Lakers Dim Rally by Suns

Thanks, they needed that.

For Byron Scott, Magic Johnson and the Lakers, for whom last spring’s playoff series here will forever live in infamy, payback arrived Saturday night with their sixth victory in a row, 108-98 over the Suns.

Did Kevin Johnson say he saw Laker distress in their eyes after Phoenix’ recent victory in the Forum?

“How do my eyes look now?” Coach Mike Dunleavy asked.

Saturday, up jumped something resembling those majestic old Lakers.

Byron Scott, destroyed by Kevin Johnson last spring, did a turnabout toasting of his nemesis. Scott shot 13 for 15, scored 32 points and helped hold Johnson to a six-for-15 night.

Was Scott psyched for his return?

He said not. Let’s just say his teammates were glad for him, anyway.

“This is his second hometown,” Mychal Thompson said. “He played his college ball here (at Arizona State). He’s got a lot of friends here. He put on a show for them.”

Magic Johnson then took the game over, making five of six shots, as an 89-86 Laker lead with 4:48 left grew to 102-92. For the night, Johnson’s line read: 25 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, his fourth triple-double of the season.

Dunleavy traced the turnaround to a Nov. 13 loss to the Suns. A few days earlier, he had yelled at his new team after a loss to the Knicks dropped them to 1-3. At 1-4, he told them if they kept working the way they had, they’d win games.

Were his players elated at the good news?

Magic Johnson, who normally stays late, had answered a few questions in the hallway outside the locker room and beat a hasty exit after the loss Nov. 13.

“I’d never been in that situation, so I didn’t know how to handle it,” Johnson said Saturday. “I just wanted to be by myself.

“I think any time you start that way, your confidence is shaken. We knew we were going to start slow, but you don’t ever want to start that slow.”

Things had been getting better for the Lakers, but it was hard to tell how much better, because their five consecutive victories had come over teams such as the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic, plus the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs on days those two had traveled.

None of these tests equaled this one, and the Lakers met it, with a little time off to regroup after the Suns’ fast break ran up a 35-point first quarter on them and a 62-point first half.

However, with Scott firing away, the Lakers were within 62-57 at the half. They put up a 28-13 third quarter that turned the game around.

And when the Suns rallied, trimming a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to 89-86, Magic Johnson kept it from turning around again.

With the sellout crowd in Veterans Memorial Coliseum in full cry, with the energetic and aptly named Kenny Battle in his jersey on defense, Johnson went to work.

This is what he did on five successive trips down the floor:

--Left-handed layup on a drive down the lane;

--A spin to the left and right-handed layup on which Battle fouled him and he completed a three-point play;

--A pass to Sam Perkins for a layup when Phoenix double-teamed him;

--A sweeping 10-foot hook from the baseline;

--And then, after Battle batted the ball away from him in the low post, Johnson retrieved it, turned around and hit a 20-footer.

The Suns set. The Lakers held them to 36 points in the second half, while Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons saw an old specter rising before his eyes.

“I think I’ve been consistent,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think there were other people in the league and the media saying, ‘Oh, the Lakers are old, they can’t do this, they can’t do that.’

“I never bought that. I never bought (Pat) Riley’s book. I didn’t buy any of their books. They’re the team you have to beat. I was impressed with them. We’ve had some good nights against them and they jumped us. I think our players have to understand that.”