D’Antoni’s wife gets dig at L.A.

LOS ANGELES — As basketball trash talk goes, nothing the Rockets might have said on the floor during their blowout of the Lakers on Sunday could top Laurel D’Antoni’s retort after they were through.

D’Antoni, the wife of Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, was asked about being back in Los Angeles, where her husband coached the Lakers for two seasons before stepping down after the 2013-14 campaign.

With the Rockets riding seven consecutive wins, all taken in blowouts, and leading the Western Conference while the Lakers have not had a winning season since D’Antoni’s first season, Laurel chose her words carefully, with a nod toward a comment Magic Johnson made about Mike on April 30, 2014.

“Is it classless to say ‘Happy days are here again?’ ” she said.

The phrase, and asking if it was “classless” to say, were chosen for a very specific reason.

After Mike resigned as Lakers coach, Johnson, now the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, reacted gleefully, tweeting, “Happy days are here again! Mike D’Antoni resigns as the Lakers coach. I couldn’t be happier!”

The Lakers had the worst records in franchise history in the next two seasons, improved to 2656 last season, and are 8-15 this season with a fivegame losing streak.

After the Rockets’ 11895 rout Sunday, Laurel left town much happier than in 2014, with a reminder of the farewell Mike D’Antoni was given when he left 3½ years earlier.