Lakers Get Physical--Celtics Get the Message

Wanda Cooper, sitting at courtside, got a Valentine balloon from her husband, Michael, delivered during Sunday’s game. On it, it said, “I Love You.”

A writer at the press table got a cake and a bottle of champagne from his wife, delivered by two Laker girls. On the cake, it said, “I Love You.”

On the floor, the Boston Celtics got a message delivered by the Lakers, themselves, but it wasn’t “I Love You.”

Try “You’re second best and we’re glad.”

No championships are decided in February but for the moment, for what it’s worth, the Lakers proved they’re No. 1, all right. They ran up a 20-point lead, lost it all and then tore off a 33-13 spurt, as nice as you please, to start the fourth quarter. Then they cruised to a 115-106 victory before a wild Forum sellout crowd and spent the rest of the afternoon recounting their blessings.

They were not alone. The Celtics not only acknowledged a shift in the balance of power, they were lyric in describing it.

Whether it was attributed to the emergence of Byron Scott, who had a spectacular 38 points; or the superior Laker bench; or that legendary Laker physicality--somebody really said that--the Celtics agreed, the Lakers are No. 1.

“Oh yeah,” said Larry Bird matter-of-factly. “No question.”

“Of course,” said Coach K.C. Jones. “How can I disagree? There’s no question about it.”

And Danny Ainge, asked the difference about playing here and in Boston:

“They’re better. That’s the difference.”

OK, but why?

The Lakers are more physical?

Bird actually said that, and Jones actually agreed with him.

Since the Laker cast hasn’t changed that much, which of their whippets is supposed to be committing all this mayhem?

“Cooper plays physical,” Bird said. “Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) will stick a hip in you now and then.”

“Mychal Thompson,” suggested Jones. “A. C. Green.”

Word was relayed to Pat Riley, who brightened at the prospect.

“We’ve never been accused of that before,” he said, looking pleased.

And then, laughing: “I ain’t gonna take that from them. Two years ago, or three years ago, Bird called this team sissies. I remember the headline.”

The emergence of Scott?

The Lakers, to a man, think so.

The way it was up to and including last season, the National Basketball Assn. finals could have been subtitled, “Do you know where your Byron Scott is?”

But a new Scott has shown up this season. He had 21 points at Boston Garden Dec. 11 and shot 8 for 15, but that was a bunt next to Sunday: 38 points, shooting 15 for 19, with 6 assists and 4 steals.

Also, he had the game’s most extraordinary hoop, driving across the lane against a set defense in the closing moments of the first half and throwing down a China Syndrome dunk that had the crowd standing for 30 seconds.

Dennis Johnson: “We tried chasing him off picks, but that didn’t work. We tried chasing him under picks, but that didn’t work. Whichever way we’d go, he’d go the other. . . . It’s amazing how he missed the All-Star game.”

Riley: “They used to ignore him, but they don’t anymore. They can’t. He’s not deferring any more. He’s a front-line player. He’s stepping up and doing his thing.”

The short, young Celtic bench?

Last season, they didn’t play Darren Daye, Sam Vincent, Fred Roberts and Greg Kite much. They’ve since revamped the bench, and are not playing Artis Gilmore, Brad Lohaus, Mark Acres and Dirk Minniefield much.

Bird: “We got a different team than we did a few years ago. A lot different. It used to be, when we got beat, we had guys on the bench who wouldn’t let you lose the next game. M.L. (Carr), Max (Cedric Maxwell). They’d start talking about your family, the girl you’re dating. Now it’s a lot different. We got a lot of young guys just learning the game.”

Magic Johnson said: “I just think we’re the better team in terms of overall, down the line. . . . We match up pretty well with their first five. After that, we’ve got ‘em, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth.”

Ainge, on the Cooper-Thompson tandem coming off the bench: “It would be nice to have someone like that.”

The game? Well, there were three of them.

The first half was a Laker rout. Bird shot 3 for 11, Robert Parish left after eight minutes with a wrenched lower back, never to return, and Scott went 9 for 11. When Scott drove for his dramatic slam as the first half ended, the Lakers were up, 64-44.

Remember the Celtics? If you don’t drive a stake through their hearts, they’ll be back in your face as fast as you can say mystic . They slowed the game down in the third period and took it over completely, tying it, 76-76, with 1:52 left, taking an 80-76 lead on Ainge’s 17-foot shot at the buzzer.

Riley: “They were just super. They didn’t quit. Bird had more rebounds (seven) than our whole team. It’s very fortunate that quarter came to an end or they’d have scored more points.”

OK, who would rule the fourth quarter?

The Lakers got the ball first, and Johnson hit Mychal Thompson under the hoop for a five-foot bank shot.

At the other end, reserve point guard Dirk Minniefield turned the ball over in the backcourt. Scott picked it up and downshifted. Minniefield tried to knock him off stride near mid-court but didn’t get enough of him. Scott beat the bump-and-run, kicked it into the next gear and made the layup.

The Celtics set up again and Cooper knocked the ball away from Bird (the official version), or raked Bird (Bird’s feeling, as he stared balefully at the official), starting a fast break and an unopposed Johnson layup.

The Celtics cleared a side for Bird, working on Cooper. Bird drove into the lane and shot but Green, coming over to help, blocked it, starting another fast break. You can imagine the decibel count by then. Scott, driving for another dunk try, was mowed down and made one free throw. He missed the second, but Green batted it out to Johnson, who threw it back under the basket a moment later to Scott, all alone for the layup. The Lakers led, 85-80, and were just warming up.

Finally everyone retired to say nice things about the Lakers, including the foxy Celtics, who know from long experience that hosannas gathered in February mean nothing in June.

So until they meet again, be it this summer or later, the rivals bade each other a fond adieu . Parting is such sweet sorrow, but necessary in this case to preserve life and limb.

Laker Notes Larry Bird, who had been averaging 41 points and shooting 61% since the All-Star break, scored 25 points, took 17 rebounds but shot 8 for 22. Bird: “I didn’t play well at all today. I played hard but I missed a lot of open shots. If Robert (Parish) isn’t there and I don’t play well, that puts a lot of burden on the rest of the guys.” . . . Danny Ainge’s three-point shot in the third period gave him 93 this season, breaking Darrell Griffith’s league record. . . . Lines of note: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks. Mychal Thompson, 12 points, 11 rebounds. . . . How physical are the Celtics? Take your pick. Bird: “We have finesse players now. We don’t have guys who bang and push. I think that hurts our chances of winning championship after championship.” . . . Pat Riley: “I think they’re one of the most physical teams in the league, from the top of the key to the basket. See, they pack the paint.” . . . And Riley, on the Lakers’ physicality: “Our guys are playing with some tenacity. Why? Well, we’ve learned. We had a championship taken away from us (in 1984 by the Celtics) because of our inability to react. No, the truth is, we reacted instead of initiating it. I think experience taught us that in this kind of warfare, you’ve got to be out front with it. We know now what it is to lose to that. Back then, we didn’t.”