This Act Never Gets Old Magic’s Return To Nba Complete With Trademark Flair, L.A. Victory

When the final buzzer sounded, Magic Johnson was holding the ball and smiling that oh-so-familiar smile, so happy was he to be back on the basketball court.

Amazingly, his numbers were just as familiar, even after 4-1/2 seasons out of the game and stints as an owner and a coach. In just 27 minutes coming off the bench, Johnson had 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, tantalizingly close to a triple-double, which wasn’t even a statistic until he came along.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how I feel,” said a beaming Johnson who made his return in the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors 128-118 Tuesday night. “It’s one of the most exciting days of my life, ever. You never thought I’d be back here, especially after the last time I tried. I had so much fun. I really enjoyed myself.”

Wearing a uniform so new it still had creases and his new “MVP” shoes that were flown in specially from Taiwan, Johnson couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the game he was forced from when he contracted the virus that causes AIDS.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long,” said Johnson, whose first comeback attempt before the 1992-93 season was cut short by some NBA players’ fears about HIV. “I was a 36-year-old rookie.”

Johnson shed his warmups and took the court with less than 3 minutes gone in the game, after power forward Elden Campbell picked up his second foul. As soon as coach Del Harris turned around to look at his bench, a huge cheer went up. Johnson jogged to the scorers table and the crowd gave him a standing ovation, waving signs reading, “Magic’s Back.”

Johnson wasn’t quite ready to go in, and felt lost at first.

“Del said, ‘Let’s go.’ I said’ Huh?”

After missing his first shot, he quickly got into the flow of the game.

Traces of the old Magic were clearly visible on one play in the first half. After Johnson missed a jumper, Vlade Divac snared the rebound and passed back to Johnson on the right wing. Johnson then faked and drove around Smith, a 20-year-old rookie, for an easy layup. Smith, for whom Johnson was a boyhood idol, didn’t mind too much.

“I mean, it’s not like I’m the first person he made a great pass over or he shot the hook over,” Smith said.

Johnson played the low post some and also assumed ball-handling duties, even when point guard Nick Van Exel was on the court.

Los Angeles built a 17-point first-half lead against Golden State, a team that had beaten the Lakers in nine of their last 11 meetings.

When Johnson was in the game during the first half, the Lakers outscored the Warriors by 15 points. When he was on the bench, Golden State outscored them by six.

Johnson’s passing skills appeared undiminished, but he had lost a step or two.

“I’m not close to where I want to be,” Johnson said. “It’s not just the conditioning. It’s the banging, the hitting. Basketball is not just running.”

Cedric Ceballos finished with 33 points for the Lakers, who had 44 assists, the most in the NBA this season.

When Johnson came out for warmups, the crowd went wild and “I Love L.A.” blasted over the sound system.

Golden State (118) - Smith 6-14 11-14 23, Kersey 0-2 2-2 2, Seikaly 1-4 0-0 2, Sprewell 10-18 2-4 22, Armstong 5-7 0-0 10, Gatling 9-14 3-5 21, Mullin 4-8 2-2 10, Hardaway 7-11 7-9 24, Barry 1-4 0-0 2, Rozier 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 44-85 27-36 118.

L.A. Lakers (128) - Campbell 7-10 0-2 14, Ceballos 15-18 3-3 33, Divac 6-13 0-1 12, Jones 3-7 0-0 6, Van Exel 5-10 3-3 16, Johnson 7-14 5-6 19, Peeler 5-11 0-0 13, Lynch 0-2 2-2 2, Strong 0-0 0-0 0, Threatt 6-10 0-0 13. Totals 54-95 13-17 128.

Golden State 28 35 22 33 - 118

L.A. Lakers 35 37 26 30 - 128

3-Point goals-GS 3-11 (Hardaway 3-6, Sprewell 0-1, Mullin 0-1, Rozier 0-1, Armstrong 0-2), LA 7-21 (Van Exel 3-6, Peeler 3-6, Threatt 1-4, Johnson 0-2, Jones 0-3). Fouled out-Smith. Rebounds-GS 53 (Smith 10), LA 42 (Campbell, Divac 9). Assists-GS 28 (Hardaway 10), LA 44 (Johnson 10). Total fouls- GS 26, LA 26. Technicals-Campbell, LA illegal defense, GS illegal defense. A17,505 (17,505).