Magic Will Sit 3 Games Contact With Ref Will Cost Nearly $200,000

Magic Johnson’s suspect calf, tender heel and guilty shoulder will be well-rested going into the postseason.

That’s because Johnson will be allowed to play only once more in the regular season after Monday’s surprise sentence from the league office, which suspended him for the next three games and fined him $10,000 for his confrontation with referee Scott Foster.

Johnson, whose monetary loss will total $198,500, including salary, expected to be barred from two games at the most, in spite of television replays that show him leaning his left shoulder into Foster in the second quarter of Sunday’s home win over Phoenix. Privately, team officials were convinced the penalty would last just one game for basketball’s foremost entertainer.

Then came word from New York, where NBA operations chief Rod Thorn issued a judgment almost as shocking as the act itself: Magic won’t be eligible to reappear until Sunday’s regular-season finale at Portland.

So much for that doctor-prescribed minutes restriction to preserve his aching joints.

“I accept the league’s fine and suspension and I want all the fans, the media and everyone associated with the Lakers to know my actions were unprofessional and wrong,” Johnson said in a statement issued after he called Thorn to apologize.

“I apologize to Scott Foster, to all the NBA referees and to the league, and I hope they know, as I do, that the incident was accidental and that I respect them in their professionalism in what is a very difficult job. Hopefully, other players will learn not to even put themselves in a position to make contact with a referee when arguing calls… .”

Had it not been for the forearm shiver teammate Nick Van Exel laid on referee Ron Garretson in Denver five days earlier, Johnson’s suspension would have likely ended after one game.

But Thorn told Johnson that in light of Van Exel’s season-ending suspension - for seven games and $25,000 - and Dennis Rodman’s earlier head-butting incident with Ted Bernhardt, one game was insufficient.

Thus, Johnson and Van Exel, the player Magic criticized so harshly just days earlier, will stay back at the team’s hotel while the Lakers play Dallas tonight at Reunion Arena.