GAME 3 : Riley Feels Good About the Position the Lakers Are In

The Lakers, after one of the biggest turnarounds in Championship Series history, prepare for three games that could give them the National Basketball Assn. title without having to return to Boston.

“I’m happy with the split,” Lakers Coach Pat Riley said after Los Angeles defeated the Celtics 109-102 Thursday night to even the best-of-seven series 1-1. “We have a big challenge ahead of us, but I’m happy to be in this seat.”

A change in format for the finals this year has the Celtics scheduled to play Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 at home, with the Lakers playing host at the Forum for the third, fourth and fifth meetings today, Wednesday and Friday.

After losing 148-114 to the Celtics on Monday, the Lakers looked like they might not escape from Boston with their pride intact.

In that game, the Celtics set records for points, points at halftime (79), halftime lead (79-49), field goals (62) and shooting percentage (.608).

Three nights later, Boston had 33 fewer points at halftime, 46 less points in the game, 25 fewer field goals and shot only .451 from the field. In addition, the Celtics’ assists fell from 43 to 22 and their 63-43 rebounding advantage in Game 1 disintegrated to a 58-53 deficit in Game 2.

It all added up to a 41-point turnaround for the Lakers -- from a 34-point defeat to a seven-point triumph. Only three times in NBA finals history has there been such a large reversal of fortunes.

In the 1964 finals, ultimately won 4-1 by Boston over San Francisco, the Celtics won Game 2, 124-101, for a 2-0 lead in the series before the Warriors won their only game 115-91, a difference of 47 points.

In 1982, Los Angeles won Game 4, 111-101, to lead Philadelphia, 3-1, but the Lakers lost the fifth meeting 135-102, a 43-point switch. Then Los Angeles repeated the 43-point turnaround with another 10-point triumph, winning the title with a 114-104 decision.

In the three previous cases, however, the reversal of scores occurred when one team lost on the road and then returned home to win. This year, the Lakers did it all in Boston.

“We realized we couldn’t let ourselves down,” said center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the key figure in the Lakers improvement. “Whatever happened, we wanted to play well and see which team won. Fortunately, they weren’t as hot as they were in Game 1.”

Abdul-Jabbar, who had 12 points, three rebounds and one assist in the opener, was magnificent Thursday night with 30 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists.

“Kareem is the money man,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who had 14 points and 13 assists for Los Angeles. “He has been winning games for us for a long time.”

When Abdul-Jabbar, 38, was double-teamed, he padded his assist total by passing to a wide-open Michael Cooper, who was 8-for-9 shooting from the field and scored 22 points.

“I’ve got to make those shots to keep Boston honest,” Cooper said. “Now the third game is the big game. It’s like a mini-series now.”

“We usually play better when we have our backs to the wall,” said Larry Bird, who had 30 points and 12 rebounds in the second game. “We feel we can still win the championship. It’s going to be tough. We’ve got to come at them a little harder.”

Bird had 22 of his points in the second half as he led a rally that trimmed an 18-point halftime deficit to four in the final minutes.