Lakers Take the Wind Out of Olajuwon : Pro basketball: He scores 20 points in his first game after suspension, but Green has 22 points in Los Angeles’ 107-101 victory.

The NBA’s Board of Governors on Tuesday granted a reprieve to Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon, lifting his suspension, if not his spirits.

Later, at the Summit, the Lakers weren’t so forgiving, running Olajuwon into exhaustion as the team with better reasons to break down pounded out a 107-101 victory over the Rockets before a crowd of 15,068.

After holding off a fourth-quarter Houston rally, thanks in large part to forward A.C. Green, the Lakers gave themselves a three-game cushion in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

That victory also put their nearest competition, the Rockets, four games behind the Lakers in the loss column with only 11 games remaining.

Suddenly, the Lakers are getting greedy.

“Now, we’ve got our sights set a little higher,” guard Byron Scott said. “We can get that sixth spot just as easily as playing .500 from here on out and settling for the eighth spot. Our minds are set a little higher than that. We want to see if we can catch Seattle. Hopefully, if San Antonio keeps falling, we can catch them also.”

For those hoping the Lakers would bag the season and take their chances in the lottery, forget it.

Not as long as Green suits up. The difference between the Lakers and Rockets down the stretch might be measured in the difference between Green and Olajuwon.

When his team needed him most, Olajuwon sat himself down for two games with a questionable hamstring injury. That led to his March 23 suspension, which was lifted when the Rockets petitioned for his reinstatement. The Rockets originally suspended Olajuwon because they say he was faking the injury in order to press his demands for contract renegotiation.

Tuesday night, after missing three games because of the suspension, Olajuwon returned to the playoff hunt reluctantly, still demanding to be traded once the season ends.

He put up the usual numbers--20 points, 16 rebounds--but wasn’t able to take control in the end.

“I was tired, winded,” Olajuwon said. “I struggled.”

When the Lakers needed Green most, with starters James Worthy and Sam Perkins out of the lineup, Green hoisted the team on his shoulders.

Green scored 22 points and had 16 rebounds. Green led with hustle and by example. He and forward Elden Campbell--22 points, nine rebounds--played the Rockets’ front line to a stalemate. Each team finished with 46 rebounds, but the Lakers outscored the Rockets on second chances, 30-13. Vlade Divac added 16 points and eight rebounds.

“This was a huge game, and the difference was our front line,” Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “Green, Campbell and Divac played super inside.”

Divac agreed.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” Divac said. “I think Houston has the best front line in the NBA.”

The Lakers almost let it slip away in the end, losing two 11-point leads in the fourth quarter. Knuckles turned white when the Rockets cut the lead to 103-101 with 1:01 remaining on a basket by Olajuwon.

The Rockets got the ball back and came down court with a chance to tie or go ahead when Green stepped in to settle matters.

With 28 seconds left, point guard Kenny Smith of the Rockets was called for traveling when it was ruled that he illegally caught his own pass.

Smith insisted he caught the ball after a Laker touched it. That Laker was Green.

“I didn’t hit that,” Green insisted. “He lost it, and it flipped out.”

After Sedale Threatt missed a layup, Green put away the game with his follow shot with five seconds remaining.

“The biggest factor was the second-chance baskets,” Rocket Coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “That last play (by Green) typified the way the entire game went. It just kills you.”

Afterward, Olajuwon tried to put his latest controversy in the proper perspective.

“There are a lot worse things in the world,” he said, “people losing their families, people that are paralyzed. This (his trade demands) is very small. That’s the way I look at it.”

The Lakers, meanwhile, are looking up in the standings.

“Right now, we’re psyched up,” Campbell said. “Every night it’s somebody different.”

Dunleavy, despite numerous setbacks and injuries, is cautiously optimistic.

“The way of the NBA is that we don’t know what’s going to happen. . . . We’re not a great team, but we’re playing well as a team.”

Laker Notes

Picking up the slack dept.: The Lakers won despite an off night from guard Sedale Threatt, who had carried the team of late. Threatt missed his first nine shots and scored his first basket with 9:03 remaining. Threatt made three in a row down the stretch, though, and finished with eight points. Houston guard Kenny Smith set a career high with 17 assists. . . . Otis Thorpe led the Rockets with 30 points. He also had 12 rebounds. . . . Laker guard Byron Scott scored 17 points, making eight of 15 shots. Guard Terry Teagle scored 18 points off the bench.