Trail Blazer Defense Checks Suns’ Break in 100-98 Victory

People who do not intimately know the Portland Trail Blazers--probably most of the country--might think that the only practitioners of tough, intimidating defense reside in Auburn Hills, Mich.

But Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Monday night provided the Trail Blazers with a national platform for showcasing their defensive acumen. They stifled the Phoenix Suns’ running game all night, thwarted any real inside threat and, most important, stopped the Suns’ last-second chance to send the game to overtime.

As a result, the Trail Blazers posted a 100-98 victory over Phoenix, which tried in vain to snatch away Portland’s home-court advantage as it did the Lakers’ in the last series.

The Trail Blazers turned into defensive demons Monday and actually outran Phoenix. And, when it got close, Portland made the big shots and stopped numerous Suns’ chances to prolong the opener of a series that figures to be this close in every game.

After Portland center Kevin Duckworth made a short jump shot from the right wing with 17 seconds left for a 100-98 lead, the Suns called time out to set up a potential tying--or winning--shot.

With Terry Porter draped over him, Sun forward Eddie Johnson could not penetrate to the basket, falling with the ball at the free throw line. Maintaining composure, Johnson found little-used Mike McGee on the right baseline. But McGee’s jump shot with two seconds left was blocked by Danny Young, a defensive specialist inserted by Coach Rick Adelman for the last shot.

The Trail Blazers’ Buck Williams regained possession of the ball and, after another timeout, Portland ran out the clock to take a 1-0 lead going into Game 2 here Wednesday night.

“That’s one thing about us this season,” Portland forward Jerome Kersey said. “We’re very versatile in what we can do. If teams want to play us big and physical, we can bring in our big guys. If they want to go small, we go small.”

The Suns, too small and quick for most teams, met their match against Portland. Maybe it was the six-day layoff since beating the Lakers in the semifinals, but the Suns appeared out of sync and definitely slowed.

Portland had played seven games in the previous 12 days and had five of its top seven players nursing injuries of various degrees. But, for most of the night, the Trail Blazers were the aggressors, the Suns submissive.

Portland had 26 fast-break points, the Suns 10. Kevin Johnson, who terrorized the Lakers, had 20 points and 11 assists but made only eight of 20 shots and did not penetrate against Terry Porter’s defense.

“You’ve got to give Portland credit for our problems,” Phoenix Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said. “It seemed like it was a miracle if we made a fast break.”

The Suns shot 41.3%. Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers (29 points) provided the bulk of their offense.

Portland did not shoot much better, 45.8%, but had the balance the Suns lacked. Kersey scored 13 of his 19 points in the third quarter. Clyde Drexler had 20 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. And Yugoslav rookie Drazen Petrovic provided a first-half spark by scoring all of his 11 points in the second quarter.

But that won it for Portland.

It did not completely shut down the Suns, who rallied from a six-point deficit to trail by 50-48 at halftime, then recovered from an eight-point deficit late in the third quarter to lead by one point with 9:37 left.

Whenever Phoenix looked as if it might stage an offensive surge, the Trail Blazers countered. Kevin Johnson was held scoreless and without an assist in the fourth quarter. He had not been able to penetrate in the first three quarters and apparently gave up trying late in the game.

“I just tried to make sure I had a hand in his face all night,” Porter said. “Against the Lakers, he was able to penetrate and break loose in the fourth quarter a lot and that hurts. He definitely can take over the game.”

For the longest time, it appeared neither team would take over.

“That game is going to be typical of the entire series and of our series all year long--back and forth, back and forth,” Adelman said. “I didn’t think either team played that well tonight. We didn’t play very smart down the stretch offensively, but defensively we did what we had to do. Danny Young made a great play (in blocking McGee’s shot) and Buck Williams made a great play to get the ball.”

Portland appeared in control after Drexler tipped in Kersey’s miss for a 98-93 lead with 3:10 to play. But then came that stretch of ill-advised play. Duckworth traveled on one possession. The Trail Blazers were called for a 24-second violation the next possession. Drexler turned over the ball the possession after that.