Lakers Give the Warriors a Start and Win, 139-109

OAKLAND —  The Lakers, one of the best teams in the National Basketball Assn., met the Golden State Warriors, probably the worst, here Saturday night. And the result was predictable. No Doug Flutie Miracles in this one.

Los Angeles won, 139-109, and increased its lead in the Pacific Division to seven games over the Phoenix Suns, losers at San Antonio.

The defeat left the Warriors with the worst record in the NBA, but then they had a game and a half edge on Cleveland in that category going in.

The game attracted a sellout crowd of 13,295, and many of those in attendance seemed to be there mainly to see Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who at age 37 is supposed to be on his last legs, even though he has signed to play another year with the Lakers.

And, right from the start, Abdul-Jabbar didn’t disappoint anybody.

The Lakers played the first half as if they were the bullies and the Warriors were the 98-pound weaklings. The score at the half was 65-46 and it wasn’t really that close.

Magic Johnson ran the offense like a healthy, rested Magic Johnson. James Worthy slashed and dashed along the baseline. Even Kurt Rambis, making his second straight start after losing his power forward job to Larry Spriggs for much of the early part of the season, was banging the boards and opponents’ heads, just like he’s supposed to.

And then there was Abdul-Jabbar, the man they’ve been saying is over the hill for so long that many of the writers who said it can’t remember anymore that they did so.

Abdul-Jabbar scored 18 points in the first half, and his sky hook, obviously aging like fine wine, couldn’t have been smoother.

All in all, the Lakers managed to miss 10 shots. That’s all. Ten shots the entire half. For some NBA players, like World B. Free, 10 missed shots is about two minutes’ worth.

The Lakers were 27 of 37, good for 72%. And that included a bad second period, when they increased their miss total from four shots to six. They made 17 of 21 in the first quarter, and two of the misses were on jams. Johnson and Byron Scott were 4 for 4, Worthy was 6 for 7, Abdul-Jabbar 7 of 9, and, well, you get the picture.

For Abdul-Jabbar, it was clearly one of those nights. He ended the first half by taking a rebound, putting the ball around his back and between his legs before zipping it downcourt on a long outlet pass to Johnson, who missed a last-second fling by inches.

The Warriors had Purvis Short with 20 points at halftime. And that was all. But then, that’s pretty much been all they’ve had all season.

The Lakers also slipped in the third period, making only 6 of 11 in the first half of the quarter, which brought their overall shooting percentage all the way down to 68%.

But the Warriors continued to be the Warriors, and the Lakers’ lead going into the fourth period was 99-73.

Among the highlights were Mitch Kupchak sinking a turn-around, lean-back shot from 12 feet along the right baseline and Johnson, while knocked on his tailbone, scooping in a 10-footer with his left hand just before doing his spill and backward somersault.

The Warriors could have had five Larry Birds and it wouldn’t have mattered in the third period. And, obviously, the Warriors aren’t blessed with even half a Larry Bird.

Coach John Bach started the fourth period with a lineup that included household names such as Chuck Aleksinas, Othell Wilson and Peter Thibeaux. A white towel tossed out to center court would have conveyed the same message.