Lakers Get Moving After a Sleepy Half : Pro basketball: A 15-2 run finally puts away Kings for 39th time in a row at the Forum.

Once the Lakers got serious Thursday night, the Sacramento Kings were in serious trouble. No surprise there, except maybe that it took the Lakers so long to get interested.

But even then, the Lakers had a problem with a short attention span, which periodically led to a shortened lead. Since these were only the Kings, last-place dwellers in the Pacific Division, the Lakers played well enough throughout for a comfortable 110-103 victory before 17,505 fans at the Forum.

Perhaps thinking ahead to tonight’s important game at Phoenix, or reflecting on big home victories over Portland and Utah last weekend, the Lakers weren’t their robust selves against the Kings.

“The environment was not like it was last weekend,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “There was not the same electricity and anticipation. Tonight was more of a business game. We’re better than them. We should win. We did win. I didn’t think of it as a letdown. The state of mind was just different.”

The Lakers, on whatever level, were good enough to extend their home winning streak against the King franchise to 39 games. The last time the Kings won at the Forum was Oct. 20, 1974, and Thursday’s effort was one of their better showings.

The only important numbers to the Lakers, however, were in the standings. They are 55-17 and still lead the Detroit Pistons by two games in the loss column in the race for the NBA’s best overall record. In the Western Conference, the Lakers extended their advantage over Utah and Portland to five games in the loss column.

“Every team we play is not going to just roll over,” Magic Johnson said. “Even with their record, (the Kings) have been playing some pretty good ball. They played us hard tonight. So, give them credit.”

Still, the Lakers say they will not rest until they not only secure the best record in the West but also beat out the Pistons for home-court advantage should the teams meet for a third consecutive time in the NBA finals.

A first-half showing such as Thursday night’s will not get it done, however. The Lakers blew a nine-point first-quarter lead, commited 12 turnovers and were fortunate to enter the second half tied, 49-49.

The Lakers emerged from the locker room in the second half and sprinted to a 15-2 third-quarter run that put them in control. They took a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter and withstood several spirited Sacramento runs before settling for the seven-point victory.

Johnson led the Lakers with 21 points and 16 assists. He made consecutive three-point baskets midway through the fourth quarter that squelched any real chance of a Sacramento upset. Orlando Woolridge, playing 30 minutes because of James Worthy’s foul trouble, also had 21 points. Woolridge made eight of 11 shots.

Typifying the economy of energy the Lakers exerted in beating the Kings was Worthy’s performance. He scored 18 points in 18 minutes. He made all nine shots he attempted and spent much of the night nursing four fouls.

Leading the Kings (22-52) was Antoine Carr, who scored 26 points off the bench. Guard Danny Ainge came up a rebound shy of a triple-double, scoring 13 points and passing for 12 assists to go with nine rebounds.

The Lakers certainly won’t savor this one. They simply filed it away along with their 54 other victories and looked ahead. And, because the Jazz and Trail Blazers are both five games behind the Lakers in the loss column with 10 to play, Riley is focusing on the Pistons.

Riley believes the Lakers cannot lose another game if they want to assure themselves of the league’s best record. Although that thinking might be a little extreme, the Lakers certainly cannot lose more than two or three of their last 10, depending, of course, on how the Pistons play.

“We’ve got some tough road games left,” Riley said. “We have to play more consistent, especially on the road. Our third period tonight was what we should be working at for 48 minutes.”

The Lakers were near their best in outscoring the Kings, 34-17, in the third quarter. Worthy scored eight points in the first 7:17 of the quarter before picking up his fourth foul. No problem, though. A.C. Green and Woolridge combined for 13 points, and Byron Scott (18 points) sank a crucial three-point basket.

“We just came out flat,” Woolridge said. “At halftime, we tried to put more emphasis on defense and rebounding and getting our running game going.”

The Lakers certainly accomplished that. They had only one fast-break basket in the first half, five in the third quarter.

“I think we had our tempo going,” King Coach Dick Motta said. “But then, we got a couple of turnovers (in the third quarter) and, off of our mistakes, they got it going.”

Motta then launched into a tribute to Johnson, who actually did not have one of his more exceptional efforts Thursday night. Regardless, Motta was impressed.

“It’s amazing to see the improvement in this guy up close,” Motta said. “Every year, he comes back with a new present, and with the same enthusiasm. He’s an amazing guy. I’ve been playing against the Lakers for 21 years (as a coach) . . . and this guy is better than (Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).”

Ainge said Johnson was the difference in the fourth quarter, when the Kings made one last stab at passing the napping Lakers.

“He does whatever it takes to win the game,” Ainge said of Johnson. “We made a little run, but he put a stop to that.”