NBA PLAYOFFS / UPDATE : LAKERS : Westphal Didn’t Want a Welcome-Home Party

To show their appreciation after Phoenix won twice at the Forum and pushed the Lakers to a decisive fifth game Sunday at Phoenix, about 5,000 fans welcomed the Suns’ charter flight from Los Angeles early Friday morning.

Coach Paul Westphal, however, wasn’t happy to see them.

“I don’t blame them for coming out, but if they would have told me they were planning a celebration, I would have told them not to do it,” an angry Westphal told the Arizona Republic. “They turned it into a party against my wishes. I don’t want to be the jerk or anything, but we’ve got a job to do and we haven’t finished it.”

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The Lakers have been involved in 19 series that went their limit and are 11-8 in decisive games. That breaks down to 9-5 in the finale of best-of-seven series, 1-1 in best-of-five series and 1-2 in best-of-three series. In the two best-of-five series, they defeated the Pistons at home on March 19, 1961, and lost at St. Louis on March 30, 1964. They have won only one of seven decisive games on the road, recording a victory at Denver on April 15, 1979.

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The Suns did not lose three consecutive home games during the regular season. . . . The Lakers have shot 39.5% in their last two games to drop their series percentage to 44.1. The Suns, after a series-best 50% performance Thursday, eclipsed them and are shooting 47.3%.