Lakers Show Off Their Wheels in Detroit : Defense Gets Break Going in 99-86 Win

With the son of an auto worker acting as foreman, the Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons at their own blue-collar game Sunday afternoon in the Silverdome, where a little dirt under the fingernails, sweat stains on their tank tops and a defense that never rested were rewarded with a 99-86 win in Game 3 of the National Basketball Assn. Finals.

This may have been Magic Johnson’s homecoming, but it was decidedly no holiday, as he labored mightily to give the Lakers a 2-1 edge in this best-of-seven series, restoring the home-court advantage to the defending champions. Johnson had 18 points, 14 assists and 6 rebounds, and spearheaded a 31-18 third quarter from which the Pistons never recovered.

“They were saying how they were going to shut us down, how we’re soft, but that’s not our forte,” said James Worthy, who had 24 points--including the first 8 points of the third quarter--and 9 rebounds. “Our forte is winning games.

“I don’t know what they’re saying today.”

Detroit Coach Chuck Daly said too much--he was ejected from the game after being hit with two technicals by referee Earl Strom with 5:05 to play. But by then, the Laker defense had the Pistons misfiring on nearly all cylinders, limiting them to 41.7% shooting.

“If we’d dug down any deeper,” Mychal Thompson said, “we would have struck oil.”

Except for Isiah Thomas, who had 28 points, the Pistons hit one dry well after another, including Adrian Dantley, who went from a 34-point gusher in Game 1 to being outscored by A.C. Green, 21-14.

“You couldn’t see frustration,” said Laker guard Byron Scott, who had 18 points, “but I saw some hesitation (in the Piston shooters). They knew someone was coming, that someone would always be there.

“We never gave up on a single play. We just kept coming, kept coming, kept coming, because we knew something good would happen.”

For those wondering whether he would be absent Sunday after two no-shows in Los Angeles, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had an emphatic response. The Laker center tossed in his first skyhook--one of six straight shots the Lakers made to open the game. And while he finished with just a dozen points, he blocked three shots and grabbed seven rebounds, including four on the defensive glass during the third-quarter run, when it was one shot and out for the Pistons.

“Their big men were killing us in the first two games,” Magic Johnson said. “Today, our big men came to play, whether it was Kareem down low or A.C. and Mychal on the break, getting layups.

“We needed them to set the tone.”

The tone may have been set by the big men, but as usual, Magic carried the tune.

“When he hit that skyhook from about 13 feet, I knew he was into it,” Scott said. “I had no worries.”

That hook, which Johnson made off the dribble from just inside the free-throw line, broke a 35-all tie and came in the midst of a run of seven straight points by the Laker guard.

“I haven’t seen that one before,” Thomas said, shaking his head at the thought that after nine seasons, Magic still has an ever-expanding repertoire.

On Magic’s next trip down the court, he pulled up for an 18-foot set shot, followed by an overhand, blind pass to Green for a layup when it seemed he was trapped by a Detroit double-team.

Johnson also had three steals, once stripping the ball right out of the hands of his best buddy, Thomas, another time intercepting Thomas’ pass and lobbing a long outlet pass to Green.

He was at his best in the third quarter, which began with him spotting Worthy for an easy layin that made it 49-46. Abdul-Jabbar rebounded a miss by Joe Dumars, Worthy was fouled at the other end, and his free throws made it 51-46. Another Dumars miss was followed by another Abdul-Jabbar rebound, with Worthy jamming a Scott pass home off the break.

The Pistons called time out, but Abdul-Jabbar stepped in the way of a driving John Salley, Green rebounding the miss, and Worthy was fouled at the end of another break. His free throws made it 55-46, before Thomas finally broke the 8-0 run with a driving basket.

The lead would grow to 14, 72-58, before baskets by Thomas and Vinnie Johnson--only one of 3 scored by the short-circuiting Microwave--cut it to 10 with 2:08 left in the period.

Out of the Laker timeout came a predictable response--Magic throwing a hook over Vinnie Johnson, Magic stealing the pass by Thomas and sending Green in for a fast-break layup, Magic nabbing a defensive rebound, Magic feeding Green for yet another layin.

So much for the notion that Magic would be distracted by playing in front of Mom, Dad and at least 30 friends from nearby Lansing, where he grew up.

“He’d have been pumped up,” Thompson said, “if he were playing in Detroit or Denmark.”

Hard as it may be to believe, Riley said Johnson needs to be prodded, just like anybody else.

“I’ll go to Mike (Cooper), put my finger in his chest, and say, ‘Get on Earvin’s butt,’ ” Riley said. “He’ll say, ‘No, you get on him. That’s your job.’ ”

Johnson, of course, makes every Laker’s job easier, including that of his coach.

