Lakers Not Half Bad in 13th in Row : Basketball: They jump on Hawks for a 23-point lead after 24 minutes and roll to 116-103 victory.

At the Forum, another one bit the dust by 8:30 p.m.

How good were the Lakers? In 12 consecutive victories, they had never looked as good as in Thursday night’s first half, when they rocketed to a 23-point lead before coasting to a 116-103 victory over the Atlanta Hawks to make it 13 in a row.

The Hawks came ready, too, making five of their first six shots and grabbing leads of 8-2 and 12-6.

Were the Lakers upset, thrown off-stride, irritated, inconvenienced or anything?

Not exactly. They outscored Atlanta, 30-16, for the rest of the first quarter and 31-16 in the second when they made 12 of their first 14 shots to take the now-traditional 20-plus point halftime lead.

How did the Lakers dominate?

James Worthy didn’t play.

Magic Johnson took two shots after the first quarter.

Mychal Thompson, playing on his 36th birthday, went seven for 11 after having gone 14 for 19 in his previous two games.

After a half-season’s transition, a familiar feeling rises among them.

“Yeah,” Johnson said, “the attitude, the confidence.

“I could tell when we went into Boston (Sunday). You could feel the confidence, the aura. We went out and we played like us. I said, ‘Man! The Lakes!’ ”

The Hawks started the night with their work cut out for them. They didn’t have a victory on their four-game trip, and then there was that Laker streak.

“I never look at streaks,” Hawk guard Doc Rivers said before the game. “But I hope they’re looking at ours.”

Looking not the least concerned at being behind early, the Lakers needed only 2:51 to get the lead. Then, in the last 6:01 of the first quarter, they kicked it up to 32-24.

And then they got hot: 12 field goals in 14 shots to start the second quarter, the first seven baskets with Tony Smith running the team and Johnson resting. Thompson went five for five and the Lakers had another one in the bag by halftime, 63-40.

“We played well early, but they put the clamps on us,” Hawk Coach Bob Weiss said. “We couldn’t make a shot.”

The Lakers, who had held five of their last seven opponents under 100 points, limited the Hawks to 40 points in the first half but too much garbage time--that is, the entire second half--got Atlanta to 103.

Johnson said he was disappointed. Honest.

It was the biggest worry he had Thursday night.

Laker Notes

The winning streak the Lakers are chasing--15 in 1987-88--is the franchise’s longest in 18 seasons, since its NBA-record 33 in 1971-72. . . . Mychal Thompson, on his three-game surge, during which he has 17, 18, and 19 points: “I’m sure the Lakers are going to be looking to make changes. I can tell when the handwriting’s on the wall. I’m enjoying myself in these last four months. There are no hard feelings. If I’m not here, so be it. I know I can play three more years backing up someone somewhere.”

The Lakers gained a game on Portland, which lost at Utah, and trail the Blazers by four games. . . . It was another good outing for Tony Smith. The Lakers gained eight points while he ran the team in the first half. In 19 minutes, he had six assists, shot four for six and scored eight points. . . . James Worthy was scratched for the third game with his sprained right foot. “It’s still tender, but it’s getting better,” Worthy said. Mike Dunleavy guessed Worthy won’t play tonight against the Clippers at the Sports Arena. A.C. Green filled in nicely again with 20 points and 14 rebounds in 39 minutes.

* MAKING HIS POINT: Mitch Richmond, in his first game since being passed over for a spot in the All-Star game, scored a season-high 40 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 135-119 victory over the Clippers. C4