Lakers Take O Off O-Rena

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

March 27, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ORLANDO, Fla. —

Very much in need of a party, the Lakers danced in someone else’s house Tuesday night, and at a most exclusive residence at that. They spilled drinks. They played their music really loud.

They also broke things, namely the Orlando Magic’s season-long 33-game home winning streak. It’ll take a bulldozer to clean up this place today, left in shambles by the Lakers and their 113-91 rout before 17,248 at Orlando Arena that came with remarkable ease.

From 33-0 to wondering what hit them.

Actually, the Magic had won 40 in a row here during the regular season dating back to last spring, an NBA record before the Chicago Bulls just beat it, with this being the first non-playoff home loss since March 14, 1995. But that’s something of a phony statistic--Orlando had lost four games at Orlando Arena since then in the postseason, once even to the Boston Celtics and twice in as many outings to the Houston Rockets in the finals.

This season, the Magic needed overtime in three games, all the way to three extra periods against New Jersey in the opening week, and had a couple of one-point contests and two others decided by two points.

Then came Tuesday night. The Lakers, looking nothing like a team trying to overcome internal strife, let the locals keep their hopes up until late in the third quarter, then blew the doors open to make their exits more convenient. The aisles started to fill with about five minutes remaining, the chance to see Magic Johnson run a clinic probably the only thing that kept them around that long.

“It’s great, seeing everyone with a lot of smiles,” said Nick Van Exel, who had 22 points, six rebounds and four assists. “It’s like we won a round in the playoffs or something.”

Added Johnson: “It was a great feeling for us. Probably a bigger win because of what had been going on. It lets the teams around the NBA know we’re alive and kicking.

“It brings us back together. It puts everything behind us. It makes us relax. It makes us smile, and we haven’t smiled the last couple games. . . . The fun was gone. And tonight, the fun was back.”

So was Cedric Ceballos, whose sudden disappearance six days earlier was far more to blame for the bad mood than the consecutive losses for the first time since Dec. 30-Jan. 2. Purposely overlooked at the start, as if he was getting the silent treatment, he eventually played 14 minutes and had 15 points and four rebounds and a key role in the 20-4 run that turned the game into a fourth-quarter route.

Van Exel was back too, but from a much different place. Nine days earlier, he had taken the blame for the Lakers’ one-point loss to the Magic at the Forum, the one that ended as he came down the lane with a backpedaling defender at his mercy, only to veer out for a 20-footer that missed at the buzzer. He had no intention of wasting this chance.

“It was big motivation for me,” he said. “That’s all I was thinking--coming in here and playing well and winning.”

Orlando will have to wait until next season--or the finals--to go for the same redemption. Until then, the Magic not only has to live with a home loss, but its biggest at the O-rena since losing by 40 back on Jan. 26, 1991.

“Well, they were just the better team,” Penny Hardaway said. “They came to play and we didn’t. They beat us. We just got outplayed.”

Laker Notes

Another marquee matchup comes tonight in Miami: Magic Johnson vs. Pat Riley for the first time. “I never in my life thought I would go up against Pat Riley,” Johnson said. “It’s strange. It’s exciting. It’s different. I’m looking forward to it. And I’m sure it’ll be frustrating because I’m sure he’ll have some defense ready for me. We talked Saturday, and he said they’ll be coming after me.” Riley and the Heat made their only Forum appearance of the season Jan. 15--two weeks before Johnson returned. . . . Tuesday marked the first time Johnson had played at Orlando Arena since he came to the 1992 All-Star game in controversy, having been elected to the West squad despite being retired, and left as the game’s most valuable player. He rates that day as one of the most memorable of his storied career, just behind the five championships and the Olympics later that year. “It’s definitely special,” Johnson said. “It’ll always be special.”

Walt Hazzard remains hospitalized after suffering a stroke Friday, but Coach Del Harris said he continues to show signs of improvement. The former UCLA coach is regaining some of the movement he lost on his right side and is strong enough to be scheduled for an operation in a few days that will repair a heart valve, Harris said. . . . The Magic played without power forward Horace Grant, out because of back spasms.

* CEBALLOS: He loses captaincy but gets back in the game. C5

* CLIPPERS: They haven’t given up on playoffs yet, after victory over Milwaukee. C5

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Longest Home Winning Streaks

NBA

41--CHICAGO BULLS

* March 30, 1995-Present

40--ORLANDO MAGIC

* March 21, 1995-March 26, 1996

38--BOSTON CELTICS

* Dec. 10, 1985-Nov. 28, 1986

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