Rockets Turn to Smith in a Pinch

HOUSTON —  Hakeem Olajuwon and Robert Horry and a bunch of guys off the bus that broke down in front of the Summit en route to some CBA town made up the Houston Rockets’ starting lineup and much of their substitution pattern Saturday night, startling only for the first three quarters. Then came the finish, the strangest sight of all.

Kenny Smith played the hero.

The former starting point guard, banished to the end of the bench along with the two championship rings earned when he actually used to play here, ended his exile and the Lakers’ eight-game winning streak in one motion. Four motions, actually--all three-point shots in the fourth quarter that sparked the Rockets to a 96-94 victory before 16,285.

Smith didn’t have a falling-out with Coach Rudy Tomjanovich so much as a falling-off, as in off the end of the world. Something about the team needing a change. He didn’t even play in 11 of the previous 12 games, going all of four minutes in the lone appearance, and he was only around to do in the Lakers because the Rockets couldn’t trade him by the Thursday deadline.

And then four shots, 12 points and two assists in 11 minutes. Enough to halt the Lakers’ longest winning streak since November 1991, more than enough to overshadow the other comeback.

Magic Johnson returned after sitting out the previous two games, lasted 11 minutes, then went out again. It probably wasn’t only for the night, either--Johnson said later he probably won’t play Monday against the New York Knicks at the Forum, and there’s a good chance he’ll also skip Wednesday at Vancouver since the Lakers don’t plan to need him.

Officially, Johnson did not re-aggravate the strained right calf. Laker trainer Gary Vitti said the muscle tightened up, but the end result was the same with any definition.

Johnson in with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

Johnson out with 4:14 left in the second quarter. For good.

“It was all right for minute, then it just tightened,” he said after getting two points, three assists and one rebound. “It let me know it’s not strong enough yet, so I’ve got to lay back.”

It’s just that he had been pointing to this game ever since going out, wanting to face the two-time defending champions in what would become the Lakers’ first road game against a winning team since Dec. 30. This was supposed to be a test, for him and the team.

The Rockets prepared for the occasion by putting Clyde Drexler on the injured list earlier in the day and announcing he would undergo knee surgery Monday or Tuesday, with the full extent of the problem to be determined at that time. So Tomjanovich started Eldridge Recasner and Tim Breaux in the backcourt while his third guard, Sam Cassell, battled stomach flu. At least Sam Mack and Jaren Jackson were healthy.

Against this backdrop, they raced to a 15-point lead by early in the second quarter and owned an eight-point edge at halftime. That held up until about midway through the third period, when the Lakers announced their presence.

Looking for the club’s first eight-game winning streak on the road since the winter of ‘73, they surged ahead by nine points heading into the fourth quarter. The lead was still nine with 11:29 remaining in the game, but not for long. The Rockets went on a 14-2 run right after Smith checked in.

The crowd roared his return. That was nothing compared to when he banked in his first shot, a 22-footer.

“That was my only hope,” Smith said of using the glass. “I probably would have put it into the 12th row.”

He didn’t come out again, making two more three-point shots as the fans went wild. Finally, from a couple of steps in front of Laker Coach Del Harris on the sideline, Smith made his fourth in a row, giving the Rockets a 93-87 advantage with 1:03 to play.

The Lakers had to settle for keeping the outcome in suspense until the final seconds. They were down, 96-93, when the Rockets intentionally fouled Anthony Peeler with 5.9 seconds remaining, before he could try a three-pointer. Peeler made the first free throw, then missed the second on purpose.

When Elden Campbell grabbed the rebound, it looked like a great play for the Lakers, especially since Harris had just inserted him for this very purpose. Campbell passed the ball outside to Peeler, but his three-pointer with about three seconds left missed. Cedric Ceballos got the offensive board this time, but his rushed seven-footer to beat the clock fell short.

Ceballos had 26 points to lead the Lakers. Olajuwon had 29 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who will come to the Forum a week from today for a rematch.