Don’t Forget Rocket Race

Meanwhile, back at the other race . . .

The Seattle SuperSonics opened a 1 1/2-game lead in the Pacific Division by winning Saturday and now gets the convenience of finishing the season against Sacramento, Dallas, San Antonio twice, Houston, Denver and the Clippers.

The Lakers face Utah twice and Portland, the Clippers and Phoenix, among others.

But the other battle that looms for the Lakers as the regular season heads into its final two weeks is against the Rockets, one that hasn’t gone well for Los Angeles--Houston won three of the four meetings.

The teams are tied for third place in the West. Whoever claims that spot will face either the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team at No. 6, or the Suns, the team making a hard charge. Whoever drops to No. 4 will get the Trail Blazers, a first-round matchup the Lakers would just as soon dodge even if healthy.

The Rockets have the tiebreaker against the Lakers. But the Rockets--who finally have Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler together again--also have challenges down the stretch themselves: home games with Vancouver, Seattle, the Clippers and Dallas and trips to Vancouver, the Sports Arena (Tuesday), Utah and San Antonio.

The Jazz all but have No. 1 locked up, so the champion from the other division, the Pacific, must settle for No. 2.