Lakers Show Up Sonics

Whether it’s the playoffs or the regular season, there’s something about the Seattle SuperSonics that seems to bring out the absolute best in the Lakers.

“I think we’ve got their number,” Los Angeles guard Eddie Jones said.

Jones certainly had the statistics to back up that statement Tuesday as the Lakers pummeled the Sonics, 94-71, in front of 17,505 at The Forum.

Jones scored 26 points and Magic Johnson had 14 points and 10 assists in a showdown of the Pacific Division’s elite.

The Lakers joined Indiana and Dallas as the only teams to defeat the Sonics twice this season. Seattle shot 35 percent and scored 31 points in the second half.

“We have had our chances to beat the elite teams in this league,” Johnson said. “We lost to Orlando by one point (Sunday) and Houston, and tonight we proved to ourselves we can win the big game.”

It was the Sonics’ second-worst loss of the season, and the division leaders also had a three-game winning streak snapped.

The Lakers have won nine of their last 12 against Seattle, including the playoffs.

“Defensively, we were probably sound enough to win a game, but offensively, it was a nightmare,” Seattle coach George Karl said. “It just seemed to be one of those games - we didn’t shoot, we couldn’t pass, we gave them points off turnovers.”

Jones, who fell five points short of his career high, was scoreless in the third quarter, when the Lakers took control with a 22-9 run.

He twisted his left ankle with 5:12 to play in the third, but returned a few minutes later determined to keep going.

“Just being out there playing with Magic makes a world of difference for me every night,” Jones said. “When he sees somebody that’s got it going, he’s going to make you an even better player.”

Jones was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 5 3-pointers.

“He’s just running around, moving without the ball and he knows that Magic is going to find him and get him the basketball,” Karl said. “He was dynamite in the first half.”

The Sonics never got closer than 17 points in the final period and didn’t score their first field goal of the quarter until David Wingate connected on a jumper at 4:14.

By then, the Lakers were ahead 87-64 and easily on the way to their 16th victory in their last 20 games.

Elden Campbell added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers.

Gary Payton led the Sonics with 17 points. Shawn Kemp added 13 points - seven fewer than his average - and 15 rebounds.

After trailing 50-40 at halftime, Seattle cut its deficit to six points on consecutive baskets by Ervin Johnson and Detlef Schrempf, but the Sonics got no closer in the third quarter.

Los Angeles outscored Seattle 22-9 over the rest of the period to lead 77-58 going into the final 12 minutes. Magic Johnson played all but the final 1:38 of the quarter, scoring seven points in the spurt.

“We moved the ball well and defensively kept them in front of us,” Johnson said. “They never really got their running game going.”

The Sonics opened the game with a 17-7 run for their largest lead of 10 points. But Johnson sparked the Lakers when he entered the game at the 6:47 mark. Jones hit a 3-pointer and Johnson completed a three-point play as the Lakers taking over a lead they would never relinquish.

Jones had 12 points in their 21-4 run over the final 6:01 of the first period, including a 3-pointer that gave Los Angeles its first lead at 20-19.

Notes

The victory assured the Lakers of at least a .500 record for the 30th time in 36 years since moving to Los Angeles… . Seattle had won 13 straight games against Pacific Division opponents… . The Sonics were the first Western Conference team to clinch a playoff berth… . The teams play each other for the final time this season when the Lakers travel to Seattle on Thursday. Los Angeles holds a 2-1 edge in the series… . Prior to facing off against Seattle, Johnson called Payton the best point guard in the game. While discussing the effect a point guard can have on a game, Johnson said: “It’s like Gary. Gary is so good now. He’s probably the best example. They put the ball in his hands. He’s been very good, but this year he’s the best at that position.”

Lakers 94, SuperSonics 71

FG FT Reb SEATTLE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Kemp 36 3-10 7-8 1-15 3 3 13 Schrempf 38 4-10 2-2 2-8 6 2 10 E.Johnson 19 3-7 0-0 3-7 0 3 6 Hawkins 30 3-8 2-3 1-4 1 2 9 Payton 36 5-11 5-6 1-3 4 2 17 Perkins 21 1-5 0-0 0-2 2 0 2 Wingate 23 2-9 0-0 1-1 1 3 4 Brickowski 20 2-7 0-0 0-2 0 4 5 Snow 11 2-2 1-1 0-0 1 0 5 Scheffler 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ford 3 0-2 0-0 0-1 0 1 0 Totals 240 25-71 17-20 9-43 18 20 71 Percentages: FG .352, FT .850.

3-Point Goals: 4-19, .211 (Payton 2-4, Brickowski 1-2, Hawkins 1-5, Perkins 0-1, Ford 0-1, Schrempf 0-3, Wingate 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 4.

Blocked shots: 9 (Kemp 5, E.Johnson 3, Payton).

Turnovers: 20 (Payton 4, Kemp 3, Schrempf 3, E.Johnson 3, Hawkins, 2, Wingate 2, Perkins, Brickowski, Snow).

Steals: 6 (Kemp 2, Payton 2, Hawkins, Perkins).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1.

FG FT Reb L.A. LAKERS Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts Campbell 29 6-13 2-4 3-10 1 4 14 Ceballos 12 1-7 0-0 1-3 0 3 2 Divac 36 5-14 1-2 0-8 0 4 11 Jones 40 10-14 3-4 0-7 1 2 26 Van Exel 33 4-10 2-2 0-4 6 2 12 Strong 10 2-5 0-0 1-3 1 1 4 M.Johnson 34 4-6 5-5 1-5 10 1 14 Blount 17 2-4 0-2 2-2 1 2 4 Threatt 15 0-0 1-2 0-1 3 2 1 Peeler 8 1-4 2-3 0-0 1 0 4 Lynch 4 1-4 0-0 1-1 0 0 2 Miller 2 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Totals 240 36-82 16-24 9-44 24 21 94 Percentages: FG .439, FT .667.

3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Jones 3-5, Van Exel 2-3, M.Johnson 1-3, Divac 0-1, Lynch 0-1, Peeler 0-2, Ceballos 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 12.

Blocked shots: 9 (Divac 4, Campbell 3, Blount 2).

Turnovers: 12 (Campbell 4, Divac 2, Jones 2, Van Exel 2, Ceballos, Blount).

Steals: 15 (Jones 3, Threatt 3, Campbell 2, Peeler 2, Divac, Van Exel, Strong, M.Johnson, Lynch).

Technical fouls: None.

Illegal defense: 1. Seattle 21 19 18 13 - 71 L.A. Lakers 28 22 27 17 - 94 A-17,505 (17,505). T-1:59.

Officials-Joe Crawford, Blane Reichelt, George Toliver.