NBA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES : A Touch of Magic : Campbell Comes Off the Bench, Keeps Lakers in Game

When Magic Johnson limped to the bench 4 minutes 46 seconds into Game 3 of the National Basketball Assn. Finals, Laker guard Tony Campbell tore off his warmup suit and reported to the scorer’s table to replace Johnson.

“I was in seventh heaven,” Campbell said. “When I came into the game I was hyped. I was psyched.”

He was so psyched that he was called for traveling the first time he touched the ball.

But Campbell worked himself into the flow of the Laker offense, scoring 11 first-half points in 11 minutes off the bench. He hit all three shots he took in the first half and made five of seven free throws.

Even Magic Johnson was impressed with his stand-in.

“Tony played sensational,” Johnson said. “He gave us a good lift offensively and he played hard.”

Campbell also played superb defense, including a play on which he stripped the ball from Piston guard Vinnie Johnson.

“He gave the Lakers a spark in the first half,” Vinnie Johnson said. “He kept them in the game. He came in and he hit some big shots. For a guy who was put in that situation (replacing Magic) and has not been playing a great deal I think he’s playing excellent basketball.”

Isiah Thomas was also impressed by Campbell.

“T.C. did a hell of a job,” Thomas said. “He’s got some offensive skills that I wish we could have kept on our basketball team because we loved him.”

Campbell spent the first three years of his career with the Pistons, who waived him before the start of the 1987-88 season.

Campbell joined the Lakers last season after playing in the Continental Basketball Assn. He sat on the bench last season and spent most of this season on the bench.

After playing only 23 minutes in the Lakers’ first 11 playoff games, Campbell, was forced into action when the Lakers were caught with their guards down, losing Byron Scott and Magic with hamstring injuries in the first two games of the best-of-seven series.

Campbell responded to the challenge by scoring a playoff career-high 15 points in the Lakers’ 108-105 loss to the Pistons in Game 2.

Campbell couldn’t have picked a better time to start playing well because he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

“I’m playing well because I have a strong will and I believe in myself as a basketball player,” Campbell said. “I’ve never really gotten a fair chance to play.

“Now I’m getting the opportunity and it’s the perfect time to show what I can do.”

Although Magic tested his hamstring in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 114-110 loss to the Pistons on Sunday at the Forum, he was unable to continue and Campbell was pressed into service.

“When I saw Magic running and not really being able to extend his legs, I knew I was going to be coming in soon,” Campbell said.

If Campbell was nervous when he replaced Johnson, he didn’t show it.

“Magic is another basketball player as far as I’m concerned,” Campbell said. “Not to take anything away from him, but I’m not concentrating on what I am going to do to replace Magic. I’m not trying to get his thing done.”

Campbell did his own thing.

With Johnson out, Campbell knew that he needed to score more, and he adjusted quickly to his new role in the offense. Only one Laker outscored Campbell in the first half, James Worthy, who had 14 points.

Campbell also gave the Lakers an emotional lift.

As Campbell was gliding to the basket for a fast-break layup, he was fouled by Thomas with 1:17 remaining in the first quarter. Campbell thought Thomas’ foul wasn’t exactly a love tap and so did the sellout crowd of 17,505, which chanted an obscenity after Campbell was called for a technical foul.

After his big first half, Campbell didn’t score in the second half because he got into foul trouble, which forced him to sit out much of the third quarter.

“Tony played a good game,” said Laker Coach Pat Riley. “If he hadn’t gotten in foul trouble he probably would have gone for 20. He showed a lot of heart and he showed a lot of courage.”

After watching Joe Dumars score 21 points in the third quarter, Campbell returned for the final period.

Vinnie Johnson, who used to practice against Campbell, then heated up like a microwave against Campbell in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points.

Johnson’s biggest shot came with 2:09 remaining, when he hit a 20-foot jumper over Campbell to give the Pistons a 109-104 lead.

Laker assistant coach Randy Pfund came to Campbell’s defense.

“I thought he was right there on him (Johnson) those last couple shots,” Pfund said. “He hit them right in his face. I don’t know what more you can do unless you can deny him from catching the ball.”

Campbell felt that he did a good job on Johnson.

“I want you to sit down and watch the films and if you do you’ll see that I’ve been pretty much successful guarding him,” Campbell said. “He just hit a great shot. I was in his face. There was nothing I could do. My plan was to stay with Vinnie and make him make a tough shot. He’s been making those shots all year.”

Johnson’s shot helped to close the lid on the Laker coffin.

But don’t tell that to Campbell.

“We’re about to make history,” Campbell said. “We’re going to come out and win four straight. Something that’s never been done in history. We’re about to do it. And they’re not going to make a liar out of me.”