Spurs’ Big Gun Shoots Down Trail Blazers : NBA playoffs: Robinson gets game in gear as San Antonio cuts deficit to 2-1, 121-98.

You can cancel the SOS now. They were shaking in their lizard boots here when the Spurs began their playoff series with Portland and David Robinson, the former U.S. Navy ensign, seemed to go on leave at the same time.

He is called Admiral here, but Robinson may be in line for a promotion after what he did to the Trail Blazers Thursday night.

The tallest Spur at 7-1, Robinson had the biggest line in the box score: 28 points, eight rebounds, eight blocked shots, six dunks and four assists in a 121-98 romp by the Spurs that drew rave reviews.

“It was a pretty incredible performance,” Spur Coach Larry Brown said. “He dictated the game.”

The Trail Blazers were taking dictation and saw their lead in the playoff series cut to 2-1. Down by as many as 30 points, 115-85, Portland was not the same team that blazed its way to convincing victories in the first two games.

Clyde Drexler did a quick accounting of his team’s performance.

“Offensively, we couldn’t get a rhythm,” he said. “Defensively, well, we didn’t do much of that either.”

In the first two games, Robinson knew the same feeling. He had only nine points in the first game and although he came back with 31 in Game 2, 20 of them came after the Spurs were down by 24.

Brown must have caught himself wondering: Where have you gone, David Robinson? Actually, Robinson started behaving normally after Brown lit him up for making some rather brazen comments about Portland’s defense before the series began.

Robinson had discussed his counterparts at center, Wayne Cooper and Cliff Robinson, and concluded that neither one could guard him.

“Neither one strikes fear in my heart,” Robinson said.

Bob Bass, the Spurs’ front-office basketball guru, stood there listening to Robinson. Said Bass: “He wanted to stick the words back into his mouth as soon as he said them.”

Not surprisingly, Robinson’s comments found their way into print. Brown waited until after the Spurs lost the first two games in Portland before telling Robinson what he thought of Robinson’s critique.

The conversation?

“I got on him pretty hard,” Brown said. “David made the statement that nobody could guard him and he might have said it, but he didn’t mean it.”

Possibly so, but there was no misunderstanding of Robinson’s intent in Game 3. He had four dunks by the half, including one on the fast break when he appeared to launch his body horizontally toward the rim.

The Spurs led by five points after one quarter, by 16 at the half and then sailed smoothly through the second half, pausing only for Robinson to block another shot and for Rod Strickland to get a triple-double.

Alas, Strickland fell one rebound short--he had 13 points and 17 assists--but that was just about the only thing the Spurs failed to accomplish in Game 3.

For the Trail Blazers, it was a screaming crash to earth.

“We collapsed in every area,” Coach Rick Adelman said.

Terry Porter and Buck Williams led the Trail Blazers with 18 points apiece, but Drexler had only 15 points and made five of 15 shots.

Hoping to change his shooting luck, Drexler once drove the lane and ran straight into Robinson.

“He is a big, tall guy,” Drexler said simply.

Mobile, too. Robinson made 11 of 14 shots, two of them as he floated gently toward the baseline and arched graceful left-handed jump shots through the hoop.

Robinson said he was playing to the level he expects of himself, with a little urging from Brown.

“He really challenged me as a coach,” Robinson said. “You know, we have that TV satellite and stuff and he gets all those playoff games. Then he says, ‘I saw Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley play this game.’

“I feel like I really haven’t responded to the challenge,” he said. “My back was against the wall. I had not helped us the way I was capable. So I just settled down and played better.”

Terry Cummings had nine rebounds, 19 points and led the Spurs to a 51-35 edge on the backboards.

Said Drexler: “You’ve got to give the Spurs credit, but it’s still 2-1.”

Yes, said Robinson, but maybe the Spurs have sent a message to the Trail Blazers and he just delivered it.

“We found our groove,” he said. “It’s got to be scary for them to see us on track.”