[0] LAKERS BULL-DOZED\Chicago easily wins showdown of stars\CHICAGO 99, LAKERS 84.

Byline: Marc Stein Daily News Staff Writer

Scalpers and traffic flooded Manchester Ave. and awaited another miracle, for that is pretty much what it takes to beat the Chicago Bulls.

Magic is not enough.

Even with a starter out, even with their sixth man hurt, even with Michael Jordan cruising more than gliding, even with Magic Johnson unretired and the Forum back to full, the Bulls are the best in basketball.

Proving it, on a world stage, was Friday night's 99-84 dismantling of the Lakers, the much-hyped reunion showdown between Jordan and Magic Johnson that wasn't much of a contest because of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

The latter two dominated the Comeback Bowl, Pippen's 30 points and Rodman's 23 rebounds reducing a Showtime-era atmosphere into yet another Chicago stampede.

"It wasn't the Magic and Michael Show like everybody thought it would be," Pippen observed.

Johnson said: "It was just like when we used to dominate. It's the same feeling."

It definitely figured to be one of the most emotional nights in Johnson's career, which only just resumed Tuesday after nearly five years of retirement with a near triple-double against Golden State.

His line Friday wasn't a lot different than Jordan's - 15 points, three assists and three rebounds to Michael's 17, seven and seven - but the help wasn't comparable at all.

"They've got a long way to go," Pippen said of the Lakers. "People were talking about them being a championship contender. They're still far away from that. Magic's just about the same, but the personnel around him is different."

Jordan, who embraced Johnson just before the second half and right after the final buzzer, added: "He has intensity and killer instinct in his eyes, but. . . it'll take a while for them to get on the same page mentally."

No such questions surround the Bulls, who, without starting center Luc Longley and key reserve Toni Kukoc, notched their 18th straight victory to hit 41-3 overall.

Thursday night's win at Sacramento gave Chicago the best start in NBA history, eclipsing the Lakers' 39-3 launch to the '71-72 season.

"Don't believe the hype," said Bulls guard Ron Harper, echoing a teamwide sentiment that, at least in the visitors' locker room, this was nothing special.

"History? History for who? We made history last night. To us it's just a game. To everyone else what is it? An NBA championship preview."

No one was saying so Friday, when running with the Bulls wasn't the problem. Rebounding was. At halftime, the Lakers (25-19) had just 12 boards. Rodman had 15.

Jordan, perhaps distracted by the fan who dove to the floor and grabbed his legs during warmups, was satisfied to share the attention with Johnson while Pippen and Rodman decided the outcome.

"You have to give them a lot of credit," Johnson said. "They are all about what they're built up to be and even more."

Locals fans must have had an inkling, because the game sold out long before Johnson decided to play. Tickets vanished exactly 10 days after they became available . . . way back on Oct. 8.

The presence of Johnson and Jordan in the same building for the first time since June 12, 1991 - when, on the very same court, the Bulls won their first of three straight NBA titles - merely pushed street prices into the $1,000 range.

Worth it? Only connoisseurs of team play would think so, judging by the streams of fans that filed out with 4:23 remaining.

Embracing his sixth-man role completely, Johnson was sixth in the Lakers' procession out of the tunnel, starting a frenzy helped along by the recipient of the night's first chant, Eddie Jones.

Thanks to Jones' eight straight points at the start, prompting familiar cries of "Eddie, Eddie" throughout the building, the Lakers built an early eight-point lead. But the drama was short-lived.

Johnson entered for Vlade Divac with 6:36 left in the first quarter and immediately got a hint that the evening would be troublesome: Bill Wennington drove around him for a hook.

Shortly thereafter, Rodman welcomed Johnson back to the league with a sharp hack to the head.

Not very nice, but hardly as cruel as what would follow. The Lakers' brief glimmer of hope - Nick Van Exel's swish from just inside halfcourt to beat the first-quarter buzzer and tie it 28-28 - was gone by halftime after Chicago's 9-0 run made it 54-39.

By the time Johnson made his second-half entrance with 7:05 left, it was 67-47. In the fourth quarter, which began with Johnson moving from power forward to point guard, the Bulls led by as many as 26.

"This was an indicator game for us," Johnson said. "They know what they have. We don't know what we have. We have to get the swagger that they have."

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(1--color) Magic Johnson 932) found his teammates couldn't stop Michael Jordan and the Bulls. (2) Dennis Rodman of the Bulls helps Magic Johnson up from the court during second-half action in Chicago's 99-84 win over Lakers at Forum. Tina Gerson / Daily News Chart Magic vs. Michael