Lakers Win Rough One at Phoenix

Had the Lakers not been so beat up and exhausted, they might have done some intense celebrating here Friday night. Instead, they chose just to exhale with relief, shake a few hands and move on.

The Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 103-99, before a sellout crowd at the Veterans Coliseum in as physically taxing an effort as they have had this season. It was, perhaps, also one of their most important.

Friday’s victory, combined with the Milwaukee Bucks’ upset of the Detroit Pistons, enabled the Lakers to move three games ahead of the Pistons in the loss column with nine games to play. It seemingly would take a profound Laker slump to lose the NBA’s best record, which determines the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

But if the Lakers continue to play as strongly as they did in their 23rd road victory Friday, they are difficult to beat no matter the venue.

Shaking off injuries to center Mychal Thompson, who hyperextended his right knee but returned, and forward James Worthy, hit hard in the forehead but continuing to play, the Lakers were able to shake off repeated Phoenix comebacks.

Although they made only 22 of 36 free throws, the Lakers made four important attempts in the final 10 seconds to thwart Phoenix’s last glimmer of comeback hope. Byron Scott sank two free throws with 10 seconds left for a four-point Laker lead. Then, after a Kevin Johnson layup with five seconds left, James Worthy sank two free throws with four seconds left to secure the victory.

“This was a very, very tough game,” said Laker forward Orlando Woolridge, sporting a cut under his right eye. “We just had to really get our defense going to stop them.”

The Lakers led by one point at halftime, but opened as much as a 13-point third-quarter lead. They did it by forcing Phoenix into 11 turnovers in the quarter. Although the Suns cut the margin to one point with 3:02 left in the game, the Lakers converted in their half-court offense and made most of their free throws.

As he has consistently done against the Suns this season, Worthy led the Lakers with 29 points. He made 10 of 20 shots, including an important jump shot with 2:19 left and four free throws after that. Those last points came after Worthy collided with the Suns’ Tom Chambers and was briefly dazed by a blow to the forehead.

Magic Johnson added 22 points and 10 assists, and Byron Scott added 14 points. Michael Cooper scored seven points, but played exceptional defense against Sun point guard Kevin Johnson, who had 14 of his 24 points on free throws.

The Lakers spent all half trying to catch the Suns and did on Worthy’s jump shot at the buzzer. The basket completed a 6-0 Laker run in the final two minutes for a 50-49 Laker lead going into the second half.

Other than scoring the first basket of the game, the Lakers’ halftime lead was their only advantage in the first half. The Suns led by as many as seven points in the first quarter and eight in the second.

The Lakers stayed close with long-distance shooting. Laker guards made six three-point shots in the first half, two each by Scott, Johnson and Larry Drew.

Before the last-minute comeback, the Lakers managed to catch--but not surpass--the Suns twice in the first half. Both times came on three-point baskets by Johnson in the second quarter.

But the Suns took advantage of the disparity in free-throw shooting to maintain the lead throughout the half. Phoenix made just four field goals in the second quarter, but sank 12 of 14 free throws. The Lakers made only three of nine free throws in the quarter and six of 13 for the half.

The Lakers had no one but themselves to blame for the poor free-throw shooting. But Riley blamed the officials for the Suns’ abundance of free throws. Riley drew a technical foul with 2:44 left in the half for protesting what he perceived as a non-call. In fact, he called a timeout so he could yell up-close and personally with referee Jack Madden.

A Laker comeback followed Riley’s outburst. Drew sank his second three-point shot with 25 seconds left to cut Phoenix’s lead to 59-48. Then, after a Suns turnover, Worthy sank a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer for the Lakers’ first lead since the first minute.