“Earvin has his game broken down to a science now,” Riley said. “No wasted energy.

“In the fourth period, he saw nothing but pressure. Every possession, nothing but pressure, pressure, full-court.

“They ran four different guys at him--Dumars, Salley, Vinnie Johnson and (Dennis) Rodman. I said to him, ‘Why not make it five?’ He handled it all with tremendous poise.”

If the Pistons were poised to finish off the Lakers at home, they’re now faced with a fight for survival Tuesday night in Game 4.

“I’d rather have them beating us at our own game (defense), because we don’t have a chance to beat them at their game,” Thomas said. “If it’s going to be a defensive series, I’ll take my chances that way.”

Thompson’s prophecy for Game 4?

“If we had lost today, it would have been Armageddon, and it’ll still be Armageddon,” Thompson said. “Detroit will take the attitude they have nothing to lose. They’ll be out to take names and numbers, and try to put us in intensive care.”

The Lakers, as the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks could attest, have been on the danger list before. Now they’re just two games away from a title.

Laker Notes

Coach Pat Riley said Magic Johnson’s recent bout with the flu might actually have been a blessing, since the Laker guard lost 7 pounds and seemed quicker to the Laker coach. “I guess I should run out and sleep outside and get sick again, and maybe I’ll be a better player,” Johnson said. “Maybe I’ll sleep in a tub of ice next season. I’ll remember that.” . . . The Rev. Jesse Jackson attended the game unannounced, and visited both dressing rooms afterward. “Politics aren’t my game,” said Riley, who shook hands with Jackson. “Was he a Piston fan?” Jackson watched the game from behind the Detroit bench. . . . The Lakers made 24 of 34 free throws to 10 of 12 by the Pistons. Detroit Coach Chuck Daly was ejected with 5:05 left after Isiah Thomas was called for fouling Byron Scott. First, Daly said something to referee Earl Strom, then was tossed after stepping onto the court. “Obviously I was wrong and I was ejected,” Daly said. “I thought (Adrian) Dantley had been fouled several times going to the basket and didn’t get the call. And on that play, I thought they had camped in the lane for 5 or 6 seconds.” It was the third ejection of Daly’s term as Piston coach. . . . Pat Riley, asked if Daly had deliberately gotten himself tossed, shot back to his questioner: “What do you think? Maybe he was trying to create a little furor. I’ll leave it to the media and the headlines. He may accomplish that if you cooperate.” . . . Mychal Thompson on Piston center Bill Laimbeer, who caught up to both Scott and James Worthy to block fast-break layups: “Can you believe that? He looked like Eddie the Eagle out there.” Eddie the Eagle, for those who have already forgotten the Calgary Olympics, was Eddie Edwards, the eccentric British ski jumper. . . . The Laker bench was outscored again, this time by a 26-6 margin, making the three-game tally 89-18. Thompson had 4 points, both of his baskets coming when he got out on the break, but also had 2 shots blocked. Michael Cooper had 1 basket in 6 attempts, making him 2 for 18 (11.1%) in the series. . . . Thompson on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “This team goes as well as Kareem goes. He’s always been the MVP out there. He’s like Linus’ security blanket for this team.” . . . This was only the Lakers’ third win in eight playoff games on the road. It was also the first time the Lakers have won in the playoffs when scoring fewer than 100 points. They lost the other five times they failed to break 100.

NBA ALL-TIME ATTENDANCE

REGULAR SEASON

Crowd Teams Site Date 61,983 Boston at Detroit Silverdome Jan. 29, 1988 52,745 Philadelphia at Detroit Silverdome Feb. 14, 1987 44,970 Atlanta at Detroit Silverdome Feb. 21, 1987 44,180 Philadelphia at Detroit Silverdome Feb. 15, 1986 43,816 Philadelphia at Detroit Silverdome Feb. 16, 1985

PLAYOFFS Crowd: 40,172 Teams: Milwaukee at Seattle (Western Conference finals) Site: Kingdome Date: April 15, 1980 Crowd: 39,457 Teams: Washington at Seattle (NBA Finals) Site: Kingdome Date: May 30, 1978 Crowd: 39,188 Teams: Lakers at Detroit (NBA Finals) Site: Silverdome Date: June 12, 1988 Crowd: 38,912 Teams: Boston at Detroit (Eastern Conference finals) Site: Silverdome Date: June 3, 1988 Crowd: 37,552 Teams: Phoenix at Seattle (Western Conference final) Site: Kingdome Date: May 17, 1979