HOUSTON -- Pat Riley thinks the Los Angeles Lakers biggest obstacle may already be behind them.
James Worthy scored 20 points and Magic Johnson added 19 Thursday night, lifting the Lakers into the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 109-88 victory over the Houston Rockets.
'I don't think we're going to see another team in the playoffs as tough as this one,' said Riley, whose team moved a step closer to a fourth straight conference title. 'They had power in Akeem (Olajuwon) and Otis Thorpe underneath and speed with Sleepy Floyd and Vernon Maxwell in the backcourt. Those are the two things that gave us trouble all year.'
Vlade Divac added 18 points for the Lakers, who never trailed in the game and captured the best-of-five series 3-1. Los Angeles, which held Houston to five points in the final six minutes, will play the winner of the Phoenix-Utah series in the Western Conference semifinals.
Olajuwon paced Houston with 28 points and Thorpe added 18, but Houston simply could not match Los Angeles down the stretch and in the overall series.
The Rockets led Game 1 by 13 points and lost. They led Game 2 by 19 points and lost. They took Game 3 Tuesday to hand Los Angeles its first loss in the first round since 1981. The Lakers had won 20 straight first-round games.
'They challenged us in the second game in Los Angeles, then beat us here Tuesday,' Riley said. 'I didn't have to say anything to them (Lakers). You guys did it for me.'
Houston Coach Don Chaney, who had guaranteed two wins over the Lakers, said the Lakers' playoff and championship experience showed.
'They know how to win in tough situations,' he said. 'They know how to maintain a lead. They reacted in every situation and they finished their plays.'
Los Angeles led by eight twice in the third quarter, and held an 80-75 edge entering the final period.
Johnson scored to give the Lakers a seven-point lead, but Houston ran off six consecutive points to trim the deficit to 82-81 with 9:29 left on a baseline jumper by Olajuwon.
Consecutive baskets by Orlando Woolridge and Divac were followed by Olajuwon picking up his fifth foul with 7:56 left.
Los Angeles was up by seven when Scott intercepted a Thorpe pass. Floyd grabbed Scott by the jersey from behind for a breakaway foul with 6:40 left.
Scott sank one free throw and on the enusing possession, Worthy scored from inside to give Los Angeles a 93-83 lead and Houston never recovered, scoring just five points the rest of the way.
The Lakers led by as many as 21 points in the closing minutes.
'We just executed extremelly well,' Johnson said. 'We weren't as concerned about what they were going to do as with what we wanted to do.'
Olajuwon said the Rockets simply did not keep their compsure down the stretch.
'We had a couple of bad turnovers and that was the game,' he said. 'We didn't make any shots from the outside. It was a tough game and we did our best, but they had a better team.'
Johnson scored 10 points as the Lakers shot nearly 63 percent from the field to build a 56-52 lead at halftime.
Olajuwon scored 12 for Houston, which stayed close despite shooting 37 percent from the field in the first period, and 43 percent for the half.
Houston scored the first four points of the second half to tie the score, 56-56. Los Angeles went on a 10-4 run to go up by six, and led by eight twice.
Scott sank two baskets to spark an 8-0 run midway through the first period to put Los Angeles up 15-6. The Lakers had the hot hand, hitting six of their first nine shots while Houston struggled from the floor, making just 2 of their first 18.
