NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : Worthy’s Misses Make the Pistons’ Night

Laker forward James Worthy launched a baseline jumper a minute into the opening game of the NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons.

It was an airball, and an indication of what lay ahead for Worthy.

Worthy missed his first five field-goal attempts before he finally sank a shot with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the first period.

“Anytime James Worthy misses his first five shots you know it’s going to be a long night,” said Laker Mychal Thompson.

And it was a very long night for the Lakers.

“James Worthy had a rough start,” Coach Pat Riley said. “I think he put too much pressure on himself. But he’s been very good in the playoffs and he’ll come back.”

A model of consistency throughout his career, Worthy was dreadful in the Lakers’ 109-97 loss to the Pistons.

Worthy, who had shot 60.3% going into the game, made just six of 18 shots (33%). He had been averaging 24.3 points before Tuesday but scored only 17 in Game 1.

What happened?

“I got good shots,” Worthy said. “I was trying to rush them. I’ve just got to relax. Things like this happen. You can’t dwell on shots being missed. The shots I missed tonight are going to fall.”

Worthy took a big fall early in the game when Piston forward Rick Mahorn knocked him down on a drive to the basket. As a matter of fact, Mahorn’s aggressive defense took Worthy out of the Laker offense all night.

Mahorn forced Worthy, who normally sets up under the basket on the right side, to move farther away from the basket.

“Mahorn played James very physically early in the game,” said Bill Bertka, Laker assistant coach. “Mahorn took away James’ favorite spot in the low block on the right side.”

Mahorn, however, refused to take all the credit for stopping Worthy.

“I had a lot of help from my teammates,” Mahorn said. “I can’t stop him by myself. I needed help.”

Mahorn got it from John Salley and Dennis Rodman.

“Rick did a tremendous job on Worthy in the first half,” Rodman said. “He kept him out of the box down low. He took Worthy out of his rhythm. But Worthy is a great player.”

Worthy demonstrated that last year by getting 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists against the Pistons in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals. Worthy was named MVP of the series.

But Mahorn, hampered by a back injury, watched Worthy destroy the Pistons while lying on his stomach on the sidelines. Mahorn had been lying in wait for a year, and Tuesday played relentless defense on Worthy.

“They had Mahorn pushing James around,” Thompson said. “But James just didn’t make his shots. He’ll probably take the same shots and made six or seven in a row the next game.”

The absence of guard Byron Scott, who missed the game with a partially torn left hamstring, severely hampered Worthy’s effectiveness. It allowed the Pistons to double-team Worthy more often.

“They played good defense, but when you don’t have Byron, we have just two scorers, me and James,” Laker guard Magic Johnson said. “And they can double-team us more.”

Said Worthy: “You always expect double-teaming. And it wasn’t any different tonight. You can’t dwell on it.”

But the Pistons think Worthy can recover.

“We can’t say that we stopped James Worthy,” Mark Aguirre said. “Everyone has a tough night. And I know that James Worthy is going to try to come back even stronger.”

Said Piston Coach Chuck Daly: “I don’t know if you can ever stop a guy like Worthy. You just work hard and hope he doesn’t hit his shots.”

UN-WORTHYLIKE A look at the statistics of Laker forward James Worthy in Game 1 of the NBA championship series and his previous 11 playoff games.

GAME 1, CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

MIN. FGA-FGM PCT. FTA-FTM PCT. REB PTS 39 6-18 .333 5-8 .625 2 17

PREVIOUS 11 PLAYOFF GAMES

MPG FGA-FGM .PCT FTA-FTM PCT. RPG PPG 39 114-189 .603 41-49 .837 7.6 24.3