Win Gives Mavericks Hope of Getting Even With the Lakers Today

When the Lakers showed up for practice Saturday morning at Reunion Arena, they sat down in a row of chairs in front of a television monitor in the locker room.

Coach Pat Riley turned on a tape of their 110-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of their NBA playoff series, then walked out and left the players alone.

The Lakers didn’t like what they saw of the Mavericks or themselves.

“They turned defeat into a victory, and we turned a victory into a loss,” Magic Johnson said.

Now, it’s time for Game 4, which will be held this afternoon and will decide which direction the Lakers are going to take in this best-of-seven series in the Western Conference semifinals. The Lakers can either go up, 3-1, or head back to the Forum for Game 5 tied after four games.

What kind of chance do the Mavericks have if they win again today to make the series 2-2?

“Better than if it’s 3-1,” Dallas center James Donaldson said.

The Laker chances are sure to be a lot better if they are able to shake off any lingering after-effects from Friday night’s giveaway. Can they forget what happened in the last minute?

In case they want to remember:

--With 47 seconds left, Michael Cooper stayed too long double-teaming Mark Aguirre, which freed Derek Harper for a three-pointer to tie the score at 105-105.

--With 20 seconds left and the Lakers ahead, 108-107, Cooper missed two free throws.

--With six seconds left and the score unchanged, James Worthy, trying to save the ball from going out of bounds, inadvertently flipped it to Harper, who quickly shot a game-winning three-pointer with three seconds left.

“I think that kind of game hurts,” James Worthy said. “But we’ve been in this position before. We won’t decrease, I know that.”

At the same time that the Lakers were promising to bounce back from their Game 3 loss, the Mavericks seemed to be taking a much different approach to the series than they had before.

With Coach Dick Motta leading the way, the Mavericks are beginning to throw a few barbs at the Lakers. Motta didn’t want the Lakers to forget their mistakes down the stretch. He even said that it’s typical of the Lakers to make them.

“They always have, against us,” Motta said. “They made enough mistakes in Game 2 to keep us in it. If anyone says that L.A. is not worried about us, they’re crazy. I said before I wouldn’t want to play us in a seven-game series.

“The Lakers are probably not going to win the world championship,” he said. “Someone is going to beat them along the way. It might as well be us. History is very, very important. The chances of them repeating are not very good.”

Harper went so far as to say that if the Mavericks stay with the Lakers until the last few minutes, the Lakers will find a way to lose.

“If you play with them, then late in the game they have that tendency, like the missed free throws by Michael,” Harper said. “If we can play them close in the close game, we have a great chance to beat them. You put people in tough situations and different things happen.”

The Lakers expect to make a couple of things happen differently in Game 4, and not only to avoid their late mistakes.

For one thing, it isn’t likely that they will allow Harper a clear shot at the basket, which has proved to be bad strategy.

So far in the series, the Lakers have double-teamed Aguirre with Harper’s defender, and Harper has burned them with 58 points and 30 assists. Harper actually has three more points than Johnson in the first three games.

Also, the Lakers can’t forget about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Laker center scored 28 points in Game 3 but had only one basket in the last 20 minutes.

Motta prefers to use only one player on Abdul-Jabbar and force him to shoot instead of pass. So the Lakers need an active offensive game from their center.

But on Saturday, the most active part of the Mavericks was their mouths. Since getting blown out in the series opener, the Mavericks have suddenly shifted gears and are talking as if they are going to beat the Lakers.

“I’m not going to say that everybody doubted we could play with them, but after Game 1 there was some doubt,” Harper said. “After we played them close in Game 2 and then won Game 3, a little bit of the pressure has to move to them--I mean, with their backs against the wall.”

Riley considered this bit of news, then dismissed it.

“All I know is it’s 2-1, not 1-2 or 0-3,” the Laker coach said. “I like our position. History is Sunday. We’re not there, yet. Looking down the road is for soothsayers. I am not one.”

According to Motta, the Lakers aren’t very good defensive players, either.

“The Utah defense was a much tougher defense than we’re playing against now,” he said.

Only Aguirre exercised a note of caution, holding up a finger to test whether the winds of change are actually blowing the Mavericks’ way.

“The momentum is going in our favor, but it’s a tricky thing,” he said. “You can’t let momentum fool you.”

Laker Notes The Lakers, who were 52-1 during the regular season when they took a lead into the fourth quarter, held an 83-81 advantage after three quarters in Game 3 but lost. . . . For the second time in three games with Dallas, the Lakers were outrebounded Friday night. . . . The Lakers have won their second-round playoff series in five games the last two seasons. . . . Dallas Coach Dick Motta said the pressure is all on the Lakers. “I turned on the television the other day, and Brent Muchburger (actually, Musburger) was talking about the match-ups, how Walton would play Abdul-Jabbar,” Motta said. “It’s all conceded. That’s a lot of pressure on the Lakers. They don’t sleep as well as other people. There’s a lot of psychological stuff here.” . . . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will set an NBA record today when he plays in his 174th playoff game. He and John Havlicek now share the record of 173.