29 by Magic Help Lakers Stop Pacers

When Laker guard Byron Scott missed a fourth-quarter free throw Sunday night at the Forum, Indiana Pacer forward Chuck Person, displaying less tact than most NBA players in that situation, shouted, “Yeah, yeah, yeah!”

No. The Lakers won, 115-112.

But it was so close that Person later had a chance to send the game into overtime. However, his three-point shot with only a couple of seconds remaining was way off the mark as the Lakers survived a frantic Pacer comeback.

Many among the crowd of 15,795 and some of the Laker starters probably thought they would be able to leave early when the Pacers fell behind by 16 in the third quarter after a competitive first half.

But Michael Williams, one of those quick, darting guards who give the Lakers fits, came off the bench to score 14 fourth-quarter points, and shooting guard Reggie Miller rediscovered his first-quarter touch to make three three-pointers down the stretch as the Pacers made the game interesting.

They might have won if Magic Johnson hadn’t had one of his best games of the season. He finished with a season-high 29 points and added 21 assists and seven rebounds. James Worthy scored 26 points.

It was Johnson’s superb play late in the second quarter, when he was directly responsible for all his team’s points in a 10-1 run, that allowed the Lakers to begin distancing themselves from the Pacers. And it was his two free throws with 8.3 seconds left that forced the visitors into a desperate situation at the end.

“Give us one,” Miller told Johnson before his first three throw. “I’m going to hit a three-pointer to win it.”

Johnson smiled and made them both.

“I’ve known Reggie since he was back at UCLA,” Johnson said. “He had some fun tonight, and I had some fun. It was nice. But I wasn’t going to give him a chance to win it.”

The Lakers didn’t want to give Miller a chance to tie it, either. They figured that the Pacers would try to get the ball to him.

Who wouldn’t?

Miller made his first five shots, cooled off with only one field goal on a breakaway layup in the second and third quarters, then found his range again with three three-point shots, the last one with 9.3 seconds remaining that brought the Pacers within 113-112.

“Reggie Miller shoots 40-footers like layups,” Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy said.

But Miller’s team-high 24th point of the night was his last. He didn’t touch the ball in the final seconds. He said that was because he was a decoy. The Lakers said it was because they denied him the ball. Whatever, the first pass went to Detlef Schrempf, who passed it to Person, who couldn’t get a clear shot over Worthy.

So the Lakers (13-7) won for the 11th time in 13 games, while the Pacers (9-15) lost for the 12th time in 13 road games.

The Pacers appear to be a better team than their record indicates, which has led to media speculation that Coach Dick Versace will be replaced by Doug Moe. That sounds plausible because of the former Denver coach’s friendship with Indiana General Manager Donnie Walsh. But Moe says he hasn’t spoken with Walsh in more than a month. Versace doesn’t seem worried.

“I told Donnie Walsh that I would have this team at the .500 mark by February 27th,” he said Sunday night. “If you study the schedule, you will notice that it is possible. I have every confidence that I will get this team to the playoffs.”

Laker Notes

The Lakers will play eight of 14 December games on the road, including three this week. They will play Tuesday at New York, Wednesday at Cleveland and Friday at Chicago. They return next Sunday night against Minnesota.