Riley and Heat Get Hooked by Magic

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

March 28, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

MIAMI —

The junior skyhook is all grown up now, a weapon from another time resurrected by the player for all-time. Wednesday night, it was unleashed on Pat Riley, who was there from the start, proving that loyalty and Laker tradition is one thing but the battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs is quite another.

Magic Johnson used two of those sweeping hooks, a staple in his new offensive attack, to break the back of Riley’s Miami Heat. They came about 15 feet from Riley on the sidelines, 10-footers on back-to-back possessions that gave the Lakers an eight-point lead with 1:13 to play en route to a 106-95 victory at the Miami Arena.

“I think I’m the last coach to ever be beaten by a skyhook,” Riley said later. “He buried two right in front of me, just to let me know.”

Playing against his former coach and close friend for the first time, after almost nine seasons together as the leads in Showtime, Johnson scored a game-high 27 points, to go with nine points and nine rebounds, barely missing his second triple-double in the 22 games since his return. He had 14 points and four rebounds in the decisive fourth quarter.

A point forward and not a point guard, slower and heavier--but still Magic. Riley has seen the future, and it is the past.

“He’s head and shoulders above anyone on the court when it comes to smarts,” Riley said. “He had a great game.”

For his part, Johnson tried to play this off as just another game, as if many of the Lakers believed him. Nick Van Exel, who contributed 21 points, said later, “We knew [he] wanted this one pretty badly,” and Coach Del Harris detected an added dose of intensity from Johnson, though Harris couldn’t pinpoint the motivation.

Maybe it was the buildup. Riley and Johnson had last talked Saturday, then retreated to their respective bunkers to prepare. Riley told Johnson the Heat would come at him hard, Johnson said he’d be ready.

Come Wednesday night, they made a point to stay clear of each other. That lasted until right before tipoff, when Riley presented a $20,000 check for the Magic Johnson Foundation and heaped praise on his former player. Johnson walked to midcourt to accept the donation, and the loud ovation from the fans, and the two embraced.

Johnson continued to get rich once the game started. He made the Heat pay for fouls by making all 13 of his free throws, piling up big points without great success from the field. Then came the two baskets that did serious damage.

The Laker lead was only 95-89 when Johnson got the ball on the right post, defended one-on-one by rookie Kurt Thomas. Johnson gave him the hook, knocking it down with 1:47 remaining.

Tim Hardaway’s jumper on the ensuing possession brought Miami back within six, so Johnson went to work again, this time with veteran Chris Gatling providing the coverage. No difference. From almost the same spot, Johnson used his sweeping right arm to loft another hook, and no one had a better view than Riley.

The Heat never challenged again, losing the game and a four-game winning streak while the Lakers avoided a letdown from their impressive victory the night before at Orlando. Johnson made two more free throws with 24 seconds left, making him 15 of 15 from the line to go with six of eight shooting from the field.

“You want Pat to understand you can still play,” Johnson said. “It was nice to have a good game in front of him. Pat’s like a father and a big brother to me, and you always want to impress your father and big brother.”

Harris is so impressed that, in a change of thinking, he will not take Johnson out of the opening lineup once Cedric Ceballos gets back in the flow. Not after the way the Lakers have played the last two outings and not after Johnson has averaged 23 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and shot 67.9% in the three games since he went from sixth man to starter at Ceballos’ small forward spot.

“I would have to have a strong feeling, an overriding reason to change at this point,” Harris said. Ceballos struggled in his second game back, missing four of five shots while scoring two points in 21 minutes.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson, his anger over Cedric Ceballos’ disappearance having subsided, said he plans to play next season. He had suggested Sunday he might not come back to a team where players walk out, but he is feeling better about Ceballos after the two talked earlier Wednesday.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Magic Marker

Tracking Magic Johnson’s comeback

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

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Min. FG FT Pts. Reb. Ast. 39 6-8 (.750) 15-15 (1.000) 27 9 9

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SEASON AVERAGES

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Min. FG% FT% Pts. Reb. Ast. 29.2 .502 .846 15.4 5.5 6.8

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CAREER AVERAGES