Bullets More Bothersome Than Johnson Calf Injury

The comeback within the comeback lasted 15 minutes Friday night at the Forum, long enough for Magic Johnson to get three shots, five points, three assists, one rebound and a good read on what has become a nagging injury.

He gave the Lakers a limited contribution in their 100-95 victory over the Washington Bullets, themselves bothersome, but, most importantly for the long run, gave an encouraging report on the strength of the strained right calf muscle.

Anatomically speaking, thumbs up.

“It was good for me,” said Johnson, limited by the medical staff to 20 minutes of playing time. “I got out of what I wanted as an individual. And we got out of it what we wanted as a team--a W.”

Their 19th in the last 22 outings, to be exact, this one also bolstered by the return of Nick Van Exel following a one-game absence because of a hip pointer. He went back into the starting lineup and had 14 points and four assists in 36 minutes, a complementary role to the 27 points from Cedric Ceballos, 18 points and 11 rebounds by Vlade Divac and 15 points and 12 rebounds from Elden Campbell.

Having wasted almost all of an 18-point lead from the first quarter, the Lakers, up three with six minutes remaining, finally started to put some distance between themselves and an opponent that came in having lost 11 of its previous 13. That was in the form of a 97-90 advantage with 3:25 left, after a stretch in which Ceballos had scored 10 of their last 16 points.

It was 99-93 with 54 seconds to play, so Washington Coach Jim Lynam, with two of the league’s four most accurate three-point shooters, loaded up for the closing moments. But Tim Legler or Brent Price didn’t even get one off, the Bullets being forced to settle for Calbert Cheaney’s tip-in the rest of the way.

That made it a four-point game, prompting a Laker timeout with 46 seconds remaining. Johnson came off the bench to throw the ball in and then provide an extra ballhandler as the Bullets pressed in hopes of forcing a turnover, his only action of the fourth quarter.

The Lakers broke through without much difficulty. Johnson departed again with 12 seconds left, mission accomplished, for that moment and the night.

It had been two weeks since Johnson had made it through a game, or even lasted into the second half. Then, he aggravated the year-old injury in practice, played 63 seconds against the Clippers before pulling himself out in the first quarter, sat out the next two games, returned for 11 minutes at Houston before the calf tightened in the second period, and missed the next two.

The test run for the return--and Sunday afternoon’s nationally televised game here against the Houston Rockets--was Johnson scrimmaging the day before in an optional practice at Loyola Marymount. That brought him to Friday.

“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Yesterday, I ran in all those games and I didn’t get tired. I’ve been out, but I’ve been working out.”

Which is important, since conditioning is the only thing missing from Johnson’s game and the layoff could have proved a costly setback. On the contrary, though, he said he remains about two weeks away from peak shape, about the same as before the injury.

After the way the game started, this wasn’t supposed to be much of a workout for any of the Lakers, not after they rolled to a 37-19 lead after barely 9 1/2 minutes. It was 41-29 after the first quarter, tying their highest-scoring period of 1995-96.

Then came the rest of the night. Looking to sweep the season series for the first time ever, the Bullets closed to within seven points by halftime, then were within one late in the third quarter. It was 79-77 heading into the fourth.

Laker Notes

Tip-off for Sunday’s game against the Rockets is 12:30. . . . Robert Pack, the former USC point guard, sat out his 26th consecutive game because of nerve damage in his right leg, but is making progress. The Bullets other injured point guard, Mark Price, could be back sometime this month, but the former all-star might be through for the season and perahps for his Washington career. He is a free agent in the summer.

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Magic Marker

Tracking Magic Johnson’s comeback:

FRIDAY’S GAME*--*

Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 15 1-3 (.333) 2.2 (1.000) 5 1 3

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SEASON AVERAGES

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Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 25.1 .482 .803 14.1 5.6 6.9

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CAREER AVERAGES

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Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 36.9 .521 .848 19.7 7.3 11.4

*--*

Career averages before comeback

RECORD

*--*

LAKERS BEFORE MAGIC 24-18 (.571) LAKERS WITH MAGIC 12-2 (.833)

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