Magic Touch Gives Lakers Best Record : NBA: Johnson’s last-second basket beats SuperSonics, 102-101, and clinches home-court advantage throughout playoffs.

Common basketball terms failed to adequately describe Magic Johnson’s most uncommon last-second shot Tuesday night. Some called it a hook, others a one-handed push shot. Johnson himself shrugged and termed it a “turn-push,” whatever that means. But no one, for sure, called it a prayer.

What the shot meant to the Lakers seemed more important than its label.

Johnson’s turnaround, one-handed, 15-footer over Nate McMillan’s outstretched arms not only gave the Lakers a 102-101 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics but also the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Tuesday’s victory assured the Lakers (61-18) of the NBA’s best record with three games to play. It also struck a serious blow to the SuperSonics’ playoff hopes. Seattle now is a game behind Houston for the final Western Conference playoff spot, which means a date with the Lakers in the first round.

After what Johnson did to them Tuesday, the SuperSonics might not want to see him again for a while. Using its customary trapping defense and aggressive play, Seattle controlled Johnson and the Lakers until the last second.

Then came Johnson’s shot and a Laker victory, the club’s 10th in a row over the SuperSonics.

“The only thing you do is sit and watch or stand and watch,” Seattle forward Xavier McDaniel said of Johnson’s shot. “Sometimes he makes you think he sold his soul to the devil.”

The Lakers know better than to be amazed. Vintage Johnson, they called it. They expressed no surprise, just pleasure in its execution and result.

“I’m not surprised at all with the shot he made,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “It took simply a great player, simply the most valuable player of this league, to win this game and get us the best record.”

Even if they had lost Tuesday’s game, the Lakers probably would have secured the league’s best record, needing only one victory this week. But they wanted it over with as soon as possible and, it turned out, Johnson was their only hope.

The Lakers had the ball at midcourt with Seattle leading, 101-100, and 5.2 seconds to play. Michael Cooper inbounded to Johnson, who had to fight through McMillan just to receive the pass.

His Laker teammates cleared the area and let Johnson create. The SuperSonics had double-teamed and trapped Johnson all game but, strangely, they chose not to on the final possession. Perhaps they feared that Johnson would find an open teammate for an easy basket.

Johnson said he was as surprised as anyone about the single coverage. But he turned his back to McMillan and the basket and dribbled into scoring position, taking furtive looks at the clock as he went. With less than two seconds left, Johnson spun free of McMillan’s defense and let fly the one-handed attempt, not unlike a shot-putter but with a softer touch.

The ball went in with 0.8 seconds left. Seattle called time out and set up for its last-gasp attempt. But James Worthy swatted away McMillan’s inbounds pass, and the Lakers had won the game and the league’s best record.

“You try to set yourself up to take the best shot possible,” Johnson said. “I got a good look at it, and it went down. Nate did a good job. He cut me off. But I got into position so I could go away from his body. Nate’s strong, just like I am.

“I was ready to pass it, because they’d been doubling me the whole game. As soon as I got it, I was looking for which way it (the double-team) was coming, so I could find the open man. But they denied everybody.

“At the time, I knew I was out there somewhere. I didn’t know exactly how far I was (from the basket). It really wasn’t a hook. It was more like a turn-push. A hook from that far out is a little too much.”

Johnson’s teammates knew the ball, an especially high-arched attempt even for Johnson, was going in as soon as he released it. Or so they said afterward.

“When he gets it like that and backs people down, I basically started walking backwards, because I knew it was going in,” said Byron Scott, who set the screen on McMillan so Johnson could receive Cooper’s pass. “It’s not even a mystery anymore. It’s not a thing where we go, ‘Well, it might go in.’ It’s just going in. You know it is.”

Worthy and a few others thought it something of a mystery that Johnson was not double-teamed. Granted, the Lakers have several offensive weapons, but none more dangerous than Johnson.

“It’s just what we wanted--get him the ball and a chance to get into position,” said Worthy, who led the Lakers with 22 points. “He can dictate the shot that way, whereas a lot of times teams will pressure him and make him pass. He was in a dictating position.”

Johnson clearly was the dictator on this night, scoring 21 points and passing for eight assists. But other Lakers contributed to their 61st victory.

In addition to Worthy’s 22 points, A.C. Green had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Larry Drew spelled Johnson and had 11 points, including two three-point baskets in the second-quarter that helped maintain the lead.

The second after the game ended, the Lakers celebrated their accomplishment.

“It’s going to mean something if we take care of things at home (in the playoffs),” Riley said. “We’re confident at home if it gets to the finals. I do think it makes a difference in the finals.”

Riley’s players silenced their coach afterward by dousing him with a tub of ice water, creating an oil slick on the locker-room floor.

“Cooper did it,” Riley said. “It was ice water. But Earvin’s got ice in his veins.”