Spurs Catch Trail Blazers Short, 115-105 : Western Conference: Without centers, Portland is pounded inside by Cummings and Robinson as San Antonio ties the series, 2-2.

What happens to a team that loses its top two centers?

We give you the Portland Trail Blazers, a doughnut of a team with a hole in the middle, who were served up to the San Antonio Spurs and quickly devoured, 115-105.

With starting center Kevin Duckworth out with a broken hand and backup Wayne Cooper out with back spasms, the Spurs tied the Western Conference semifinal playoff series at 2-2 with another victory Saturday at HemisFair Arena.

As might be expected, there has been some emotional fallout. The Spurs, who dropped the first two games in Portland, are suddenly feeling frisky. They hit the Trail Blazers like a fast-moving train in a 37-18 second-quarter blitz and never looked back.

“I feel great,” Spur center David Robinson said.

And why not? Terry Cummings had 35 points and 11 rebounds, and Robinson had 21 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as the two Spurs’ big men took advantage of Portland’s shortcomings inside.

Cooper might be ready for Game 5 Tuesday night in Portland, but he thought he might be OK for Game 4 and spent the morning in traction instead.

Portland Coach Rick Adelman was asked if there was anything he could do about having his two centers hurt.

“I tried to call Akeem (Olajuwon) today, but the line was busy,” Adelman said.

The imbalance in the middle was directly responsible for the Spurs’ outburst in the second quarter. Trailing by eight points at the end of one quarter in which Clyde Drexler scored 16 points, San Antonio went on a 16-4 run in a four-minute stretch to turn a 38-33 deficit into a 49-42 lead.

That was all the Spurs needed. By halftime, San Antonio led by 11 points and increased the lead to 21 in the fourth quarter.

Adelman was forced to play forwards Cliff Robinson and Mark Bryant in the pivot, but they were overmatched. Afterward, they were frustrated.

Said Bryant: “It’s hard to play defense against them.”

Said Cliff Robinson: “I’m doing the best I can.”

David Robinson and Cummings outrebounded Cliff Robinson and Bryant, 21-10. And with Portland caught short on the backboards, the Spurs were off and running.

Three consecutive fast-break layups by Rod Strickland in 59 seconds made it 49-42, and the Trail Blazers were never closer.

The Spurs made 15 of 24 shots in the quarter, held Portland to its lowest quarter of the playoffs and even drew praise from Coach Larry Brown.

Brown, occasionally caustic in his assessment of his team’s performance, was impressed by what he had seen in the second quarter.

“It was as good as we’ve ever played,” Brown said. “At times, we were phenomenal.”

But . . . ?

“An experienced, solid team may have beaten them by 30,” Brown added after a short pause.

Drexler finished with 27 points. Jerome Kersey had 23, but only four came in the first half and 11 were free throws.

Adelman’s substitution pattern has been thrown totally out of kilter. Drexler assessed the damage.

“We’re so limited,” he said. “The bottom line is we’ve got two guys who don’t play center playing center.”

It may not get any better for the Trail Blazers, who lost by 23 points in Game 3 when Cooper played. Spur backup center Frank Brickowski said he thinks the Trail Blazers are in trouble.

“I’m sure they’re trying to ignore it, but they’re struggling out there,” Brickowski said. “They’re going to have to get it back to be effective again.”

Drexler showed his own frustration. When Cummings gave him a shoulder in the lane and knocked him to the floor, Drexler lay there until Cummings came running past and then tried to trip him.

Cummings and Drexler received double technical fouls after a short argument at midcourt.

Drexler said he was merely trying to find a way for the Trail Blazers to come back.

“Sometimes we come back, sometimes we don’t,” he said. “This time, we didn’t. Now, it makes for an interesting series.”

Notes

Has an owner ever provided bulletin board material in a playoff series? Spur owner Red McCombs, who missed his annual cattle sale at his Johnson City ranch so he could watch his team play instead, seemed to get caught up in the spirit of things. “I don’t think Portland is that tough, really,” he told the San Antonio Light. “I don’t think they have that good a club. If we’ve got more than two guys playing at the same time, we should be able to waltz by them.”