Streak Is 12 After Laker Rout

Who’ll stop the reign? Certainly not the New Jersey Nets, who arrived in the Forum in a slump, only to learn what real trouble was.

The rampaging Lakers ran them over like an ant on a train track, rolling to a 110-89 victory Tuesday night for their 12th victory in a row, the NBA’s longest streak of the season.

The Nets gave the Lakers their hardest game of the last trip--really--but were coming off a wipeout at Sacramento in which their starters totalled 15 field goals and the entire roster amassed 57 points in three quarters, by which time they trailed by 27.

Said center Chris Dudley: “It was ugly.”

Tuesday’s performance wasn’t any Mona Lisa, either.

True to form, New Jersey came out laying bricks. By the time the first substitute hit the floor, with 7:46 gone, the starters were three for 17 and the Lakers were up, 19-6. For the Nets, it only got worse: 29-59 before halftime, 60-96 after three quarters.

“It’s hard to believe last Friday night, for all practical purposes, we were a better ballclub (than the Lakers),” Net Coach Bill Fitch said. “I’ve never had two nights where you couldn’t go home and say, ‘At least so-and-so had a good game.’ We’ve had a great team effort.”

How great?

The Nets had four inbounds passes stolen Tuesday. Fitch says they lost three at Sacramento, after throwing away two the entire season to that point. He also noted rookie Derrick Coleman had three of Tuesday’s four.

“This is not a club to have a bad night against,” Fitch added.

“It was one of those games where you come in and tell them, ‘Bottle that performance and keep it going,’ ” Mike Dunleavy said.

Said Magic Johnson: “This is definitely what you want to see. We still have a while to go and a ways to go, but our defense has been the key for us. That’s what he (Dunleavy) has been preaching, and that’s what we’re responding to.”

Of the Lakers’ last seven opponents, five haven’t broken 100 points, three haven’t broken 90 and one didn’t break 80. They are one of two NBA teams with a defensive average under 100 points.

“I told James (Worthy, who sat out with his sprained foot), ‘This says something about your defense,’ ” said Dunleavy, grinning. “I said our defense got going after he went out.

“He said, ‘OK, I’ll take about two weeks off.’ I started to crawl then.”

All the other Lakers were crawling a while ago, but they are flying now.

Laker Notes

James Worthy became an all-star for the sixth time and fifth in a row when he was voted an alternate by NBA coaches. Worthy started the ‘86, ’87 and ’90 games. . . . Worthy was scratched again shortly before game time with a sprained right foot. “He can’t put weight on it,” Mike Dunleavy said. . . . Worthy was re-examined Monday by Dr. Stephen Lombardo, who doesn’t believe the injury to be serious. “It’s already shown improvement,” Lombardo said. “If it were to get worse, we’d have to do more sophisticated tests, but they’re not indicated now. It’s truly day to day.”

The Portland Trail Blazers had three players added to the Western Conference roster. Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter and Kevin Duckworth were among 15 players named as reserves for the game, Feb. 10 at Charlotte, N.C. Also named to the West roster were Tom Chambers of the Phoenix Suns, John Stockton of the Utah Jazz and Tim Hardaway of the Golden State Warriors. Bernard King of the Washington Bullets was added to the East roster along with Ricky Pierce and Alvin Robertson of the Milwaukee Bucks, Dominique Wilkins of the Atlanta Hawks, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish of the Boston Celtics, Brad Daugherty of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Joe Dumars of the Detroit Pistons.

How much have the Lakers gained on Portland? While they were 12-0, the Blazers went 10-2. The Lakers still trail by five games in the Pacific Division. . . . They have gained on everyone else, though. They are tied with Boston for the league’s second-best record. In the West, they are a half-game ahead of San Antonio, 3 1/2 up on Phoenix and Utah. . . . Mychal Thompson, who scored a season-high 17 points at Boston, scored another season-high 18, making eight of 12 shots. “I’m just getting some scoring opportunities down low,” he said. “Before I was out in the parking lot, taking tickets. You know how it is in this league: People notice you when you score points.” . . . Nets made their Forum debut in the new, psychedelic tie-dyed blue road uniforms that led Chris Dudley’s mother to ask him if he’d thrown his uniform in the wash with his white things. . . . Lakers next: Atlanta here Thursday night.