Lakers Take Advantage of Stockton-Less Jazz, 92-86

SALT LAKE CITY —  Imagine the elation the Lakers had to suppress here Saturday night when they looked across the court and saw Utah Jazz guard John Stockton dressed in a pastel shirt and khaki pants, not his regular work clothes.

Almost to a man, the stone-faced Lakers said they would have rather taken their chances against the Jazz with Stockton, the catalytic point guard who was sidelined because of a sprained left ankle, rather than take advantage of Utah without him.

Of course, those pronouncements came after the Lakers had secured a 92-86 victory, a rare win at the Salt Palace. Had Stockton played, perhaps the outcome would have been different. Perhaps not. Certainly, the Lakers would have had an even tougher time than usual with their main Western Conference challenger.

“Sure, we got a good win,” Laker center Mychal Thompson said. “But you could say that it’s (tainted). It’s like them beating us without Magic (Johnson) or James Worthy. We didn’t beat the Jazz at their best. But that doesn’t mean we won’t take it.” The Lakers, coming off a five-day layoff, are playing so well that maybe even Stockton’s appearance might not have made a difference. Improving the NBA’s best record to 9-1, the Lakers built as much as a 19-point fourth-quarter lead before the Jazz rallied to pull to within three points with three minutes to play.

But behind Johnson, who had 25 points and 11 assists, and Worthy, who added 24 points, the Lakers held on to win here for the first time in regular-season play since Dec. 26, 1987.

Afterward, the Lakers struggled with how much importance to place on the victory. The consensus was that, with or without Stockton, the Lakers should covet this road victory, not put an asterisk next to it.

“Obviously, they missed John,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “He’s a great player. But the bottom line is we needed a win. We wanted a win. We got the win.”

Riley said facing little-known point guards Eric Johnson (brother of Vinnie of the Detroit Pistons) and Delany Rudd caused problems. Riley said the Lakers had prepared a game plan to keep the ball out of Stockton’s hands, and they needed to scrap that shortly before game time. “That kind of messed us up,” Riley said. “We had to make some changes. But when it comes to competition, we’re not looking to avoid anybody. I’m not searching for the meaning of life by having John Stockton out of the lineup.”

No, but it sure made the search for a victory much easier. The only Laker who acknowledged that Stockton’s absence was a break was Worthy.

“It’s obvious they missed their floor leader,” Worthy said. “I mean, we always have problems against him. He’s a troublemaker, a gutsy player who makes things happen. That was just one less headache we had to worry about.”

Utah still is a dangerous team without Stockton. There still is forward Karl Malone, who led all scorers Saturday night with 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

But despite playing 42 minutes, Malone could not beat the Lakers by himself.

Rudd and Johnson, the rookie guards, simply could not emulate Stockton’s creativity and quickness with the ball. Johnson, the starter, was held scoreless and sat out most of the second half. Rudd, however, scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and spurred the Jazz’s comeback.

The Lakers shot slightly better than the Jazz (47.4% to 47.2%) and were outrebounded, 36-34, in a game that neither team will remember as a thing of beauty.

“They’re still a good team without him,” Worthy said. “But with Stockton in there, you always have to look out when he’s in the game. We didn’t need that.”

True enough. The Lakers had enough problems holding back the Jazz in the fourth quarter.

After rookie forward Theodore (Blue) Edwards stole the ball from Worthy and scored on a reverse dunk with 2:58 to play, reducing the deficit to 84-81, the Lakers seemed on the verge of losing for a fourth consecutive time in Salt Lake City.

After a timeout, the Lakers set up the basket that secured the victory. Johnson received the ball in the low post with the option of spinning to the basket or passing to Worthy cutting through the lane.

He chose to pass to Worthy, who soared past for a dunk and an 86-81 lead. From there, the Jazz never pulled closer than five points.

“I could’ve gone to the hole myself, but I saw James’ man turn and look toward me,” Johnson said. “That’s when I gave it to him. James and I, we play off each other (well).”

So, too, do Malone and Stockton. But without one of their most vital instruments, the Jazz could not make much noise.

Although the Lakers certainly were not boasting after the victory, knowing the impact Stockton would have had, they were not ready to concede defeat had Stockton played.

“You can’t say that,” said Riley when asked if the Lakers would have lost had Stockton played.

“We’ll never know, I guess. But our guys played a good game. We played hard the whole way. When they are without their best player, you have to work harder to not let down. I still think this was a little bit of a breakthrough for us.”

Johnson shook his head when asked about Stockton’s absence.

“We played a good game,” Johnson said. “You can’t worry about if, if, if.”

Laker Notes

Reserve forward Mel McCants, who suffered a sprained right ankle during Friday’s practice, did not make the trip to Utah. X-rays of McCants’ ankle showed no fracture, but it is not known whether he will suit up for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. . . The Lakers on Saturday extended their winning streak to eight games, longest in two seasons. Last season, the Lakers won seven in a row, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 10. They also won six straight games in early to mid-March. . . Mychal Thompson and A.C. Green each had 11 rebounds to lead the Lakers. Michael Cooper scored six of his 11 points during the third quarter, when the Lakers outscored the Jazz, 30-19. . . The last time the Jazz lost back-to-back home games was during the 1987-88 season. Both losses this season have come without John Stockton, who is not expected to play again until Wednesday night.