Warriors Are Tonic for Lakers

In pressing need of a patsy, the Lakers found one. They caught the Golden State Warriors with one wheel missing off their tricycle and strafed the little craft to their hearts’ content.

Thus the Lakers, sixth in the Pacific Division at tipoff, got their third victory and first laugher of the season, 115-93, Sunday night before 15,644 at the Forum.

Sam Perkins scored 22 points, 15 in the first quarter. James Worthy, applauded upon introduction, had 21. The Warriors’ five-game winning streak ended, decisively.

The Warriors are without Mitch Richmond, who has a broken thumb. Richmond, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway had been averaging 79 points among them. Richmond and Mullin were shooting 60%.

Sunday, Richmond stayed home. Mullin and Hardaway might as well have. They combined for 25 points and shot 10 for 29.

“I told our guys, for the first game we played with no defensive mistakes, no missed coverages,” Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “From a defensive standpoint, it was a terrific game to watch.”

From a Warrior standpoint, it was more painful. Golden State played a hard game Saturday night, rallying from 10 down in the final minutes to beat Sacramento. The Warriors flew down from San Francisco to Los Angeles Sunday. The way they wobbled around the Forum, it looked like they had changed planes in Chicago.

Said Coach Don Nelson: “We burned everything Saturday night.”

The game matched two old comrades: the Lakers’ Mike Dunleavy and Golden State’s Don Nelson, the man who talked Dunleavy into becoming an NBA assistant and set him on the road that led to the Forum. Nelson reportedly once thought of grooming Dunleavy to succeed him at Golden State.

Dunleavy’s thoughts on going up against his mentor?

“I’d like to play him one-on-one,” Dunleavy said before the game, laughing.

You got the idea this might not be the Warriors’ night relatively early--say their first possession, when Hardaway’s pass was stolen by Vlade Divac. And their second possession, when Hardaway turned it over again. And their third, when Hardaway threw the ball out of bounds with no one pressuring him.

Meanwhile, the Lakers were roaring. Perkins had 15 points in the first period, six on offensive rebounds, and they had a 32-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.

They were ahead by 13 when Magic Johnson came out, a danger signal in recent games. This time, he came back in to find the Lakers ahead by 19. Johnson’s backup, Larry Drew, scored six points--he had a season total of two before Sunday--and sparked the Lakers to a 47-28 lead. Johnson came back to kick the lead up to 26 points.

All the second half required of the Lakers was caring for their lead. This time, they did.

Dunleavy praised Perkins, Drew and most of the roster. He joked about Nelson taking it easy on him because he needed one.

It was great to be a Laker, finally.

Laker Notes

James Worthy will be arraigned Tuesday morning in Houston. The Lakers said he’ll fly home with them Monday night on the charter flight back from Denver, then catch a red-eye to Houston, since there is no Denver-Houston service. . . . Warrior Coach Don Nelson rejected the Mitch Richmond excuse decisively. “I don’t want to hear it,” Nelson said of his injured star. “I want the next guy to step up and play good basketball. The next guy is Sarunas (Marciulionis) and we haven’t seen that yet. . . . I haven’t been pleased with his performance.” . . . Terry Teagle, two for 17 in his last two games, went four for eight.