Blowout Turns Into a Blowup : Brawl Highlights 155-118 Laker Win

The Lakers’ biggest blowout of the season, a 155-118 win over the Phoenix Suns, turned into a blowup in the closing minutes Friday night at the Forum.

Laker forward Frank Brickowski and Phoenix guard Grant Gondrezick, a rookie from Pepperdine, were ejected after an exchange of elbows and punches with 4:41 left to play.

While referees, coaches and players were trying to break up that skirmish, Al Bianchi, the Phoenix assistant coach, shoved Laker guard Wes Matthews, who shoved the 54-year-old Bianchi back.

Matthews was pulled away by teammates, and Bianchi--who took a couple of wild swings in Matthews’ direction--was hoisted into the air by William Bedford, the Suns’ 7-1 rookie center.

Matthews was ejected for that altercation, his second ouster in the last three weeks. He was ejected Dec. 23 in Sacramento after picking up two technical fouls.

“I was trying to get him away from the fight, and then he pushed me,” said Bianchi, who is in his 12th season as a Sun assistant. “That’s when I got upset at him.

“I don’t think he swung at me--he was too far away,” said Bianchi, who admitted throwing a couple of punches in Matthews’ direction.

“I don’t give a damn if he’s 5-foot-2 or 7-foot-2, I’m not taking that bleep from anybody, particularly that helium head.”

Helium head?

“Yeah, airhead,” Bianchi said. “You know what airheads are.”

At first, Matthews said he would withhold comment until viewing films of the incident.

But when told that Bianchi had said he was only trying to get Matthews away from the Gondrezick-Brickowski exchange, which broke out under the Laker basket, Matthews said, “Of course, he’s going to say that.”

Told about Bianchi’s “helium head remark,” Matthews responded: “That’s the way I feel, too. When he wants to meet in the parking lot, that’s fine with me. But he’s too old.

“I got brains and he don’t. He’s an old man and I’m still young. The Lakers are on the top of their game, we’re winning and they’re not. Of course, they’re going to be upset.”

Asked if he expected to be fined, Matthews said: “I doubt it very seriously. His (Bianchi’s) wallet will be a lot lighter because he instigated it. He’ll have to reimburse my wallet. He’s lucky his jaw wasn’t broken.”

The outbreak between the 6-10 Brickowski and the 6-5 Gondrezick occurred moments after the Phoenix rookie was called for an elbowing foul. When Brickowski went to the free throw line, referee Terry Durham spoke sharply to him, an apparent warning against further rough play.

Brickowski made the free throws, giving the Lakers a 144-106 lead with 5:26 left and giving him 12 points in just 6 1/2 minutes of play. They were also his last points of the night, because 45 seconds later, Gondrezick and Brickowski collided in the lane in the Lakers’ front court and squared off.

After the game, reporters were denied permission to see a replay of the incident by a club official, presumably Laker General Manager Jerry West. And Brickowski quickly left before reporters were allowed entry into the Laker dressing room.

Gondrezick, however, was available to give his version of the incident.

“Evidently, he (Brickowski) didn’t like the way I play defense and he told (referee) Durham he was going to get me,” Gondrezick said. “He set a pick and put up his elbow. I saw it at the last minute, but he still hit me in the throat.

“When someone hits you like that, you have to protect yourself. I don’t want to blow anything out of proportion, but he knew it was a cheap shot and so did everybody else in the house.”

That’s when Brickowski and Gondrezick erupted into a brief flurry of punches before they were separated.

Until the Friday night fights, the house crowd--a sellout of 17,505--was content to watch one of the most awesome Laker offensive displays in recent memory against a crippled Phoenix team that at times put five rookies on the floor at the same time.

The Lakers scored 89 points in the first half, tying an NBA record for most points before intermission that was set by Cincinnati against San Diego on March 12, 1970.

They shot 65.6% for the game, including a 76% second quarter. Twice, they scored on nine consecutive trips down the floor, and when the starters came out--most of them late in the third quarter--the bench continued to pour it on.

Magic Johnson, who had a season-low four points Thursday night in Portland, bombed the Suns for 32 points in 26 minutes, making 14 of 19 shots, most from long range.

Eight Laker players scored in double figures, including Michael Cooper, who ended the game with a flourish, banking in a 45-foot shot from just inside the midcourt line.

“The team is playing as good offensively as it can,” said Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, mindful of the fact that the Lakers have won their last four games by an average of 30 points.

Said Phoenix Coach John MacLeod: “They are flat-out impressive. That sums it up. They are playing better basketball than anyone in the NBA right now, by far.”