday. Scott made 10 of 13 shots and had 24 points. Vlade Divac had 23 points and nine rebounds in 22 minutes, and Magic Johnson logged another triple-double--17 points, 17 assists and 11 rebounds. But Green was the first player Coach Pat Riley mentioned for plaudits. It had been a while.

Green’s last statistically impressive game was Jan. 24, when he scored 24 points (12 of 13 from the field) and had 11 rebounds against Indiana. The next day, it was announced that Green had been chosen by fans as an All-Star starter over Utah’s Karl Malone.

Coincidentally or not, Green’s performance had suffered since. In the 11 games since the Indiana game, Green had averaged only 7.1 points.

Although Green does not acknowledge a problem, something was amiss.

“A.C. has been much maligned,” Riley said. “And he has struggled. But that’s what he is all about. He has worked through that. I don’t think the All-Star stuff had a lot to do with it. It’s just that his performance was off. His game is all about effort. A.C. has to play with reckless abandon.”

Wednesday, he did.

Limited to three points and four rebounds in the first half, Green transformed his game to pre-All-Star form in the second half. He scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in the second half, including several important baskets during the Lakers’ stretch run.

Green, left alone on the perimeter when the Nuggets double-teamed the ball, sank consecutive jump shots to give the Lakers a 107-93 lead with 4:57 to play.

That turned out to be the peak of the Lakers’ impressive turnaround. Trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Lakers went on a second-half tear. Then, fatigue or complacency, or both, took hold, and the Lakers had to scramble for the victory.

And, in the final minutes, Green made several important contributions.

After Denver had sliced the lead to 107-104 with 2:38 left on Adams’ three-point shot, Green countered 12 seconds later by sinking a jump shot for a five-point lead.

Then came his power move to the basket with 33.3 seconds left that gave the Lakers a 112-111 lead. James Worthy had the ball in the low post and found Green cutting to the basket. Worthy’s pass was a tad high, but Green grabbed the ball and laid it in.

After a Nugget timeout, Adams brought the ball upcourt, received a screen from Danny Schayes and drove to the basket. Green, guarding Schayes, switched on the play and blocked Adams’ shot out of bounds with 27 seconds left. Alex English, who had 24 points, then missed a jump shot, Johnson grabbing the rebound.

Scott’s free throw with 10.2 seconds left prompted another Nugget timeout. Adams ended up having two more chances, sandwiched around Bill Hanzlik’s missed tip-in. Green altered Adams’ first attempt and blocked the second at the buzzer.

Laker Notes

Forward Michael Cooper, who missed the second half of Tuesday night’s game against San Antonio after hitting his head on a metal platform while diving for a loose ball, did not suit up for Wednesday night’s game. “The doctors told me I couldn’t play,” Cooper said. “But I hope to be back Friday (against Philadelphia, at the Forum).” Cooper suffered no neurological damage after his fall, but he said his neck is extremely stiff. He said he remembers little about the play. “All I remember is just going over the chair,” Cooper said. “Next thing I remember is (trainer Gary) Vitti standing over me.” Cooper temporarily lost feeling in his arms, which he said scared him. “(Scared) ain’t the word for it,” Cooper said. My first thought was that I don’t want to be in a wheelchair, so I kept trying to get up.” Cooper said he did not have a headache when he woke up Wednesday morning. “That surprised me,” he said. A doctor that examined Cooper at a San Antonio hospital Tuesday night fitted him with a neck brace. Cooper did not wear the brace Wednesday night, however. “I left it on the plane,” he said.