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L.A. Lets Detroit Off Scott-Free, 109-97 : Laker Guard Is Missed in Game 1

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Times Staff Writer

About as deep as the Los Angeles River at low tide, the depleted Lakers floundered and finally succumbed to wave after wave of pressure from the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night.

With guard Byron Scott sidelined because of a torn hamstring, and with early foul trouble visiting three starters, the Lakers simply did not have enough bodies and ability Tuesday night to prevent a 109-97 loss to the Pistons in Game 1 of the National Basketball Assn. championship series.

In lieu of Scott, out perhaps for the entire series, the Lakers gave us Michael Cooper and, later, Tony Campbell. When A.C. Green and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar got into foul trouble, Orlando Woolridge and Mychal Thompson were summoned earlier than usual and asked to play more prominent roles.

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So bereft of reserves was Laker Coach Pat Riley that he called upon seldom-used Jeff Lamp in the first half. And by the final buzzer, Campbell had played more minutes Tuesday night--25--than he had in the Lakers’ 11 previous playoff games.

What resulted was a stilted, out-of-sync Laker offense, which was a death sentence against defensive demons such as the Pistons. Passes missed their intended targets, and shots were forced. Even the Lakers’ trapping defense was thrown off.

“That’s what happens,” said Magic Johnson, who played 41 minutes. “You’ve been playing one way all season long, and when you lose Kareem and Coop to foul trouble, everyone is not familiar with the game plan. It’s hard when you’re playing guys who haven’t been out there.”

Those same guys figure to be asked to play similar roles, and play them better, here Thursday night in Game 2. If they don’t, the Lakers, whose playoff winning streak was stopped at 11, could be victims of another overwhelming Piston effort. They made 55% of their shots and outrebounded the Lakers, 45-32. The Pistons led by as many as 21 points in the second half behind guards Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Vinnie Johnson, who combined for 65 of Detroit’s 109 points.

“Byron’s loss hurt us, and (the foul trouble) hurt us early, but I think the difference in the game was that we could not control their (shooting) guards,” Riley said. “We had stressed that in practice all week.”

Not coincidentally, Scott is the Lakers’ shooting guard. And in addition to averaging 19 points a game, he would have been assigned to guard Thomas, who had 16 of his 24 points during the first half, and probably would have provided defensive help on Dumars and Johnson.

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The Lakers had the Scott excuse at their disposal, but most declined to use it, mainly because they almost have resigned themselves to not having him in the series. They also asserted that, given some time for preparation, they can overcome his loss.

Still . . .

“Whether we had Byron or not, we took a butt-whipping tonight,” Cooper said. “But when you lose key players, it throws a wrench into your engine. There were times when we were just out there running and ambling around.”

Even Detroit Coach Chuck Daly acknowledged that the Lakers looked like a different team without Scott.

“We can do more things (defensively) with Scott out,” Daly said. “He’s a great player.”

The Lakers had a day to absorb Scott’s absence and prepare to play without him. But he is the Lakers’ main outside shooting threat, the player whom the Lakers fall back on when other options in their half-court offense are not available.

Perhaps it was overcompensation, or perhaps merely another example of the Pistons’ stifling defense, but the Lakers made only 46.7% of their shots, most coming from the perimeter.

James Worthy, guarded by power forward Rick Mahorn early in order to force him outside, missed his first five shots and never recovered. He made only six of 18 shots and finished with 17 points, tying Johnson for Laker scoring honors.

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Cooper, limited to 25 minutes because of foul trouble, had three points--about 16 fewer than Scott gives the Lakers at that position. Campbell overcame some early rustiness to score 12 points, and Thompson had 15, but the Lakers were never able to establish their offense. “Without Byron, all we had to do is move the basketball and try to get the open shot,” Cooper said. “We weren’t able to do that. A lot of it was their defense. We couldn’t get our fast break going because they were hitting the boards so well.”

Even with a late Laker surge, after the teams cleared the benches, the Pistons still held the Lakers under 100 points, the 14th straight playoff game in which they have given up fewer than 100 points.

“You have just seen our best game in the playoffs,” Daly said. “We have to work defensively, rebound well, and the key is not giving up second shots.”

All of which the Pistons did. But what surprised many was the Pistons’ offensive surge. They had more fast-break opportunities--and baskets--than the Lakers and also had effective outside shooting, which was absent from their playoff victory over the Bulls.

“They struggled last series,” Daly said of his shooting guards. “But tonight, Joe played well, Isiah was on fire all night and Vinnie was hitting the shots. In fact, (Johnson) was almost too aggressive. He’d pass up 6-foot shots and try to drive for a layup.”

Thomas hurt the Lakers during the first half, when the Pistons led by as many as 11 points before taking a 55-48 lead into the second half.

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Thomas made six of nine shots in the first half. Perhaps an early indication that the Lakers were in trouble came 30 seconds after the tipoff, when Thomas faked Cooper on a drive and then pulled up and sank a jump shot.

“I don’t think we came out with the effort we needed from the start against these guys,” Cooper said. “That was evident in the that first play, when I backed off and let Isiah score over me. We can’t do that.”

Often, though, the Lakers had the effort but not the results. The Pistons continued to throw Thomas, Dumars and Johnson at the Lakers, and Campbell and Worthy and Cooper could not stop them.

Early in the fourth quarter, when the Lakers made a brief run to cut Detroit’s lead to only 15 points, Vinnie Johnson simply took advantage of Campbell’s defense on three straight baskets. In a span of 28 seconds, Johnson sank two jump shots. Twenty-nine seconds later, he feigned another jumpshot and drove around Campbell for a layup.

“I think we executed well,” said Dumars, who confirmed Daly’s opinion that this was Detroit’s best playoff showing.

The Lakers were not so productive from the perimeter. Only nine of their 35 field goals were from outside. Magic Johnson, in fact, did not make an outside shot.

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“My only excuse without Byron is that we didn’t have the rhythm and continuity on offense, but I think the Pistons had something to do with that,” Riley said. “And we can get that back Thursday.”

As satisfied as the Pistons were with the victory, they were not about to declare the series over. Fresh in the Pistons’ minds was the fact they beat the Lakers by 12 points at the Forum in last season’s series opener, only to lose in seven games.

“We know from experience it takes four (victories) to win this series,” Thomas said. “Last year, we won the first game and lost the series, so this year we have to concentrate on not letting up.”

Last season, however, the Lakers had Scott for all seven games. That fact also was not lost on the Pistons, but they did not extend their sympathies, either.

Thomas recalled that no one on the Lakers felt their seventh-game victory was cheapened because Thomas was severely hampered by an ankle injury.

“I don’t know what (Scott’s loss) means to them, and I don’t care,” Thomas said. “They didn’t care about me.”

Laker Notes

Tony Campbell, who had played in only five of the Lakers’ previous 11 playoff games, acknowledged that he was rusty having to play for Byron Scott. “I definitely was,” Campbell said. “I think it showed a lot in the first half. But I have a strong will, and I started to get in the game more in the second half. No question about it, though, we missed Byron. When he’s not in there, our game changes.”

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IT’S A LONG NIGHT . . .

. . . When Worthy misses his first five shots and makes only 6 of 18 in the game. Chris Baker’s story, Page 3.

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