NBA Playoffs Roundup : Portland Beats Dallas in Overtime, Evens Series at 1-1

Dallas basketball fans have not liked Kiki Vandeweghe since the former UCLA star refused to play for their beloved Mavericks after he was the club’s first-round selection in the 1980 college draft.

After Vandeweghe’s clutch performance Saturday afternoon led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 124-121 overtime victory before a capacity Reunion Arena crowd of 17,007, the fans have reason to dislike him even more.

Just when it appeared the Mavericks would take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series, Vandeweghe started sharpshooting.

The Mavericks, who won, 139-131, in double overtime Thursday night when Rolando Blackman scored all the clutch baskets, forged a 106-96 lead with 2:06 remaining, largely because Blackman scored 14 of his team’s points in one spectacular run.

Vandeweghe, booed every time he touches the ball in Dallas, delighted the fans in the first half when he missed almost everything he threw at the basket. But with Blazer hopes running out, Vandeweghe found his touch. He hit two jumpers in a row to spark a 14-4 burst that sent the game into overtime. He then sank his first three shots in overtime and made two free throws with only a few seconds left to clinch the victory.

The points that sent the series into overtime for the second game in a row were scored on a spectacular dunk by Mychal Thompson with only one second left in regulation.

Portland continued to surge behind Vandeweghe in overtime and built a six-point lead. However, Blackman sank a three-pointer to give him 41 points for the game and 84 for the series. It merely made for a close finish, though.

The Blazers now have the homecourt advantage in the short series. The next two games will be at home, where they have won 11 in a row.

“We had a lot of chances to blow it, we just hung in and never let it get away,” Portland Coach Jack Ramsay said. “It’s going to be a battle all the way.

“We knew that we didn’t have a chance to win the series unless we got a split here. Our chances didn’t look good when we were down 10 with two minutes to go. Kiki and Mychal came through in the clutch.”

The Blazers also took charge of the backboards. Rookie Sam Bowie, a much improved player in the Blazers’ late-season spurt, had 20 rebounds and the Blazers had a 62-38 margin in rebounds.

The Blazers, recovering from a horrible first quarter, wound up shooting 49% to the Mavericks’ 46.3%. In the first quarter the Blazers were 7 for 27 from the field and 1 for 6 from the line.

In the two games Blackman has made 35 of 60 field-goal attempts, almost 60%.

“We didn’t get the sweep here because we made the mistakes you are supposed to make in February, not the playoffs,” said Mark Aguirre, who was only 7 for 18 from the field in Game 2.

Boston 108, Cleveland 106--The Celtics were hoping for an easy series against the Cavaliers before the going got tough in their quest for a second consecutive NBA championship. After all, they had beaten the Cavaliers 16 times in a row.

If it gets any tougher, the Celtics aren’t going to make it. Larry Bird had to be at his absolute best once again at Boston to give the Celtics a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

Bird scored 30 points, had 11 rebounds and 7 assists to lead his team in all three departments. It was his layup in heavytraffic that gave the Celtics a 103-102 lead with two minutes left, and the Cavaliers never caught up again.

The Celtics have won the last 21 games between the two teams at Boston Garden.

The Cavaliers, a team that finished well after winning only two of its first 21 games, have given the Celtics no rest. Bird has played 90 of 96 minutes and Kevin McHale has played 87 minutes in the two games.

Bird has scored 71 points in his 90 minutes and Boston Coach K.C. Jones said he is doing it in pain.

“The bursitis in his right elbow hurts,” Jones said. “It’s been hurting the past week. He’s a hard man to deny. He puts the total body and mind into the game and he made the big basket for us. He’s just fantastic.”

Every time it appeared in the first two games that the Celtics would get a breather, the Cavaliers would come charging back.

If they could just get World B. Free hot, they might win a game when the best-of-five series shifts to Cleveland Tuesday night. Free, who scored 25 points Saturday, has made only 17 of 43 field-goal attempts in two games. His desperation three-pointer at the final buzzer Saturday hit the rim and bounced off.

“We played better today than we did in the first game,” Cleveland Coach George Karl said, “but this time a couple of loose rebounds went to the Celtics and that beat us. All it means is we’ve lost two.”

San Antonio 113, Denver 111--George Gervin reached back for a performance out of his glory days to lead the Spurs, beaten by 30 points Thursday night, to this win at Denver that evened the series at one game apiece.

Gervin, out for 21 days before the playoffs because of injuries and a severe grease burn, scored 41 points and made a key rebound in the closing seconds that closed the door on the Nuggets.

The four-time NBA scoring champion had 29 points in the first half to give the Spurs, losers of their previous nine games at Denver, a 59-56 halftime lead.

Gervin cooled off in the third quarter, but helped the Spurs build a 104-99 lead with five minutes remaining. However, he went out for a brief rest and the Nuggets scored six points in a row. The lead changed hands six times before Jeff Cook put in a rebound with 34 seconds left to make it 112-111 Spurs.

Alex English, who scored 29 for Denver, missed a jumper and Gervin came down with the rebound with nine seconds remaining. He made one of two free throws and when Wayne Cooper missed a desperate shot at the buzzer, the season was tied.

Denver Coach Doug Moe proved prophetic. After his team won the opener, 141-111, he said: “I wish it had been a closer game. They’ll come out smoking in the next one.”

The next two games in the best-of-five series will be played at San Antonio, where the Nuggets have lost their last 13 games.

“I needed that first game to get my timing back,” Gervin said. “I’m pretty tired right now, but we’ll be ready to go again Tuesday night.”