Worthy’s Return Makes 14 in Row Special for Lakers : Pro basketball: He plays 19 minutes in 106-92 victory over the Clippers.

In a Laker world seemingly without interruption, there were at least minor distractions Friday night, and not all unwelcome.

James Worthy returned, an opponent hung in long enough for cars in the parking lot to cool, and then the Lakers went about their appointed rounds. That’s as close as it gets these days to an accelerated heartbeat for the hottest team in basketball, which on Friday worked over the Clippers in the second half to win, 106-92, before 15,350 at the Sports Arena.

That’s 14 consecutive victories. Whatever measure of success attained will surely be earned: The Lakers (33-11) will play, in order, the Chicago Bulls, the Clippers, at the Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves, the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers, to be followed by a six-game trip that includes back-to-back stops in Detroit and Philadelphia.

It is also the fourth Laker victory in a row at the Sports Arena. The last had been by 108-99 on Dec. 26, which seems like decades ago because of the way they have stepped up their level of play.

“They are smoother,” Clipper Coach Mike Schuler said. “They have a better understanding what to do offensively and defensively.”

The Clippers, who lost for the sixth time in eight games and dropped to 15-30 overall, pulled within 11 points in the fourth quarter, the last time at 101-90 on Danny Manning’s tip-in with 2:25 to play.

Limited to playing 20 minutes because of his injury, Worthy went 19 minutes and scored six points and had one assist. That might pale compared to the 30 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Magic Johnson or the 14 points and 11 rebounds by Vlade Divac or 10 and 12, respectively, by A.C. Green, but try convincing a Laker which was nicer to watch.

“It felt OK to play,” Worthy said. “It was a little sore, obviously, but I think the soreness will subside with time. . . . For the most part, I got up and down the court well.”

A better indication might be known today, when the foot is re-examined to check for swelling or soreness. He said a decision on his status for Sunday afternoon’s game against Chicago at the Forum probably won’t be made until that morning, and no one knew immediately whether the 20-minute rule would still be in effect.

Worthy hadn’t even suited up for the three previous games because of a sprained right foot suffered in the closing seconds last Friday at New Jersey. So when he tested the injury with 15 minutes of light running during pregame warmups, that was encouraging to the Lakers. When trainer Gary Vitti pronounced him “much improved” afterward, that was even better.

“He looked pretty good,” Vitti said before the game. “It feels a lot better.”

Still, the Lakers stayed with Green, coming off his 20-point, 14-rebound performance the night before against Atlanta, in the starting lineup. The plan was for Worthy to get limited playing time, and he entered at the start of the second quarter.

The game had already taken several dramatic turns by then.

It started with the Clippers making two of nine from the field, which turned into five of 15, and that wasn’t even the worst of it. Charles Smith and Ron Harper had two air balls each.

The Lakers took a 29-16 lead that became 33-24 at the end of the opening quarter as the Clippers finished with baskets in four consecutive possessions. That trend continued into the next quarter, when the Clippers went on a 7-0 run to pull to 35-31.

When it got to 43-39, the Lakers pulled away again to 57-44 with 2:33 to play in the half. It was 61-50 at the break, even though the Clippers had bounced back from the horrendous start to make 51.2% of their attempts.

Worthy’s first-half influence was minimal--two points, one assist, seven minutes--but the Clippers had enough problems without having to face an All-Star forward at full stride. They cured shooting problems only to be hurt by poor rebounding. The Lakers had 11 offensive rebounds, five by Divac.

At that stage, no Clipper had five rebounds, period.

Clipper-Laker Notes

Richard Bergfeld, who along with Clipper team physician Tony Daly performed reconstructive knee surgery on Ron Harper, advocates a 15-minute playing limit during the early stages of Harper’s comeback. When he saw that Harper played 25 against the New York Knicks at the Sports Arena Tuesday, he made his feelings known in a phone call Wednesday from Cleveland to trainer Keith Jones. “He wasn’t pleased,” Jones said. “I said, ‘It was an overtime game, and it wouldn’t have been fair to Ron or the team to take him out because he had helped so much to get it there.’ He said OK. He was not pleased, but he bought it.” The next planned time increase for Harper is Monday to 20 minutes.

X-rays will be taken today on the left hand of Clipper guard Winston Garland, who left the game early in the fourth quarter because of what was thought to be a sprain. . . . The Lakers went 15-2 in January, their best month of the season. The Clippers were 4-11, their worst. . . . The 17 minutes and seven points by Benoit Benjamin Thursday at Golden State were both personal season lows.