Suns’ Johnson Gets Scoop on Lakers and Their Streak : Pro basketball: He scores 35 and calls his 15-foot finger-roll lucky, but it’s the key basket in Phoenix victory, 99-95.

Who you gonna call?

Streak-busters.

The Suns ended the NBA’s two previous longest streaks this season and they shot down the Lakers’ 16-gamer too, 99-95, Tuesday night behind the Laker-bustingest Sun of all, Kevin Johnson.

Johnson, the bane of Pat Riley’s last days, scored 35 points, including a rabbit-out-of-the-hat scoop shot with 50 seconds left that seemed to start from the second row of photographers and sent the Lakers babbling into the night. It even made them forget about the game-winning basket, Tom Chambers’ pretty left-handed hook with 28 seconds left.

“A running finger-roll from the baseline from 15 feet,” said Mike Dunleavy, a loser for the first time in a month and four days. “If that’s the way we’re going to get beat, we’ll take our chances.”

Said Johnson, denied a chance to win the All-Star game Sunday when teammate Karl Malone goaltended his three-point try:

“I’m just glad Mark West didn’t jump up and catch it.”

If the ending left a little to be desired for the Lakers, they weren’t displeased with the effort. They played well and went down firing, Sam Perkins and James Worthy missing chances to tie in the last five seconds.

Of course, Dunleavy was jumping up and down, screaming for an illegal-defense call at the time.

“It’ll be interesting to see the tape,” Dunleavy said.

“We were posting up Perkins. He started to make his move across the lane and Chambers came more than halfway across the basket, then went back. That’s illegal defense.”

In the eye of one beholder, anyway.

“Bull,” Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said. “I don’t want to hear anything about illegal defense. We’re out there scrambling, just like they do. If they want to complain about illegal defense, just have ‘em play everybody straight up.

“I hope Mike Dunleavy isn’t saying that. He is? Tell him I said he learned from the master of the illegal defense--Don Nelson.”

Masters of giant slaying, the Suns had ended Portland’s 11-game season-opening streak and Detroit’s 11-gamer, too. In between, however, they had lost to enough mortals to fall five games behind the Lakers. The Lakers had beaten them here and the Suns had something to prove to themselves--that they could still compete with the Western elite.

They could.

Last time, Dunleavy got away with guarding Kevin Johnson with Earvin Johnson. Already slumping, Kevin Johnson went an inglorious six for 15 against Magic.

Said Sun assistant Paul Westphal: “That was such a dumb move, Riley never thought about it.”

In general, a 6-8, 220-pounder isn’t a match for a cat-quick, dead-eye, six-footer. Forced to concede something, Magic gave up the outside shot to keep Kevin out of the lane where he could draw the defense and get his teammates involved. This time, Kevin stepped up and nailed the outside shots.

“If you let him drive and shoot, you’re in trouble,” Magic said. “You give him both, it’s over. You might as well cancel the game. He’ll get 20 and everybody else will get 20.”

Johnson got his 35, but the Suns’ 117-point-a-game offense was held in check. The teams fought on even terms through the second half, Phoenix briefly taking a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Lakers rallying to take a 93-91 lead on Worthy’s 10-footer from the baseline with 1:55 left.

Guess who tied it up? Right, Kevin Johnson, on an open 12-footer, set up by Dan Majerle’s drive and pass back.

At the other end, Worthy rimmed out a 10-footer and the Suns had the ball back. They called time and set up a play that the Lakers squashed, Byron Scott and A.C. Green pinning Kevin Johnson on the wing with the clock running down.

Johnson couldn’t get the baseline . . . but he did.

Green angled him off there. Johnson couldn’t get off a shot . . . but he did, and in it went. “What can I say?” Johnson said. “It was luck.”

At the other end, Magic hit Perkins for a five-footer in the lane, tying it with 36 seconds left, 95-95. The Suns then caught Magic guarding the 6-10 Chambers on a switch. Chambers made his hook and the Lakers’ streak was history.

“All along I said, I wanted us to be a team where you had to have a good performance to beat us,” Dunleavy said. “Not come out and fall on our faces.”

Sighed Magic Johnson: “Well, that’s all right. We played good basketball. That game was as good as it gets.”