Lakers, Worthy Give Nuggets Show at Forum : Pro basketball: He scores 26 points in a 102-88 victory over Denver. Mutombo, after TV appearance, has 18 points.

Dikembe did Hollywood Thursday.

Inglewood did in Mutombo Friday.

Dikembe Mutombo, Denver’s 7-foot-1 rookie sensation, was a guest star on the Arsenio Hall show, but he and his teammates bombed in the Forum. James Worthy scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half and the Lakers overran them, 102-88.

In defeat, and in the midst of many Lakers, Mutombo scored 18 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists.

You can put the Lakers down as impressed.

“The guy’s tough,” Worthy said. “He’s got a streak of meanness in him, too.

“He’s a warrior. He’s tough in the hole (under the basket). He knows how to use his body and he doesn’t take any stuff. Boy, he’s going to make a lot of money in 15 years.”

He’s going to earn it, too.

The Lakers double-teamed him all night, which was no surprise to the rookie, who has had some experience with defensive help.

“A lifetime,” Nugget Coach Paul Westhead said.

“His deal--every possession is a struggle. It’s not like we have two-three great shooters who can get off. Like James Worthy is a great shooter and if he misses, his teammates tip it in. Dikembe doesn’t know what that’s all about.

“Then they ride him 10 feet out of the lane and 10 feet out of the other side after he gets the ball. One thing, he doesn’t have to worry about getting a lot of three-second calls against him.”

The Nuggets warmed up for the game royally.

They went to see their teammate on the Arsenio show, courtesy of Mutombo who paid for four limousines to transport teammates, coaches and members of the Denver press corps.

“It’s a free country,” said Mutombo, a native of Zaire, “but you don’t get anything for free.”

Welcome to America.

The Nuggets’ appearance in the Forum wasn’t as enjoyable.

Their offense in the first quarter consisted of former Clipper Reggie Williams and a lot of missed shots by everyone else as the Lakers took a 32-19 lead. Williams went five for nine; everyone else combined for three for 18. Williams finished the game with 23 points.

The Nuggets drew within 80-71 early in the fourth quarter but no closer.

What was their problem?

“James Worthy, with a capital W,” Westhead said.

“I don’t think our defense was bad. He just defied it. Most of his baskets came out of double-teams.”

The Nuggets packed up and left, starry-eyed no longer. Show business, it’s like no business they know.

Laker Notes

Magic Johnson remains a solid second in voting among Western Conference guards and is expected to announce he will play in the All-Star game after balloting ends next week. . . . Coach Mike Dunleavy, on the loss at San Antonio: “That was really on me. I did something I knew wouldn’t work, pressing San Antonio’s first team. They’re a transition team, an open-court team. But we’d won two games with the press and I had to find out how good it was. If we could do it to San Antonio, we could do it to anybody. But we couldn’t.” Dunleavy pressed sparingly Friday against Denver, another open-court team. . . . Dikembe Mutombo started the night with a 19-point average, shooting 49%, despite a pre-draft reputation as a “project” with bad hands.

The Lakers are mounting a voting campaign, asking fans “Vote for five Lakers and five Eastern Conference players.” . . . The five Lakers on the ballot are Johnson, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Byron Scott and Vlade Divac. Divac has played eight games and isn’t expected back until the All-Star game.

* CHANGING OF GUARD: The Miami Heat traded Sherman Douglas to the Boston Celtics for Brian Shaw. C13