NBA PLAYOFFS / UPDATE : LAKERS : This Is an Emotional Time for Scott

Byron Scott has long known he probably won’t be wearing a Laker uniform again next season, and he has even suggested he would be better off leaving when he becomes a free agent this summer.

But not until well after Thursday’s loss to Phoenix did the veteran guard realize that unless the Lakers win today, he has played in his Forum finale.

“For the first time in a while, I’ve been thinking about that stuff,” he said Saturday. “I thought about Game 4, that it could have been my last home game. As soon as I started thinking about that, I started thinking about the organization and I got a good feeling.

“I’ve still got one more game left. I hope it’s more than one.”

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Here’s a familiar phrase: assist, Magic Johnson.

But this time, it was said by Phoenix Coach Paul Westphal, who credited Johnson--now an NBC commentator--for the Suns’ ability to rebound from their first two losses and tie their playoff series against the Lakers.

“We learned a lot by listening to Magic tell us what not to do,” Westphal said, referring to Johnson’s assertion that the Suns should player a slower, low-post game to win the series. “We did the exact opposite and won the last two games.”

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Phoenix point guard Kevin Johnson will wear a more substantial brace on his left knee today. He sprained his knee late in the season “and I’m still not able to make some sharp cuts. It’s still not strong.” . . . James Worthy needs two points to become the 12th player in NBA history to score 3,000 points in the playoffs. Scott is 19th with 2,161 points.