Abdul-Jabbar Quiets the Crowd With 27 Points : Laker Center Makes 11 of 17 Shots Despite Boos and Derogatory Banners

Everything went as expected here Friday night when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar met the Denver Nuggets--and their fans--in Game 3 of the Western Conference final. There were derogatory banners hanging from the balcony, boos when he was introduced and boos whenever he touched the ball in the first half.

But by the second half, when the Lakers’ lead had swelled beyond 20 points en route to an easy 136-118 win, any acrimony caused by Abdul-Jabbar’s publicized wrestling match with Denver’s Danny Schayes in Game 2 Tuesday night had dissolved into indifference and maybe even embarrassment among the crowd.

Nothing like swishing a half-dozen sky hooks to silence people. In a typically steady performance, which did not include any of his wrestling antics from Tuesday that cost him $750 in fines, Abdul-Jabbar made 11 of 17 shots for 27 points as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the series.

Unlike Tuesday night’s game at the Forum, Abdul-Jabbar didn’t make a hasty retreat from the locker room to avoid the inevitable questions about the incident. When he finished dressing Friday night, Abdul-Jabbar turned around and faced about 30 reporters all wanting to discuss the same subject.

After a few preliminary questions, Abdul-Jabbar was asked if the negative reaction from the sellout crowd made him more determined to atone for Tuesday’s debacle.

“What reaction?” asked Abdul-Jabbar, clearly pretending to be surprised. “Were they booing me? Geez, I didn’t notice.”

Abdul-Jabbar, who has dabbled in acting when not playing basketball, couldn’t convince anyone that he didn’t see or hear the abuse from the Denver fans.

After all, how could Abdul-Jabbar miss the spray-painted banners hanging from the balcony.

“Kareem, Although You’re 7-2, You’ve Still Got a Lot Of Growin’ Up to Do,” read one.

The most intriguing banner read: “The Problem Is, Kareem, We DO Understand You.”

That last banner was in reference to Abdul-Jabbar’s claim that nobody listens to his complaints that opponents often use his body for a punching bag underneath and don’t get called for a foul the majority of the time.

Apparently, referees Hugh Evans and John Vanak were more aware of the action taking place in the low posts. Trying to avoid a replay of Tuesday night’s game, they called 19 fouls in the first quarter.

When the Nuggets brought in center Wayne Cooper midway through the first quarter, he was called for two fouls in less than a minute. Both were for shoving or leaning on Abdul-Jabbar. After that, Abdul-Jabbar only received occasional bumps, certainly nothing to provoke another retaliatory attack.

“They are going to play as physical as they (the referees) will let them,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “Tonight, they couldn’t get away with any extraneous bumping. It wasn’t very physical.”

If you give Abdul-Jabbar even the slightest room to maneuver, he is difficult to stop. Abdul-Jabbar scored 15 points in the first half, then destroyed the Nuggets with a 10-point third quarter.

It looked as though Coach Pat Riley was going to give Abdul-Jabbar the entire fourth quarter off, but he was brought back midway through to make sure the Nuggets wouldn’t come back. They didn’t.

“He was determined tonight,” Riley said. “Kareem plays to what they (the opponents) give him. He does what he has to do to win.”

Tuesday night, Abdul-Jabbar perhaps felt it was necessary to attack Schayes. Friday night, he had an almost stoic expression on his face but was clearly ready to redeem himself.

“I think Kareem reacted well tonight,” said forward James Worthy, who led the Lakers with 28 points. “He knew the fans would be on his back, and they were. He showed them with the way he played.”

After much prodding, Abdul-Jabbar finally answered questions about the Denver fans.

“It’s up to the fans to decide how they’ll react,” he said. “I’m just out here trying to win games.”

No doubt, the hostility toward Abdul-Jabbar will be back Sunday afternoon in Game 4, but so will Abdul-Jabbar.