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Mind games Beaten Blazers employ strange final strategy
Posted: Sunday May 21, 2000 07:45 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- This wasn't just "Hack-a-Shaq." This was "Hack-, hack-, hack-a-Shaq and keep on hacking." And it didn't work. Shaquille O'Neal was 12-for-25 at the foul line in the fourth quarter to shatter the playoff record for most attempts in a quarter Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-94 in the opener of the Western Conference finals. O'Neal, fouled virtually every time the Lakers had the ball in a four-minute stretch that began with 51/2 minutes to go, finished with 41 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots. "It hasn't worked all year, and it ain't gonna work," O'Neal said. O'Neal, who had not scored more than 23 in any of his four games against Portland in the regular season, was 13-for-27 at the foul line, 12-for-24 in the final 5 1/2 minutes, just enough success to spoil the Blazers' strategy. "Shaq stepped up and made the shots, which made everything look kind of stupid," Portland's Scottie Pippen said. "When you're down, you try anything. It's a gamble when you do what we did today." The old record was 14 by Michael Jordan against Detroit on May 21, 1991. Portland coach Mike Dunleavy defended the tactic.
"Well, he's a 40-percent free-throw shooter, and he was 13-for-27 today, so that's under 50 percent," Dunleavy said. "Obviously, if we get down in the game, I don't think it's a bad strategy. Had we scored better, we would have put ourselves in a position to win the game." Although the crowd booed and the game slowed to a crawl, Dunleavy didn't apologize. "I can't not do what I think is right from a strategy standpoint is the right thing to do because people are going to miss their cocktail reservations," he said. Lost in the bizarre free-throw parade was a magnificent second quarter by the Lakers' bench that gave Los Angeles a 24-point lead that was just too big for Portland to overcome. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Monday night at the Staples Center, where the Lakers are 7-0 in the playoffs. The Lakers' reserves, led by Robert Horry, scored 20 of the team's 37 points in the second quarter. Glen Rice added 15 points for Los Angeles, and Kobe Bryant had 13. Horry scored all 12 of his points in the second quarter, including three 3-pointers.
Pippen led six Blazers in double figures, with 19. Bonzi Wells scored all 17 of his points in second half. The Lakers led 81-57 when O'Neal made one of two free throws with 3:22 left in the third quarter. But the Blazers, behind Wells, went on a 19-6 run to cut it to 87-76 on Wells' inside basket with 10:06 to play. Detlef Schrempf's two free throws with five minutes to go cut it to 97-88, but all the attention given to fouling O'Neal seemed to take the Blazers' out of their offense. "They forgot they still had to score points," Los Angeles' Rick Fox said. When Shaq hit his seventh consecutive free throw with 3:52 to go, the Lakers led 104-89. O'Neal expects more of the same as the series goes on. "I just have to be ready for it and keep my composure," O'Neal said. "The ones that I missed were right there. I was just trying too hard." Lakers coach Phil Jackson, an outspoken critic of Hack-a-Shaq in the past, was low-key in his reaction this time. "He got a lot of practice today," Jackson said, "so he's ready for the next game. I thought he handled it quite well." Los Angeles took command with a 26-4 blitz to start the second Quarter, and the Blazers never recovered. Horry's third 3-pointer of the quarter capped the outburst and put the Lakers up 52-30 with 4:25 to play in the half. Los Angeles stretched the lead to 24 twice before Steve Smith's 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer cut it to 63-42 at the break. Rasheed Wallace, the Blazers' biggest offensive threat but arguably the most hot-headed player in the NBA, was thrown out of the game after drawing his second technical foul from referee Ron Garretson with 6:43 left in the third quarter. It was Wallace's seventh technical of the playoffs and first ejection. In the regular season, he set a record with 38 techinals and was ejected six times. "Obviously we can't have an All-Star sitting in our locker room for an entire half," Dunleavy said. "He doesn't understand that. ... If Ronny Garretson told him not to look at him or else he's gone, then that's the circumstances and he has to do whatever he has to do to stay in the game." Los Angeles was 8-for-12 on 3-pointers in the first half and shot 59 percent from the field. The Blazers shot 53 percent and still trailed by 21. Portland didn't shoot a free throw in the first half, while Los Angeles was 7-for-9.
Notes: There was a moment of silence before the game because of
the death of Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Sealy in a car
accident early Saturday morning. ... The Lakers are 23-1 at home
since losing to Portland Jan. 22. In the only loss, April 5 against
San Antonio, O'Neal didn't play and the Lakers had just clinched
the home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. ... No team has
beaten the Lakers twice on their home court this season. ... O'Neal
drew a technical foul from referee Bob Delaney as he walked off the
court at halftime. ... Portland's Arvydas Sabonis was 0-for-4 from
the field, didn't score and had one rebound. ... Among the
celebrities sighted, besides the ever-present Jack Nicholson, were
Dustin Hoffman, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Edward Norton and
Selma Hayek, the latter two sitting together.
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