Lakers Given a Boost : Pro basketball: A.C. Green jolts team with fiery attitude, and he scores 23 points in 114-110 victory over Jazz.

A.C. Green came to the Forum early Thursday, unable to sit still at home and think about playing the Utah Jazz. He had to be in the locker room doing something, anything, to bring game time closer.

“I’ve been mad about this game all day,” he said, “mad about how we’ve been playing, mad that we lost to them last time and should have won. I’m just very happy and excited the team played well and played hard. Collectively, we had a focus tonight that we really weren’t going to be denied.”

Led by Green’s fiery attitude and season-high 23 points, the Lakers fended off a late Utah charge and held on for a 114-110 victory before 14,629. Green’s teammates gave him a hand, too, admiring the defensive concentration he showed during the Jazz’s fourth-quarter push and copying it as closely as they could.

“He had fire in his eyes, and we collectively got with him and tried to have a collective effort,” James Worthy said after the Lakers ended their three-game home losing streak. “I think we did that.”

Despite a game-high 32 points from Karl Malone, their collective effort never unraveled. They were especially effective in the middle of the fourth quarter, with Sam Perkins blocking a shot by Larry Krystkowiak and Worthy following with a block of a shot by Karl Malone to preserve the Lakers’ 93-88 lead. Green and Krystkowiak exchanged lengthy glares after that sequence, a reaction Green attributed to the Lakers’ determination to progress beyond .500 and develop some consistency.

“Tonight was one of those games where you just are more seriously intense and focused to get the job done,” he said. “We just weren’t going to be denied.”

They weren’t often denied off the boards, outrebounding the Jazz, 51-38. “I think some of the guys really were pushing themselves,” Coach Randy Pfund said. “A.C. had a season high in points and James came back in the fourth quarter and had three big plays, two of them rebounds and blocked shots.”

An energetic first-half performance by Perkins, who had a team-high 11 points, two blocks and four rebounds, helped the Lakers build a 63-51 halftime lead. After constantly hearing his name at the center of trade talks, Perkins is expecting to be moved before the Feb. 25 deadline.

“With this much talk and all these people calling me all the time, something’s got to happen,” he said. “I’m not going to say it doesn’t bother me: When I don’t think about it, someone asks me. Sure, I don’t want to go, but this is my job and I have no say in what happens. They’ve got to do what’s best for the team.”

He was at his best in the early going Monday. Perkins was one of four Laker starters in double figures at the half, a distinct departure from his season-low two-point game Tuesday night against Orlando and the starters’ collective struggle in that defeat. Green was the only starter to hit double figures Tuesday, the first time in nearly two years only one starter managed to reach double digits.

“Coach was on us real tough. He wanted us executing,” Perkins said. “He didn’t have much to say to us today. He left it to us and we had to come ready to end this streak at home.”

The Lakers made their first eight shots from the field Thursday night, seeming to surprise the Jazz as they maintained a brisk pace and mounted a swarming defense.

The Lakers led, 52-33, with six minutes left in the first half.

Jeff Malone led a Jazz resurgence late in the third quarter, making three consecutive jumpers before Pfund called a timeout.

Karl Malone had 15 points in the third quarter, which ended with the Lakers leading, 84-80.

Laker Notes

James Worthy was six for 15 from the field, extending his slump to 24 of 67 (35.8%) over his last five games. He had a 53.7% career average entering this season. However, Worthy had nine rebounds, his most since he had 12 last Feb. 17. “We’ve got to have a complete game and everyone has to try to find an area where he can contribute,” Worthy said. . . . Jack Haley, on the injured list after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in July, hopes to resume practicing in a few weeks. “It depends on how my knee sustains after putting it through a lot of drills,” he said. “I’m praying for March 1.”