Missed Free Throws Not Costly for Lakers, but They Take Toll on Magic

Because they came in the last 12 seconds and could have made a big difference in the game, you tend to remember the four free throws Magic Johnson missed in that pressure time more than all the good things he did Wednesday night at the Forum.

Magic Johnson surely will. He was still thinking about them 30 minutes after the Lakers had held off the Dallas Mavericks for a 117-113 win in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. He said he would still remember them, even though he wanted to forget, when he went to bed late Wednesday.

By this morning, though, Johnson said all he will think about is Game 3 Friday night at Dallas. If he remembers anything, it probably will be the good plays he and center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers take a 2-0 lead in the series.

In the final four minutes, which Johnson affectionately calls “winning time,” he collected six points and three assists, and had the Laker fast break moving consistently for the only time in the game. As a result, the Lakers won.

But as long as the missed free throws were still fresh in Johnson’s memory Wednesday night, he talked about how befuddled he was that all four missed and how relieved he was that they didn’t cost the Lakers the win.

“It just happens,” said Johnson, his face scrunched in concern. “You’re sick about it. You’re mad at yourself. I can’t believe I missed them. I’ll be mad all night. I tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to leave it behind, leave it in bed tonight and come back tomorrow and not worry about it.”

Judging from Johnson’s 87.1% regular-season free-throw percentage, it seemed very surprising that he would miss even two of the four shots. But it is not unprecedented. On March 8, when the Lakers went to double overtime before beating the Sacramento Kings in a rather meaningless regular-season game, Johnson missed four straight free throws late in the first overtime.

“I remember that, but I don’t want to,” Johnson said.

Obviously, Johnson feels a lot more anguish about Wednesday night’s misses than about any others he had during the season.

With 12 seconds to play and the Lakers clinging to a 116-113 lead, Johnson received an inbounds pass and was immediately fouled. His first free throw clanged off the front of the rim. He got the same result on the second shot, which sailed long.

“I short-handed both of them (with 12 seconds left),” Johnson said. “That’s when it hits the front of the rim and skids out of the back of the rim. The last one caught the left side and fell out. It happens to you.”

Fortunately for Johnson and the Lakers, the Mavericks didn’t take advantage of the unexpected break. After Jay Vincent committed a turnover on the inbounds play, the Mavericks fouled James Worthy, who made one shot to make it 117-113.

Dallas again failed to score--this time Vincent missed a desperation three-point shot with five seconds left--and Johnson was fouled again with two seconds to play and the victory assured.

Or was it?

Most of the Forum sellout crowd of 17,505 was leaving when Johnson missed two free-throw attempts, the second missing badly. The win still was not in doubt at that point, but Johnson’s confidence was.

“When you miss the first (shot), the second becomes the hardest to shoot,” Johnson said. “When you make the first, the second (shot) is easy. That’s just the way it is.”

Johnson had made 7 of 8 free throws before the last 12 seconds Wednesday. On the other hand, Johnson is almost shooting better from the field (63.2%) than from the free-throw line (68.8%) in the Lakers’ five playoff games.

Free throws aside, Johnson had another outstanding game--when given the opportunity to play. He received his third foul two minutes into the second quarter and sat out the remainder of the half, watching the Mavericks build a 63-56 halftime lead.

But in the second half, especially the fourth quarter, Johnson helped the Lakers erase that deficit and pull out the win. His 20-foot jump shot with 2:40 left gave the Lakers the lead for good (110-108), then he fed Abdul-Jabbar with a pass for a sky hook (112-110) and later made two free throws with 1:31 left (114-110).

When Abdul-Jabbar sank a 12-foot hook to give the Lakers a 116-111 lead, it was Johnson who gave him the pass.

“We had to do something in the fourth quarter,” Johnson said. “I was on the bench so long that I never did feel right when I was in there. It’s hard to sit that long and then come back in. But they were all fouls against me. As the playoffs wear on, you can’t foul. You got to stay in there.”

As long as Johnson is around in the fourth quarter, the Lakers figure to be all right.