A Non-Magical Victory : Pro basketball: With Johnson watching, Clippers come back from a 19-point halftime deficit to lead after three quarters before Lakers prevail, 106-99.

He was reduced to Earvin Johnson Wednesday, for not even a Magic man could heal a badly sprained ankle in time to play, not this quickly. Check back in a couple of days.

His teammates managed a little trickery anyway. Twenty-three points ahead in the second quarter, two behind after the third. Presto, Laker invincibility throughout Los Angeles, already proven to be a thing of the past, was being smacked around.

They recovered just in time, soon enough to keep a half-game lead over Detroit for the best record in the NBA, soon enough to take a 2 1/2-game lead over idle Portland in the Pacific Division, soon enough to beat the Clippers, 106-99, before 15,350 at the Sports Arena.

In a game of several turns, the last one belonged to the Lakers (52-17). Taking advantage of the smaller lineup put in for outside shooting, they went from a 38% success rate in the third quarter to 67% in the fourth. Not surprisingly, the scoring output jumped dramatically--18 to 33.

James Worthy had 11 of his team-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. Michael Cooper had all of his nine. Byron Scott accounted for six of his 18 in that stretch, and together the three combined to go 10 for 15.

“It was just too bad there weren’t four or five balls out there at a time,” Scott said. “It seemed like everyone was making their shots.”

Seemed like it to the Clippers, too.

“It was the vets’ time then and the veterans came though,” Coach Don Casey said of the Lakers. “They hit some big-time shots.”

A big-time Clipper turnaround forced them to. Before that, no one could have dreamed up a finish to keep the capacity crowd around until the end.

The only drama early belonged to Johnson--whether he would play with the Lakers trying to avoid their third consecutive Sports Arena loss.

The last time they visited--Jan. 30 in an eventual 121-104 Clipper victory--his status was uncertain before the game because of the flu, although he did end up playing 25 minutes. Wednesday, some 24 hours after twisting his right ankle at the Portland Coliseum, the decision didn’t take nearly as long. He arrived in street clothes and never changed.

In a way, he was under the weather again--emotionally.

“Nothing feels good right now,” Johnson said before the game. “I just want to be out there playing. In that regard, it doesn’t feel good.”

Physically, though, it could have been worse. After keeping the ankle wrapped all night after the return from Oregon, Johnson moved without problem Wednesday. It only hurt when the foot turned.

“The tenderness is bad,” he said. “Other than that . . . “

There were no predictions regarding Johnson’s availability. He will be be examined again Friday before a determination is made if he can play against Portland at the Forum on Friday, but the Clipper game served as a gauge.

“If it’s like it is today, then no,” Johnson said. “If there’s improvement, maybe.”

The Clippers also went without their starting point guard, Winston Garland, injured in overtime of Monday’s victory over Minnesota. X-rays showed no breaks after a scary fall, but soreness in his hip, neck and head had worsened since Tuesday.

Pain soon became the common denominator among all Clippers, who fell behind, 12-3, pulled even, and then trailed, 27-23, after the first quarter. That’s the last they saw of the game for a while.

From 38-32 midway through the second quarter, the Lakers, with Larry Drew at the point, went on a 17-0 run, Mychal Thompson getting six of the points. The Clippers went 4:50 without scoring and scored 13 points in the 12 minutes, all but three by Danny Manning.

That beat their season low for points in a quarter by two. By intermission, the Clippers trailed, 55-36. That set a new mark for fewest points in a half.

From this came . . . a thriller?

The Clippers (27-44) put together their best quarter of the season, a 39-point effort that put them ahead, 75-73, and provided some of the best moments since Gary Grant and Ron Harper were injured.

“We played about as well as we could without Earvin in the first half,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “We were very focused defensively. But in the third quarter, we just kind of went haywire.”

Laker-Clipper Notes

Billy Tubbs, the first name into the rumor mill for the Clippers’ expected coaching search, spent part of Tuesday with owner Donald T. Sterling. But, Sterling said, the Oklahoma coach was already in Los Angeles on other business and stopped by a Clipper party in Beverly Hills strictly on a social basis. . . . Because of the injury to Winston Garland, the Clippers had their third different starting lineup in four games. This time, it was Charles Smith, Ken Norman, Benoit Benjamin, Tom Garrick and Jeff Martin.