NBA FINALS : LAKERS vs. CHICAGO BULLS : Single Coverage Balm for Injured Worthy : Lakers: Portland double-teamed the L.A. forward, but Chicago sends Pippen alone, and the Bulls’ forward is outscored, 22-19.

Laker forward James Worthy is nicknamed “Big Game James” because of his superb performance in playoff games.

Worthy lived up to his nickname by scoring 22 points as the Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls, 93-91, in the opening game of the NBA finals Sunday at Chicago Stadium.

Despite playing on a sprained left ankle, Worthy made 11 of 24 shots and had three rebounds and one assist in 45 minutes.

Worthy got off to a fast start, scoring eight of the Lakers’ first 16 points. He tested the ankle at the start of the game, driving for a layup only 19 seconds into the first quarter.

“In the Portland game I never really gave myself a chance to explode to the basket,” Worthy said. “I wanted to see early in the game what I could do. It didn’t feel pain free, but at least I was able to move a little better. I’m having to out-think the defensive postup man more than I normally do.”

Worthy, who had been slowed by the injury Thursday when the Lakers clinched the Western Conference title with a 91-90 victory over Portland, seemed to be moving much better Sunday when he scored 14 points in the first half. But after scoring six points in the third quarter as the Lakers outscored the Bulls, 24-15, to take a 75-68 lead into the final quarter, Worthy’s ankle stiffened.

“My ankle was not like I would have liked for it to have been,” Worthy said as he soaked his ankle in a trash can of ice water. “It’s still something I’m having to mentally overcome. Whenever you have those little nagging pains you just have to tell yourself to try to block it out. I knew I couldn’t come into the game worrying about every little twitch that I had. It was hurting, but this is the playoffs.”

Trainer Gary Vitti adjusted the tape on Worthy’s ankle at halftime, tightening it to give him more support.

“He said he feels better now after this game than he did after the last game,” Vitti said. “He definitely looked better starting the game, but I wasn’t happy with how he looked in the second half. He still looked better than he looked in the second half of the last game, so he’s improving. But I’d like to get him to the point where he plays the second half the way he played the first half.”

Although Portland double-teamed Worthy throughout the Western Conference finals, the Bulls left forward Scottie Pippen to check Worthy by himself.

Worthy wasn’t surprised.

“When you have great defensive players like Pippen, you don’t want to mess with your defense too much,” Worthy said. “We’ve seen that philosophy before. So it doesn’t surprise me that Pippen didn’t receive any help. I’d rather have one man on me than two.”

One of the best small forwards in the NBA, Pippen was rated ahead of Worthy in both Chicago newspapers’ analysis of the matchups. “This should be a classic matchup of offensive players,” wrote the Chicago Tribune’s Sam Smith. “But Pippen has a better chance of stopping Worthy than Worthy does of stopping Pippen.”

Worthy stopped Pippen, who missed 12 of 19 shots, including two three-points shots. Pippen, who scored 19 points, missed seven of 10 shots in the second half. It was only the third time in 13 playoff games this season that Pippen, who has averaged 22 points in the playoffs, has been held under 20 points.

Was Worthy motivated because the Chicago papers rated Pippen over him?

“I only go by what the experts say,” Worthy said. “And there’s quite a few coaches and general managers in this business that know the game (and rate Worthy over Pippen). I didn’t see it, but I heard about it. There have been other publications that gave me the edge. I just stick to the people that know the game and not some publication.

“I try not to direct my energy to what publications say.”

Pippen refused comment.

Laker guard Byron Scott doesn’t think Worthy felt slighted.

“I don’t think talk motivates James, I think action does. Scottie’s a great player. He’s one of the best small forwards in this league. But he’s not a James Worthy yet.”

And Worthy proved that Sunday.