Lakers Get Big Lift With 115-112 Win : Pro basketball: Team scores a tough victory over the Warriors.

For a franchise wondering what it has left, a happy bulletin arrived Thursday night.

Playing on the road against the team with the NBA’s best record, the Lakers came from behind, out-fought the Golden State Warriors down the stretch and won, 115-112, to go 2-1 in the post-Magic Johnson era.

Of course, their other victory was at home, over the Minnesota Timberwolves, who had played the night before, so this one meant more.

“It’s a great, great win for us,” a jubilant Mike Dunleavy said. “This was huge for us.

“Plenty of opportunity to crack. Plenty of opportunity for us to say, ‘Hey, we played a pretty good game without Magic. Go home, look at the box score, people are going to say we’re OK.’

“But that’s not our team.”

Terry Teagle, expected to be cut before the season, came off the bench to score 18 points.

Warrior Coach Don Nelson tried to defend 7-foot-1 Vlade Divac with his guards, as he did successfully in last spring’s playoffs, but this time Divac ate the little guys up. He scored 19 points--or eight more than he had this season.

Divac had to endure a hepatitis scare simply to get here, the latest of the Lakers’ injury adventures.

Divac, elbowed to the floor by Dallas center James Donaldson Nov. 2, missed three games because of back spasms, returned to action Sunday, then was told Tuesday he might have contracted infectious hepatitis--from the Maverick team physician who had checked him out in Dallas.

“Tuesday Vlade told me he was feeling pretty good,” Dunleavy said. “Gary (Vitti, trainer) told me, ‘He’s not practicing.’

“He had to go to get blood work done immediately. They were afraid he was going to infect the whole team.”

Tests were negative and Divac was back again.

The Lakers played with some of their old verve, found themselves seven points behind in the third quarter but surged in the fourth.

They took a 110-105 lead with 3:20 left, but were caught.

They took a 113-112 lead when Teagle made the first of two free throws with 35 seconds left.

Teagle missed the second, but Divac batted it back and the Lakers kept possession.

With the Warriors still assured of getting the ball back and Nelson yelling “No fouls!” Sarunas Marciulionis tried to go through Sedale Threatt, who was protecting the ball with his body. Marciulionis got the ball but flattened Threatt, who went to the foul line with 19 seconds left and made two free throws, his 20th and 21st points.

Nelson set up an inbounds play, but Marciulionis dropped the ball out of bounds, all by himself.

A moment later, the Warriors got a last chance. Tom Tolbert intercepted Threatt’s pass and found Chris Mullin, who got open at the three-point line, fired, and missed. The Lakers rebounded and ran out the clock.

“We’re not surprised about the Lakers,” Nelson said. “They still have a real good team.

“Their roster matches up with most of them. It matches up with ours, obviously.”

For a franchise wondering what it has left, the answers aren’t all in but the spirit is commendable.

“It’s too early,” Dunleavy said. “You can’t say anything about our team. You’ve got to see it over time. It’s one thing to play well one game.”

They will take it, though.

Laker Notes

There were reports Magic Johnson will return from vacation and attend the Lakers’ home game Sunday. Johnson’s agent, Lon Rosen, said Johnson doesn’t know when he will return. . . . The Lakers activated Tony Smith, making room for him by cutting Demetrius Calip--even though they could have used Magic Johnson’s spot. Instead, they kept Johnson on the active roster, raising the possibility they are working on a trade. Said Mike Dunleavy: “The move was made for flexibility. That’s all I can say.”

* JORDAN DENIAL: Michael Jordan denies making an anti-Semitic remark in a book about the Chicago Bulls’ NBA championship season. C5