Opening the third quarter the teams traded baskets for the first two minutes before Don Chaney and Jabbar combined for eight points to force a tie at 55-55. When Hollins was forced to the bench with his fourth foul with half the quarter elapsed, the Blazers continued their trapping defense but the Lakers were able to break it. The Lakers forward Don Ford finally found his touch as he scored eight points to get Los Angeles to a 65-62 lead with 4:32 remaining. Soon after Jabbar recorded his 19th point to give the Lakers a 68-64 lead he was whistled for two quick fouls, his fourth and fifth fouls and was sent to the bench. With Jabbar on the bench Bill Walton took advantage of the Lakers reserve CJ Kupcek with an assist and a basket. Larry Steele was fouled with 1:58 left and his free throw tied the game at 71-71 with just under two minutes remaining and the Blazers went on an 8-2 run to close out the quarter with a 79-73 lead.
Lucas finished the game with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Johnny Davis had 21 points, passed for four assists and had two steals. Walton scored 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, passed for six assists and blocked three shots. “I don’t think anyone ever has played Kareem better in a series than Bill did,” said Blazer coach Jack Ramsey. “He played with great dedication and we couldn’t have won without that.”
“Portland is a great team,” said Lakers coach West. “It has as fine personal as there is in basketball. There is great depth in the backcourt. It is a team that is going to be good for a long time.”
“Portland is a great team,” said Lakers coach West. “It has as fine personal as there is in basketball. There is great depth in the backcourt. It is a team that is going to be good for a long time.”
Lionel Hollins continued his hot hand, and along with Lucas, each scored 10 points in the first quarter helping the Blazers get to a 36-29 lead but fatigue set in the second quarter after the Blazers got to a 49-37 lead. There is a virus going around in the Blazers locker room and Walton, Hollins, Bob Gross, and Larry Steele each were treated with antibiotics earlier in the day but refused to use the excuse for the lull in the middle of the game. “Injuries and illness shouldn’t be used as excuses,” said Walton. “When it is time to play, it is time to play.” The Lakers were able to take advantage of the Blazers lack of intensity with a 16-5 run to close out the half to get to within 54-53. The Lakers continued to threaten to gain a road victory, twice getting to a six point lead in the third quarter before Game 2 hero Herm Gilliam hit for six points and got the Blazers to within two points at the end of the third quarter 75-73.
With Los Angeles leading 81-79 early in the fourth quarter Walton tied the game with a tip-in off a shot by Gross who then countered with his own tip-in of sorts when he flipped the ball backwards over his head off a miss by Lucas giving the Blazers an 83-81 lead with 7:12 to go. “I tried tapping it first but someone hit my arm,” said Gross, “The second time I just swatted it and it went in. After one more Blazer basket came the moment when Walton drove the lane and stuffed over Jabbar giving the Blazers an 87-81 advantage. “The hoop was open,” said Walton, “Kareem was either trying to block the shot and missing the block or he was sliding off and trying to help out and that left the hoop open.”
With Los Angeles leading 81-79 early in the fourth quarter Walton tied the game with a tip-in off a shot by Gross who then countered with his own tip-in of sorts when he flipped the ball backwards over his head off a miss by Lucas giving the Blazers an 83-81 lead with 7:12 to go. “I tried tapping it first but someone hit my arm,” said Gross, “The second time I just swatted it and it went in. After one more Blazer basket came the moment when Walton drove the lane and stuffed over Jabbar giving the Blazers an 87-81 advantage. “The hoop was open,” said Walton, “Kareem was either trying to block the shot and missing the block or he was sliding off and trying to help out and that left the hoop open.”
Captured from Youtube is Walton dunking on Jabbar
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Jabbar again led the Lakers in scoring with 21 points and gathered 20 rebounds as well. “I thought Kareem played a tremendous game,” said Laker coach Jerry West. “He is the greatest center in the game. I have tremendous respect for Bill Walton though. He probably is the second-best center in the league.” Jabbar also passed for seven assists and blocked eight Blazer shots. Cazzie Russell and Tom Abernathy each finished with 16 points.
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Lucas dunking against Lakers Ford and Chaney
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Lucius Allen, who missed the first two games with a toe injury, had 14 points and six assists. “If it had been the regular season I would have never played tonight,” said Allen who injured his toe 8 minutes into the first game of the Golden State series. “It’s very discouraging watching the team lose. If I can walk I’ll play (Game 4). I’ve never won a series after being down 3-0 but I’d like to make history.” Allen played in five of the seven games against the Warriors but in two games he played less than 10 minutes due to the injury.
In addition to Allen’s injury the Lakers are without their power forward Kermit Washington. “We’re not the same team without Lucius and Kermit,” said Jabbar. “I’m not trying to rain on Portland’s parade but that’s the way it is.” Washington played in the three games the Lakers defeated Portland earlier in the season averaging 10 points and 9.3 rebounds before injuring his knee in February.
For the Blazers Lucas and Walton led the way with 22 points each with Walton gathering 15 rebounds, passing for nine assists and two blocks. Lucas added 11 rebounds and three blocks and two steals. Gilliam came off the bench to add 14 points while Hollins ended the game with 13 points after scoring 10 in the opening quarter.
In addition to Allen’s injury the Lakers are without their power forward Kermit Washington. “We’re not the same team without Lucius and Kermit,” said Jabbar. “I’m not trying to rain on Portland’s parade but that’s the way it is.” Washington played in the three games the Lakers defeated Portland earlier in the season averaging 10 points and 9.3 rebounds before injuring his knee in February.
