Loss to Nuggets Leaves the Lakers Thinking Lottery

They’re better off in the lottery anyway, right?

The Lakers took a big step in that direction Friday night. They were pushed, actually, the force of a 28-6 run in the third and fourth quarters propelling the Denver Nuggets into control of the game and the race for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Nuggets went on to win, 112-99, before a capacity crowd of 17,505 at the Forum, despite a career-high 33 points from Vlade Divac and 21 points and 10 assists from James Worthy.

But those numbers aren’t the real concern today for the Lakers. These are:

Four games behind with nine to play.

One of those games is at Denver’s McNichols Arena on April 19. But whereas the Lakers play only one lottery-bound team the rest of the way, the Clippers, and, in an unusual twist, play all nine games in sets of two in a row, the Nuggets still have the luxury of games with Minnesota, Dallas and the Clippers. Denver’s toughest stretch begins Sunday--Houston, Phoenix and at San Antonio.

“We’ve just got to keep working hard,” Doug Christie said after the Lakers’ seven-game home winning streak was snapped. “It’s not impossible to win out in the end. Hopefully, they will stumble like we stumbled tonight.”

The chances of a big enough stumble?

“It’s slim to none now,” Coach Magic Johnson said.

Taking advantage of their offensive rebounding to erase a 10-point deficit in the third quarter and draw within 79-78 heading into the fourth, the Nuggets then stepped outside to turn that into a 92-85 lead on a three-pointer by Rodney Rogers and a basket by Bryant Stith on consecutive possessions.

They then capitalized on three consecutive turnovers for baskets by Brian Williams, Robert Pack and Stith, and the cushion grew to 98-85 with 6:59 left. That was the end of the 28-6 charge . . . and of the Lakers.

“All the speculation, people were saying a lot,” center Dikembe Mutombo said after getting 15 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. “Christie, or whatever his name is, was talking about they were going to kick our butts, we’re scared of them. You can’t talk trash like that. You can’t talk trash until you take care of business.”

The Nuggets came in having lost four of their previous five games, but the one victory was by 14 points the night before against the league’s winningest team, Seattle. That was enough to push Denver’s lead back to three games and prompted Johnson to call Friday’s meeting a must-win game for the Lakers.

“You lived as a player for games like this,” he said. “I told the players at shoot-around today, ‘You are the luckiest 12 guys on the face of the earth tonight.’ And they are. This is what you live for.”

Backed by a charged crowd, the Lakers looked as ready for the biggest game of the season as their coach in taking a 29-23 lead by the end of the first quarter while limiting Denver to 33.3% shooting. The six-point margin came as Christie tipped in his own miss with 1.1 seconds left.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson update: Asked before the game about a return for next season, he replied, “What are the chances of me being back? More so the other way, that I won’t. . . . I don’t know if my wife and I are ready to give up our lives. The problem is, I’ve become attached to these guys.” . . . After attempts to change his schedule, Johnson will be in Michigan today as planned for his charity high school game while the Lakers play at Portland. That is no surprise. What is a surprise is that Michael Cooper, not Bill Bertka, will be in charge against the Trail Blazers, a change from the previous plan. “I want Coop to see what he can do,” said Johnson, who discussed the decision with owner Jerry Buss, among others. “Everyone does.”

Playoff Race at a Glance

A look at the how the Lakers stand in their bid for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.

*--Clinched playoff berth.

GB--Games behind.

GR--Games remaining:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team W L GB GR Seattle* 56 18 8 Houston* 52 20 10 San Antonio* 52 22 8 Phoenix* 49 25 8 Utah* 46 28 8 Portland* 44 30 8 Golden State 42 31 9 Denver 37 36 9 Lakers 33 40 4 9