Lakers Bury the Rockets Early in Rout : Pro basketball: An 18-point halftime lead, Ceballos’ 25 points, 16 rebounds and tough night for Olajuwon (16 points) trigger 107-89 breather.

It was almost surreal Friday night at the Forum, the way smoke from the halftime laser show hung in the air through most of the third quarter. The way the Lakers dominated the Houston Rockets.

Those pyrotechnics during intermission were merely second rate compared to what went on before and after. The before was the Lakers’ taking control from the start, the after was the finishing touches on a 107-89 rout before 13,056 as Cedric Ceballos had 25 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in only 29 minutes and Vlade Divac added 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

As bad as the Lakers were in getting trashed two nights earlier at Cleveland, that’s how good they were against the Rockets in winning for the sixth time in seven games. Skipping practice in between, on Thursday, seemed to work wonders.

“We were well rested,” said Ceballos, shooting 60% the last six games. “Since we didn’t play at Cleveland, we kind of had three days off.”

They might still be well rested. Almost no one had to work long hours against the winningest team in the league coming in, with Divac going 36 minutes to join Elden Campbell in holding Hakeem Olajuwon to 16 points on six-of-15 shooting and seven rebounds, but no other Laker starter played more than 29 minutes. It was that one-sided.

“It’s all you could ask for from a team,” Coach Del Harris said after the Lakers improved to 9-6. “It was just an outstanding performance.”

Said his Rocket counterpart, Rudy Tomjanovich: “It was one of those out-behind-the-shed (butt) kickings. They just trounced us right from the get-go--from the jump ball.”

Coming off their most lopsided loss since April 1990 and the lowest offensive output of the season, both courtesy of the 117-79 rout Wednesday at Cleveland, the Lakers responded with one of their best halves: a 14-point lead in the first quarter, an 11-0 run in the second that paved the way for a 21-point cushion, and only three turnovers against 10 for the Rockets.

Even through the recently ended five-game winning streak, the Lakers rarely looked so good for an extended stretch. The result was a 59-41 lead at intermission as Ceballos already had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Divac had 15 points and six assists while teaming with Campbell to hold Olajuwon to three rebounds in 22 minutes of the first half.

“When you’re tired you’re not always ready for the first five minutes,” Divac said. “We jumped on them from the first minute.”

Playing without starting power forward Otis Thorpe, who sat out his third game in row because of a strained back, the Rockets didn’t find any solutions in the third quarter. The Lakers pulled ahead by as many as 27 points, the second time at 88-61 at the end of the period.

Laker Notes

Vlade Divac said he will again play for the Yugoslavian national team now that it has been cleared to resume competition by FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, but only if there is no scheduling conflict with the NBA season. The holdup isn’t whether the Lakers will be finished in time for him to make the European championships that start June 21--only a trip to the finals would cause that--but whether it comes too far after the season because he doesn’t want to be out of shape in Athens and risk injury. “If we go far in the playoffs, I can play,” said Divac, a member of Yugoslavia’s 1988 Olympic team. “But if it’s a long pause between the NBA season and the tournament, it doesn’t make sense. I would like to play, but the first thing for me is to be a professional. I have to do everything to be a Laker.” Whatever happens this summer, he plans to play for Yugoslavia in the Atlanta Games in 1996, saying it would be a thrill to play in the Olympics in his adopted country. Divac wants to become an American citizen, but will wait until his career is over because, barring a rule change, such a move would preclude him from playing for either Yugoslavia or the United States in international play.

Del Harris has climbed one spot and should soon jump two more on the all-time coaching victories list. Now at 341 victories with Houston, Milwaukee and the Lakers, he passed Bill Sharman with the second win of the season for 27th on the list and needs only two more to overtake Bill Russell and Hubie Brown, tied for 25th. “Actually, I really would like to get to 500,” Harris said. “I think that it’s quite an accomplishment in the NBA. I don’t care how many losses you sustain along the way, if you get to 500, it’s special.” Harris is 341-347 all time. . . . The Lakers’ Christmas toy drive for underprivileged children will take place Tuesday against the Warriors and Friday against the Clippers, both at the Forum. Fans are asked to bring a new unwrapped gift to be distributed to children in the Los Angeles area by the Feliz Navidad Project and the Magic Johnson Foundation. Barrels for collection will be inside every entrance.