Lakers Whine Up With a Loss

None of the three officials were touched, so no discipline is forthcoming. At least not from the league office. The home office in Inglewood may have something stern to say, however.

Forearms and chests stayed in their proper places Thursday night, but Laker minds were very much on the referees. Any other time, this might be a bothersome matter for the coach. Any other time except when two of his top seven players are on suspension for highly publicized run-ins with officials and his team had just blown a 21-point third-quarter lead to the San Antonio Spurs and fell, 103-100, because it lost concentration.

“As a team, we really do too much refereeing,” Coach Del Harris said after the Lakers’ collapse resulted in an eight-point fourth quarter, their lowest output for any period this season by five. “No question about it. Instead of just playing the game.”

Added Sedale Threatt: “We should just leave the refs alone and get back.”

That might eliminate situations such as Will Perdue, of all people, chugging right down the middle of the court in transition, getting a feed from Doc Rivers and finishing with a driving slam dunk. His open-field running was possible because Elden Campbell was arguing a non-call on his missed jumper instead of staying with his man.

“I saw Elden turn his head,” Perdue said, “and I just sprinted.”

This was more than an example of the Lakers’ concentration level. It turned out to be the last basket in a stunning 15-1 run by the Spurs, one that brought them from 92-76 down in the final minute of the fourth quarter to 93-91. The tie came on the next Spurs’ possession, the lead the one after that.

Before the Lakers could stop the dam from breaking, San Antonio--down, 80-59, with 5:57 left in the third period--had a 23-5 rally, and a 99-95 advantage with 3:26 to play. From dead to ahead.

“Our players put a lot of energy into the game and played a magnificent three quarters,” Harris said. “The fourth quarter, I thought San Antonio did a good job defensively, and we broke our concentration trying to referee too much. We were complaining every call, and they [the Spurs] did what you have to do and played very physical.”

And still the Lakers were in the game. They even took the lead back, 100-99, with 1:40 remaining on Eddie Jones’ jumper. Then they could have even padded it some, but Jones missed both free throws with 1:11 left.

The Spurs regained possession of the ball and went right to Sean Elliott on the left side. Neither George Lynch, the Lakers’ defensive specialist, or Cedric Ceballos had been able to stop him from around there, especially when the ball went into the post, and this time would be no different.

Harris chose not to double team, preferring to keep a defender on each of San Antonio’s outside weapons, so Elliott started on the perimeter and drove to the basket on Lynch. When he got into the lane, Elliott pulled up for a little jumper. The Spurs were back on top by a point with 55 seconds left.

The Lakers’ response centered around their center, Campbell, who played the final 3:26 with five fouls because Vlade Divac had left the game because of back spasms. Campbell got the ball on the low post and backed David Robinson into the paint, then corkscrewed. The five-footer with about 10 seconds left was flat, hitting the front of the rim.

The rebound was batted around before Vinny Del Negro controlled for San Antonio. The Spurs called timeout, then another when Chuck Person couldn’t get the ball in bounds. On the second try, from the backcourt, he threw a short lob to Robinson, who was fouled.

With 3.1 seconds left, Robinson made both free throws for a 103-100 cushion. The Lakers took a timeout and tried to save what they had already wasted. But Jones’ three-point shot fell short.

Laker Notes

San Antonio Coach Bob Hill has come out strongly against the seven-game suspension given to Nick Van Exel, saying the Laker point guard should have been kept out of the entire playoffs after shoving a referee. Thursday, Del Harris fired back. “I’m just sorry I missed his opinion on the O.J. outcome,” the Laker coach deadpanned. “I’m just waiting for his opinion on the Menendez trial. I’m sure the rest of the country will be tuned in.” . . . The Lakers’ loss combined with Utah’s win at Vancouver clinched third place in the West for the Jazz. That makes it official: the Lakers will play the Rockets in the first round.