Forum Fans Find New Enemy : Rockets: Rookie Jamerson scores 12 points in 14 minutes but draws boos after Teagle is ejected for punching him.

Braced for problems, the Lakers got one Thursday night that even the Houston Rockets couldn’t have anticipated.

This one came from way down the bench. But today, rookie Dave Jamerson needs no introduction, or so you would think considering his second-quarter scuffle with Terry Teagle got Teagle ejected from the opening game of the best-of-five first-round series at the Forum. He got booed, but so did Rocket teammate David Wood, an obvious victim of mistaken identity.

“I’ve played overseas, where people wanted to kill you,” Wood said later, smiling. “A little booing’s no big deal.”

Jamerson played 14 minutes in the Lakers’ 94-92 victory, got an early call off the bench and finished with 12 points to help keep the Rockets close. To say this rates as a surprise would be something of an understatement.

The 15th pick in the draft 10 months ago, a touted shooter from Ohio University, his NBA debut in the season opener at Portland consisted of two turnovers in about a minute, which the Trail Blazers used as part of a key run to win. After that, things turned bad for Jamerson.

He saw a lot of action, all right. From the bench. He played in 37 games, averaging 5.5 minutes. He scored in double figures.

So of course Coach Don Chaney summoned for him early in the second quarter.

“When I put him into the game, I put him in on the merits of how he finished the season,” Chaney said. “I thought he had played well the last three games. I could always have pulled him out.”

That wasn’t necessary.

Not long after going in for Vern Maxwell in what was supposed to be a three-guard rotation, Jamerson hit from 20 feet out along the right baseline. He had seven points by halftime, not to mention the shadowing by Forum fans because of the incident with Teagle.

Jamerson, surprised to be put in so early, was also surprised by the reaction. Not flustered, though, as he downplayed boxing out Teagle for a rebound and then getting hit.

“He came up to push me, so I pushed him,” Jamerson said. “Then he took a swing.”

This may turn out to be the single incident he is most associated with this season. Not exactly the glory of a first-rounder. Swallowing such a notion, however, might be worse had Jamerson not already resolved that his rookie year was a disappointment.

“Just because I always want to play,” he said. “I was a first-round pick who was expected to contribute. But coming in, I wasn’t ready. I had some learning to do and some adjusting. But you don’t go away from what got you here. Your time will come.”

So when it did Thursday, in a playoff setting for the first time, he was ready.

“It doesn’t really matter,” Jamerson said when asked if he is concerned that his performance will be lost in the brief encounter with Teagle. “Either way. I’m just trying to help the team. We want to win the series, and that’s more important that any individual things that can happen.”