For the Blazers Lucas and Walton led the way with 22 points each with Walton gathering 15 rebounds, passing for nine assists and two blocks. Lucas added 11 rebounds and three blocks and two steals. Gilliam came off the bench to add 14 points while Hollins ended the game with 13 points after scoring 10 in the opening quarter.
Los Angeles, playing with much more intensity than in Game 1, pulled into a 91-84 lead when Tom Abernathy put back a rebound with 5:51 left before Gilliam again pulled out his bag of tricks. Gilliam scored the next four Blazer baskets, the last jumping off his right leg and falling away from the basket, which pulled the Blazers to within a point at 92-93 “I’ve played better games,” said Gilliam. “But considering that this is the playoffs and the team needed me, this has to be my biggest game.” Gilliam’s last basket was a driving jumper in the key which gave the Blazers a 98-97 lead with 1:03 left. Tatum missed an outside shot that would have given the Lakers the lead with 43 seconds. The Blazers went to Gilliam a final time but his heave as the 24-second clock was expiring bounced off the back of the rim but the Blazers got a much needed rebound. Hollins finished the scoring with a free throw with 11 seconds. Jabbar missed a 15-foot jumper that would have tied the game as time expired.
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Abdul-Jabbar led all scorers with 40 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. “Kareem was magnificent,” said Ramsey. Laker coach Jerry West countered with “But Kareem simply cannot do everything.” Cazzie Russell had 21 points along with seven rebounds and six assists but no other Laker made a significant offense contribution. Don Ford and Earl Tatum each had 10 points but shot a combined 8-22 to achieve that. “We cannot get it done only scoring that many points.” said West. “Our inability to make the open shot and our turnovers hurt us.”
While not the high-scorer for the Blazers, Gilliam ended with 24 points while making 12 of his 18 shots. “It is one thing to be hot,” said Bill Walton, “but it’s another to be hot and want the ball the Herm did. He definitely wanted it.” Hollins ended the game with 31 points, passed for seven assists and gathered eight steals. “Ive said it all along,” said Ramsey, “Lionel is one of the best, if not the best, defensive guards in the NBA. Now maybe the nation will know it.” Maurice Lucas endured a poor shooting night but ended with 16 points and nine rebounds while front-court mate Walton finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds. The Lakers out-rebounded the Blazers 48-40 while both teams ended with 26 assists. The Lakers also visited the free throw line more than the Blazers going 19-25 while the Blazers ended the game 11-17, shooting only two free throws in the second half when Hollins went to the line with 11 seconds where he made one of the two shots. |
LOS ANGELES — For the second series in a row, the Blazers needed to win at least one road game if they wanted to think of winning the series. In Game 1 of the Denver series, Maurice Lucas hit a turn-around shot with 8-seconds to secure the win in Denver. Tonight, when Lionel Hollins scored a lay-up three-seconds into the game giving the Blazers a 2-0 lead, he technically secured the Blazers 121-109 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1 as the Lakers never could draw even the rest of the game. Jerry West, the Lakers coach commented, “I’ve said it all along, I think Portland has the best talent in basketball. They have a great center, a fine strong forward and guards with great quickness. That’s all you need.” After the 2-0 lead, the Blazers used their quickness to jump to a 12-2 lead with Hollins scoring eight points in that stretch, effectively using their fast break offense to jump to a 33-22 lead. Johnny Davis, the rookie guard who is starting in place of the injured Dave Twardzik, hit a half-court shot to end the quarter, the third time a Blazer has hit a half-court shot in these playoffs. Entering the second quarter, the Blazers changed their offense more towards a pattern offense. They added to their lead in the second quarter, eventually getting to a 22 point lead at 60-38 before settling to a 61-43 halftime lead. The Lakers would never get closer than six points for the rest of the game West would not use their recent seven-game series against the Golden State Warriors, which ended two-days ago, as an excuse for the loss but admitted that the Lakers didn’t seem alert for most of the game. “The difference tonight was that they were a lot quicker than us, but I think we can play better.” West further commented, “We won’t play this badly again. I think we’ll play much better on Sunday (Game 2).” The Lakers entered the game with a 14-game winning streak at home and ended the regular season with a club record 37-4 at home. |
The Lakers were led in scoring by rookie Earl Tatum, who scored 32 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Tatum, who is starting in place of Lucius Allen who is out with a dislocated toe, did not attempt a free throw, was 16-23 from the field and added seven rebounds. “We were a little sluggish, but it’s ridiculous to use (our) game against Golden State as excuse.” said Tatum. “We just didn’t come out and play hard as they did. We had shots, but we missed a lot of easy ones.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA Most Valuable Player, finished right behind Tatum with 30 points and gathered 10 rebounds. Cazzie Russell had 15 points while Don Ford added 10. No other Laker scored more than six points.
The Blazers had four player that scored more than 20 points, led by Maurice Lucas with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Lucas was 11-15 from the field as well as adding six assists. Hollins, who scored nine points in the first quarter, finished the game with 25 points and passed for five assists. Bill Walton had 22 points, gathered 13 rebounds and passed for six assists. “One of the reasons we are an excellent team is because we have good passers,” said Walton. The Blazers recorded 41 assists on 47 made field goals. Davis, starting only his second playoff game, added 20 points. The teams will play Game 2 on May 8 at 12:45 pm, will be broadcast by CBS. KOIN-TV, (channel 6) is the Portland affiliate of CBS. “It is only one win,” said Ramsey, adding “We need four.” Walton was all smiles after the win, saying, “I just try to do the best job I can. When I’ve done that, I sleep easy.” |