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Timing is everything Johnson, 'Big Three' push Bucks to Eastern final
Updated: Monday May 21, 2001 8:57 AM
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Ervin Johnson has gone from MIA to MVP in George Karl's eyes. The Bucks head coach and center didn't get along when they were in Seattle, where Karl questioned Johnson's guts and gumption, suggesting the raw big man might not be cut out for the rigors of the NBA. In Milwaukee, they've found bliss together, and never more so than Sunday, when the Bucks advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since 1986 and Karl called Johnson his most valuable player. Glenn Robinson scored 29 points and Ray Allen had 28, matching their career playoff highs, and Sam Cassell added 17 as the Bucks beat the Charlotte Hornets 104-95 in Game 7. "Glenn and Ray were very ..." Karl said, pausing to give credit where he thought it was really due. "Ervin Johnson probably is in my mind the MVP of the series." "He was so good at the dirty work and in the interior, in the paint," Karl said. "He and Scotty [Williams] and Jason Caffey, all my big guys did a great job. Even though the 'Big Three' are expecting most of the reward, I really think Ervin was fantastic." Johnson had 11 rebounds and four blocks as Milwaukee tied a franchise playoff record with 13 blocked shots, including at least one by all five starters. After moving into the starting lineup in Game 5, Johnson pulled down 41 rebounds and blocked 12 shots. He also helped frustrate Elden Campbell and Jamal Mashburn.
So did Karl when he was in Seattle. "I just thank God that He united me and George back together," Johnson said. "A lot of people were saying a lot of negative things about that when we got back together, how our relationship was going to be. I'm just so glad that we worked things out. "We got married again, and hopefully it's for life." The rest of the Bucks and their fans sure hope so. While Johnson was patrolling the paint the way Karl had pleaded for him to do in their younger days, Robinson and Allen took turns stifling Mashburn, who missed 18-of-25 shots and finished with 21 points. Cassell tied a playoff career high with 13 assists as the Bucks overcame Baron Davis' career-high 29 points. The Bucks hit 33 of 35 free throws -- including all 20 in the fourth quarter -- compared with the Hornets' 17-of-28. The Hornets led 47-44 at halftime and were ahead 58-51 with 8:11 left after Davis stripped Johnson for his 18th steal of the series and sprinted downcourt for a layup.
But the Hornets didn't score again for 5:15, until Davis sank his second of two foul shots with 2:56 left in the quarter. By then, the Bucks had stormed ahead 61-58 with a 10-0 run capped by Williams' four free throws. Davis missed two fouls shots later in the quarter, as did Jamaal Magloire, and when Lindsey Hunter sank a wide-open 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the period, the Bucks had their biggest lead, 70-61. Davis responded with a 3-pointer with six seconds left, but Robinson sank a running 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 73-64 lead heading into the fourth quarter. "I looked at Glenn Robinson after he hit that big 3 at the end of the third quarter," Williams said. "And I was really happy for him to be able to experience this, the guy who's been here the longest, through a lot of the misery that the organization went through. I just sat back and smiled and said, 'That's why I play the game, to see the look on my teammates' faces when they realize they're alive.' There's just no better feeling." After Robinson opened the fourth quarter with a jumper for a 75-64 lead, the Hornets cut the deficit to six on several occasions, including 96-90 on a Davis 3-pointer with 1:08 left. Johnson said another defensive effort like this one and he and Karl will head back to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in 1996. "It feels good, the second time around with George," Johnson said. "George has a lot of experience in this situation. I'm just so glad that I got all that experience back then." And for a second chance to work things out.
Notes: After sinking seven of their first 11 shots, the Hornets
missed 20 of their next 31 but still held a 47-44 lead at halftime.
... This was the Bucks' first Game 7 in 14 years, the Hornets'
first ever. ... The Bucks were swept by Boston in their last trip
to the conference final. ... This was the first deciding playoff
game held in Milwaukee since May 3, 1987, when the Bucks beat the
Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of a best-of-five series to advance to
the Eastern Conference semifinals. That was Julius Erving's last
game. ... The Bucks evened their franchise playoff record at 94-94.
... Karl improved to 21-11 when his team was facing elimination,
including 15-4 at home.
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