LAKERS : Worthy Cools Off the Heat

James Worthy scored 16 points, including six in a row in the final 44 seconds, to give the Lakers a 99-97 victory over the Miami Heat in the GTE Everything Pages Shootout Friday night at the Forum.

Vlade Divac added 17 points on seven-of-eight shooting and 10 rebounds and Nick Van Exel had 16 points for the Lakers, who will meet the Seattle SuperSonics, 95-90 winners over Cleveland earlier Friday, tonight at 8. The Cavaliers and Heat play at 5.

Harold Miner and Mark Randall led the Heat (2-1) with 14 points each. The Lakers improved to 3-1.

This wasn’t quite the Forum debut the Lakers were hoping for, not with an ever-expanding injury list. Doug Christie was sidelined because of a sprained ankle that might keep him out three more games, and Anthony Peeler was sidelined because of shin splints. Kurt Rambis also missed the game because of tendinitis in his knee. The good news was that Sam Bowie, expected to be sidelined the weekend with a blister on the bottom of his foot, played.

“I was worried about it until I read what happened to Golden State,” Laker Coach Randy Pfund said. “Then I said I won’t worry about that (the injuries), I’ll just worry about having them ready to start the regular season. I told (trainer) Gary Vitti tonight, let’s not bring anybody back too soon.”

The Heat played without Glen Rice, who suffered a bruised right knee in practice earlier in the day. He is not expected to play tonight.

The SuperSonics improved to 4-0 during exhibition play by winning the first game behind 19 points from Ricky Pierce and 17 points and eight rebounds from Sam Perkins. Larry Nance had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland (1-3).

Chris Mills, the Cavaliers’ first-round draft pick by way of Fairfax High, had seven points and four rebounds in 24 minutes in his first Los Angeles appearance as a pro.

“It’s good to be back home, but it’s just preseason and everything is still kind of laid back,” he said.

Laker Notes

The first cuts figure to come sometime next week, maybe before the Lakers leave for a three-game East Coast swing that begins Wednesday at Charleston, W. Va. They still have 18 players, six over the limit and the largest preseason squad in three years. . . . With the retirement of Michael Jordan, James Worthy, his former college teammate, moves to No. 1 among all active players in career playoff scoring. Worthy is No. 12 all-time. . . . Doug Christie, who wore uniform No. 35 last season, has switched to No. 8.