Spurs Fight Back in Their Den to Force Game 7 at Portland

Quite unexpectedly, a proverb emerged from the NBA Western Conference semifinals:

“When you go into the bear cage, you better not wake up the bear,” Spur forward Sean Elliott said Thursday.

The bear in this case was David Robinson. The San Antonio Spurs’ rookie center scored 24 points, collected 13 rebounds, blocked six shots and, oddly, couldn’t remember ever being so, well, miffed.

In a game that belongs either in the NBA record books or Ring Magazine, the Spurs forced a Game 7 Saturday at Portland by beating the Trail Blazers, 112-97, Thursday night at HemisFair Arena.

Eight technical fouls were called, prompting Portland’s Clyde Drexler to say: “I guess we’re tired of seeing each other.”

The technicals included a spectacular punching foul by Drexler, who was ejected in the third quarter for bopping the Spurs’ Willie Anderson in the chops with his elbow.

By then, the Spurs were already ahead, 71-57, and Anderson’s chin became only the second thing Drexler hit all night.

He had one dunk, missed his other nine shots and was escorted to the locker room by two policemen after referee Mike Mathis ejected him.

Drexler said he had been merely trying to brush Anderson’s hands off of him.

“The next thing I knew, I was in the locker room,” he said.

Informed that his fine, outside of any additional penalty by the NBA, would come to a tab of $250, Drexler made a quick decision.

“Two fifty, it’s worth protesting then,” Drexler said.

Of course, Drexler is the same millionaire player who refuses to go to Broadway plays because he thinks the ticket prices are too high.

On the Spurs’ home stage, Game 6 was better than a Broadway play. There was Anderson, his left thumb in a splint after dislocating it Tuesday night in Portland and scoring a personal-high 30 points.

Anderson had 10 points at the end of the first quarter, 18 by halftime and finished with a vengeance by leaving no cliche unturned.

“Game 7, we’ll have our backs against the wall,” he said. “It’s do or die. We’ll leave it all on the floor.”

Oh, yes, the floor. That’s where Robinson and Portland’s Buck Williams kept knocking each other in one of the most interesting matchups of the playoffs.

Forced to guard Robinson because the Trail Blazers are out of healthy centers, the 6-8 Williams plays the 7-1 San Antonio center by adopting a hands-on policy. Robinson thought Williams put everything else on, too.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Robinson said. “He comes in my building, in front of my fans, they’re cheering and I’m not gonna let someone come in here and push me around.”

The Spurs led, 52-41, at halftime and 85-71 in the fourth quarter when Robinson and Williams tangled beneath the basket.

Robinson, who had just knocked Jerome Kersey sideways, did not appreciate Williams’ defense. Williams took exception to Robinson’s exception. They both received technical fouls.

This action followed two separate disagreements of shoving, nothing more, one involving Williams and San Antonio’s Terry Cummings and the other matching Portland’s Drazen Petrovic and the Spurs’ David Wingate.

In something of an upset, Mathis and Darrel Garretson left their whistles alone on these occasions and did not call any technicals.

There were plenty of others, though. Frank Brickowski and Mark Bryant received double technicals, as did Kersey and Elliott. The Spurs received a final technical for illegal defense.

And technically, Robinson said what Williams did to him was not illegal, just sort of dirty.

“I don’t play dirty anyway,” Robinson said. “But when things get intense, unpredictable things happen.

“That’s something you kind of expected from this game, especially when you’ve seen them so many times. You’ve got to protect yourself. It comes at this level.”

Williams removed his goggles and spoke in a hoarse voice in the locker room, claiming that the referees sometimes protect Robinson.

“Physical, that’s my game,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve played for nine years. If that’s the kind of game that’s going to be played, everybody should have the opportunity to play that way.”

Robinson, who pulled down eight rebounds in the second half, is averaging 11.6 rebounds in the playoffs.

Portland had 41 points in the first quarter in Game 5 and 41 at the half Thursday night. Terry Porter and Drexler combined for 73 points in Game 5 and 18 points in Game 6. Kersey’s 22 points led the Trail Blazers.

Playing without his injured centers, Kevin Duckworth and Wayne Cooper, for the third consecutive game, Coach Rick Adelman had one thought for Game 7.

“I’m still trying to get Akeem,” he said.