Lakers 92, Trail Blazers 91
By LANDON HALL
AP Sports Writer
April 28, 2002
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers used
to have a bitter rivalry with Portland. Now the only intrigue
is watching how many points the Lakers can spot the Trail
Blazers before coming back to torment them.
Robert Horry took a pass from Kobe Bryant and made a
3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to cap a furious last-minute
comeback, and the Lakers completed their second straight three-game sweep
of the Blazers with a 92-91 victory Sunday.
``Did I want the ball? No, I was kind of scared,'' said Horry, a veteran of four
NBA championship teams with Los Angeles and Houston. ``I just threw it up
there, and I didn't know if it was going in or out.''
Bryant knew.
``It's cash,'' Bryant said when asked what he thought when the ball left
Horry's hand. ``He's done it so many times, it's cash.''
The finish was reminiscent of Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals,
when Portland blew a 15-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 89-84. Including
that surreal game, the Lakers have won seven straight postseason meetings
with the Blazers.
Portland had a much smaller lead Sunday, but there was less time to watch it
slip away.
Rasheed Wallace's follow-up slam on a miss by Scottie Pippen put the Blazers
up 89-84 with 39 seconds left, and Wallace's free throw made it 90-86 with
17.1 seconds left.
Bryant immediately made a 3-pointer with 12.7 seconds to go, and Pippen
missed one of his free throws after being fouled.
With the Lakers trailing by two, Rick Fox inbounded the ball to Bryant, who
was guarded by the self-proclaimed ``Kobe Stopper,'' Ruben Patterson.
Bryant went right and flung the ball to Horry, who was waiting in the corner
off to Bryant's right. Pippen, trying to help out with Bryant, was late in running
at Horry, and Horry swished the jumper.
``Kobe made a big shot -- that 3-pointer to give us hope -- and Scottie missed
a free throw, and the door was open,'' Horry said. ``I was surprised that
Pippen bit that hard. I figured Pip would fake to Kobe and try to deny me the
rock.''
The Blazers had one last chance, but Pippen's inbound pass went over
Wallace's head, and Horry rebounded with 0.9 seconds left.
Pippen took the blame for his defense on Horry's basket.
``I didn't get out to Horry, basically, and it cost us the ballgame,'' Pippen said.
Portland was in the game not only because the Lakers shot 41 percent in the
second half, but because the Blazers played terrific defense on O'Neal for a
change.
He finished with 21 points, but he went into the fourth shooting just 1-for-5
from the field. Portland used a combination of defenders on O'Neal to deny
him the ball, but he started getting free in the final period, when he was 4-of-6.
He actually did most of his damage from the free-throw line, making 11 of 16.
He also had 11 rebounds and seven assists.
``Reading the paper, I knew they were going to throw everybody at me, even
Paul Allen,'' O'Neal said. ``So I was trying to keep my guys involved.''
Wallace had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blazers, and Bonzi Wells
added 19 points.
Portland kept it close despite going more than five minutes without a basket in
the fourth. Wallace's short turnaround jumper ended the drought, giving the
Blazers an 80-78 lead with 5:34 to play. It was anyone's game until the final
minute.
``We had our chances this whole series, especially
tonight,'' said Portland center Dale Davis, who fouled
out for the second time in the series. He was ejected
from the other game. ``There's no way that we
shouldn't have won that game, but we didn't.''
Portland fell to 2-9 in playoff series against the Lakers,
who have eliminated the Blazers five times in the last
six years.
``I'm just sick right now, emotionally, physically,'' Wells
said. ``We played our hearts out. Everybody came out here and left it all on
the court, but they're the champs. And we're just like all the rest of the teams
in the league. We're just fighting for second.''
The Lakers didn't make a field goal in 10 attempts over the first 7:15 of the
third quarter, but the Blazers didn't capitalize as much as they should have. A
free throw by Shawn Kemp ended an 18-3 run and put Portland up by six
before Los Angeles came back with three straight baskets.
A fading jumper by Fox with a minute left in the period tied it at 67entering the
fourth.
Notes
: O'Neal shot 23-of-35 from the line during the series, 66 percent. He shot just
under 56 percent during the regular season. ... The Lakers have won nine
straight road playoff games. ... Portland's Damon Stoudamire shot just
5-for-22 in the series and averaged 5.0 points. Wells shot 32 percent,Patterson
33 percent and Davis 27 percent. |
