Revived Drexler Helps Fuel Victory by Trail Blazers

In a series that has made the phrase home victory redundant, the Portland Trail Blazers have taken predictability to extremes against the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference finals.

If the score is close in the final minutes and Portland is at home, count it a victory. The Trail Blazers posted come-from-behind victories in the first two games of the series and, Tuesday night in Game 5, they rallied for a 120-114 victory before 12,884 at the Coliseum.

Outscoring the Suns, 7-0, in the last 47 seconds, the Trail Blazers held on to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is will be played Thursday in Phoenix, where the Trail Blazers have been blown out twice.

The Trail Blazers won Game 1 by two points, coming back from a late deficit and stopping the Suns’ last-second chance. They won Game 2 by one point, again stopping Phoenix on its final possession.

Comparatively, Game 5 was a blowout.

Hardly resembling the disheveled collection that lost Games 3 and 4 in Phoenix by a combined 46 points, the Trail Blazers were rejuvenated Tuesday by guard Clyde Drexler.

Drexler, shooting only a shade above 40% going into Game 5, made 13 of 24 shots for 32 points, had 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Afterward, he did not pronounce his slump over because he did not acknowledge one existed.

“Too much is made of one guy taking over,” Drexler said. “It’s a team game. Everybody’s got to be in sync. We were moving the ball more, so it got me open. But it’s the team, not me.”

Neither Drexler nor his teammates could talk enough about their strong defensive effort. The Trail Blazers limited the Suns to 45.4% shooting and held a 48-44 rebounding advantage.

Most impressive--predictable, too--was Portland’s defensive stand in the final minute after falling behind.

The Suns took a 114-113 lead on Tom Chambers’ two free throws with 47 seconds to play.

But those turned out to be Phoenix’s final points.

The Suns failed to score on their final four possessions, Portland’s defense denying Kevin Johnson and Chambers an open shot.

Meanwhile, in a stark change from their woeful foul shooting in Game 4 at Phoenix, the Trail Blazers made seven of their final eight free throws to secure the victory.

“Defense for 48 minutes is what wins for us,” Drexler said.

“We can always score points. We need good team defense.”

After Drexler’s two free throws put Portland ahead, 115-114, with 34 seconds to play, Trail Blazer guard Terry Porter denied Kevin Johnson the ball.

The Suns went to Dan Majerle, who drove but missed a left-handed scoop shot with 20 seconds remaining. The Suns’ Jeff Hornacek recovered the loose ball, but Buck Williams stole it back and was fouled.

Williams, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds, sank both free throws to make the score 117-114 with 14.9 seconds to play.

On the Suns’ next possession, Johnson and Chambers again were not factors. Hornacek flung an off-balance shot that badly missed. Jerome Kersey, who had 21 points and 11 rebounds, was fouled after getting the rebound. He made one free throw to make the score 118-114.

That pretty much decided it.

The Suns were foiled on an inbounds play, then Porter sank two free throws for a 120-114 lead with four seconds to play.

Fittingly, Drexler stole the ball on the Suns’ last possession and ran out the clock by driving to the basket. He made the shot after the buzzer. But it didn’t matter.

Rick Adelman, Portland’s coach, had told Drexler before the game to be more aggressive and look for his shot more often.

“I agreed with him,” Drexler said.

“I wanted to go to the hole. I’ve been struggling with my shooting, but I’m still scoring points.”

Said Porter: “When it’s on the line, we definitely feel we should win. That’s one thing we have confidence in. We’ve got a lot of veteran players who know how to play in close games.”

The Suns, who have won four road playoff games, now are 0-3 in Portland. But the three losses have been by a combined nine points.

“We could have won this game,” said Kevin Johnson, who led Phoenix with 28 points. “We just let them get going, and that was a mistake.”

It is a mistake the Suns keep making. They haven’t won in Portland since 1984, a span of 20 games.

“We’ve always played Portland close in this building, and I think they know despite all the wins they’ve piled up, what it’s like to play the Phoenix Suns here,” Johnson said.

The Suns can only hope the predictable home-court dominance continues Thursday night.

Western Conference Notes

Trail Blazer rookie Cliff Robinson Tuesday pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree assault stemming from an incident on April 29 when he punched a female police officer outside a Portland lounge. A disorderly conduct charge was dropped in a hearing at Multnomah County District court. Robinson was sentenced to one-year’s probation, fined $250, ordered to perform 50 hours of community service and undergo therapy. . . . Tom Chambers had 22 points for Phoenix but made only six of 21 shots.