Lakers Can’t Stop Runaway Spurs, 101-87 : Pro basketball: San Antonio extends streak to 15 behind Robinson and gains support as NBA’s best team.

That runaway train known as the San Antonio Spurs barreled through the Forum and over the Lakers Sunday night, slowing down only long enough to tease the hosts and then demolish their seven-game home winning streak, 101-87.

But slow down it did. Had to. There’s a lot more weight to carry now, what with all those people jumping on the bandwagon. Many are wearing purple and gold.

The impact of the wreckage was considerable. For one thing, the Spurs ran their winning streak to 15 games, the longest in the NBA this season. For another, the Lakers, who hate to concede anything, were close to being in awe.

“I don’t think they have any glaring weaknesses,” Coach Del Harris said. “They are awfully, awfully good. And David Robinson is the guy that should be making all the commercials as far as I’m concerned. He is the MVP in my mind, hands down, and he’s one of the finest gentlemen this sport has ever produced.”

Seconded.

“I agree,” Vlade Divac said, picking Robinson over Shaquille O’Neal and Karl Malone. “The MVP is supposed to be the player on the team with the best record. San Antonio is the best team, and David is obviously the MVP.”

Robinson had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots Sunday night.

Every Laker asked tabbed San Antonio as the favorite to win the championship. Not losing for four weeks--since March 12--tends to build that kind of support, even among the most competitive of peers.

So where does the streak end?

The Spurs, already 56-18, have eight games left to hold a 2 1/2-game lead over Orlando for the best record in the league and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Next up, Tuesday at the Alamodome, is Portland, before the Spurs go to Phoenix the next night, which also might be Dennis Rodman’s return.

Then they take batting practice for the final six outings: Sacramento, Denver in a home-and-home, at Dallas, the Clippers, at Minnesota. All could be tough on a given night, but all could also be in the lottery.

The Lakers were supposed to present a challenge. That lasted all of, oh, 10 1/2 minutes, by which time the Spurs had a 10-point lead and were heading toward leads of 18 points in the second quarter and 20 in the third and fourth.

Getting 26 points and 10 rebounds from Cedric Ceballos and 18 points and 17 rebounds from Divac, the Lakers at least made it interesting down the stretch. They were within eight points with two minutes left, then again with 1:05 remaining, but could get no closer while shooting just 39.8%.

“Today was real good,” Spur Terry Cummings said. “It was a real good character builder because we could have quit, being that it was the last game of our four-game road trip. Today was a thing about integrity and character.”

Today was about something else for the Lakers--like being thankful they probably won’t have to face the Spurs in the first round.

Laker Notes

The Houston Rockets are faltering with Hakeem Olajuwon and Vernon Maxwell both out because of iron deficiency anemia, so the Lakers have all but wrapped up the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoffs and a first-round matchup with the No. 4 team. The Lakers’ lead over Houston is three games with seven to play, but they also have the tiebreaker, which means the Rockets can’t afford to tie and therefore are actually four games behind.

Show time, indeed: The May issue of Playboy includes a nude pictorial of Jeanie Buss, daughter of Laker owner Jerry Buss and the person who may one day run the team herself considering Jerry has said he will leave the team to his kids. Jeanie is president of Forum Sports for parent company California Sports Inc., stages and promotes tennis and volleyball and directs the Blades roller hockey team. “Do I approve?” he said. “She asked me several months ago, and my reaction was, ‘Jeanie, if you want to do Playboy, do Playboy.’ ” So has he seen the layout? “Oh, I’m not looking at that,” he said. “Are you kidding? Of course, it’s the only Playboy I haven’t looked at in 26 years.”