Lakers Clinch Sixth Division Title, Put Champagne on Hold

The Lakers wrapped up their sixth straight Pacific Division title Thursday night, beating the Detroit Pistons, 128-111, before a sellout crowd of 17,505 fans at the Forum.

But the Lakers (55-15) plan to wait until they win the NBA title before starting their celebration.

“They only want to drink champagne when they win it all,” Laker Coach Pat Riley said. “They’re aware they won it and they’re not taking it for granted.

“But our goals are a lot loftier than they’ve been in past years. This is just one level. The last time we popped a cork for a Pacific Division title was in 1981-82, my first year. But we were in a race that year.”

Laker guard Magic Johnson, who was listed as questionable before the game with a deep bruise in his left calf suffered in the first period of Tuesday night’s 108-93 loss at Phoenix, returned to action.

Isiah Thomas, Detroit’s All-Star guard, said Magic told him earlier Thursday that he planned to play.

Johnson, who was the first player to come onto the court for pregame warmups, finished with 21 points, 15 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocked shots in 38 minutes.

“It felt good this morning at practice and that’s when I made up my mind to play,” Magic said. “If it wasn’t right, I wouldn’t have played. This was a big game for us. We haven’t had a challenge in a while.

“It’s always nice to win the division. I’ve been blessed to play with guys who want to win. Before the season started we were written off. We weren’t supposed to be here.

“But we pulled together and accomplished one of our goals. Now we’ve got to pull together to get the best record. We’ve got to keep going. We can’t be satisfied.”

Laker guard Byron Scott scored 25 points and had 6 assists and 5 rebounds.

Scott got the Lakers going in the first half, scoring 21 points, including 14 in the second period as they jumped out to a 78-56 lead at intermission.

“Scotty was just unconscious tonight,” Riley said.

Scott said: “Everything was just falling for me in the first half. It’s just one of those things. Some nights you can’t miss.

“If we keep playing the kind of basketball like we did tonight I think we have an excellent shot at finishing the season with the best record in the league.

“I think in past years we’ve taken that for granted.”

Forward James Worthy added 24 points, passed off for 6 assists and blocked 5 shots. He had 12 points during the Lakers’ second-period spurt when they outscored the Pistons, 40-26.

“It’s quite an accomplishment (winning the division title), but we still have a long way to go,” Worthy said. “We can’t go into the playoffs flat. We have to be sharp.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds, said: “Now that we have won the Pacific Division, we can move onto our next goal, which is to win the Western Conference. After that, I guess it’s to finish with the best overall record.

“I don’t think Pat will let us become complacent. I think he’s going to stay on top of us just for that reason.”

A.C. Green had 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in 32 minutes. Green had just two points in the loss to Phoenix.

The Pistons, who looked flat in the first half, rallied to narrow the gap to 12 points with five minutes left, but the Lakers pulled away to hand the Pistons (45-23) their second straight loss.

Detroit, playing the fourth game of a seven-game western trip, has lost 4 of its last 5 games.

“Fatigue shouldn’t be a problem,” Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said. “We’ve had a rest in three of the four (on the road). This was the only back-to-back game we’ve had. But you can’t give up 121 points a game in four games and expect to be a winner.

“Obviously we’re in danger (of falling out of the Central Division race). What are we now, 2 1/2 games back (of Atlanta)?

“They had a sensational game,” Daly said of the Lakers. “Their first half was brilliant. Their speed really bothered us.”

Adrian Dantley and Thomas scored 23 points apiece for the Pistons. Thomas also passed off for 8 assists.

“I think fatigue may have set in on us,” Thomas said. “Not to take anything away from the Lakers, but we were just a step slow all night on defense. We missed easy shots and we missed free throws. Those are signs of fatigue.”

Laker Notes

The Lakers shot 75% in the second period, hitting 15 of 20 shots. . . . By beating Detroit, the Lakers joined the Atlanta Hawks as the only teams to have defeated all of the other 22 teams in the league this season. . . . The NBA office is investigating a comment from Phoenix public address announcer Stan Richards during the Suns’ 108-93 win over the Lakers Tuesday night. With 6:21 left in the first period, Richards announced that the officials had called eight fouls on the Suns and none on the Lakers. Referee Mike Lauerman walked over to Richards and asked him not to incite the crowd. However, Sun General Manager Jerry Colangelo said later that he asked Richards to make the announcement. . . . The Lakers leave for Houston today for a game against the Rockets Saturday. They play Houston again on Tuesday at the Forum. . . . Chuck Nevitt, Detroit’s backup center, is a cult hero at the Forum. With 4:15 left in the game, the fans began to chant, “We want Nevitt.” The ex-Laker center entered the game with 2:06 left and quickly hit his first shot. “It’s always nice to be remembered in the city you played in,” Nevitt said. . . . The Lakers have had 22 sellouts this year, including the last 10 home dates. . . . The Lakers broke their club record for most three-point shots in a season with 139. The old record was 138, set last season. Michael Cooper hit a first-half bomb to break the mark.