Nuggets Remain Under Lakers’ Thumbs, 119-107

Time might be on the Nuggets’ side, but Sunday night belonged to their old tormentors.

The Lakers sliced through Denver’s eight No. 1 picks and their tissue-paper defense for 42 points during the first quarter and another 77 after that, winning, 119-107, to run their Forum winning streak over the Nuggets to nine games over five seasons.

Sixty percent of the Laker starting lineup had season highs: Sedale Threatt with 32 points; Vlade Divac with 27; Tony Smith with a personal-best 20.

The Lakers have won three games in a row at the Forum since their 0-2 start.

Divac won his matchup with Denver’s Dikembe Mutombo, who once dunked over Divac, hitting him in the face with the ball, then yelling at him.

“It was a challenge for me,” Divac said. “It was good competition.”

The Lakers made their first seven shots, ran up a 16-point lead during the first quarter and then tried to coast in.

With 7:46 left in the game, Reggie Williams’ three-pointer pulled the Nuggets to 101-97. But Sam Perkins, who had scored one point until then, scored another 10 and the Lakers won going away.

For the Nuggets and their No. 1 picks, the future was still in the future.

“I’m thankful for small steps,” Coach Dan Issel said. “We got an effort on the road, and I thought we showed some determination that we haven’t shown away from McNichols (Arena) this year.”

These weren’t the same pathetic Nuggets. They arrived with a starting lineup with four starters who had been top-five draft picks and Todd Lichti, the 15th pick in 1989.

Coming off the bench was Mark Macon, No. 8 pick overall in 1991. Injured was another rookie, Bryant Stith, 13th pick in last spring’s draft.

On the other hand, the Nugget starters had a combined 11 pro seasons, five of those belonging to Williams. In comparison, the Lakers normally start a lineup with 39 seasons of experience.

The Nuggets also arrived with a a two-game winning streak, though Issel wasn’t planning a parade.

“It’s such a young team,” he said before the game. “We just don’t understand what it takes to win on the road, what it even takes to be competitive on the road.

“People made a lot of the factor that I had never coached, but I’ve been around it and I feel comfortable. My biggest concern is how I handle the losing. I know there are going to be other nights like that. It’s just tough to go through three of them in a row.”

Demonstrating they still hadn’t mastered the knack of opening on the road, the Nuggets came out soft enough to let the Lakers make their first seven shots.

The Lakers led by as many as 16 points as Threatt dominated the smaller Chris Jackson, scoring 17 points during the first quarter.

The Nuggets pulled to 54-48 late in the second quarter, led by Robert Pack, their backup point guard from USC, who scored a fast 12 points. Pack was up to 18 late in the third quarter and the Nuggets were within 87-82. But Threatt made a 20-footer, set up a Divac breakaway dunk with a steal and made another 20-footer, sending the Lakers into the fourth quarter ahead, 95-86.

Laker Notes

The crowd was 13,841, the Lakers’ smallest since Nov. 12, 1986. . . . The Lakers wore red ribbons on their uniforms for the night as reminders of the fight against AIDS. Magic Johnson, accepting a $500,000 gift to his foundation from a brewery, went on to thank Laker fans for “12 years of thrills and chills.” . . . Nugget rookie Bryant Stith, averaging 10 points in 21 minutes off the bench, had a pin placed in a broken toe Sunday and is expected to be sidelined for three months. “He was playing terrific,” Coach Dan Issel said. . . . Byron Scott sat out his second game with his sprained right foot. The Lakers are hoping he can be ready for their next game Wednesday against the Nets.