PORTLAND IS IN A...FOUL MOOD

By STEVE SPRINGER

April 28, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Twenty-four hours after the blare of the final buzzer had sounded, and the officials’ whistles had been stilled at the Great Western Forum, the sound and fury of the opening-round, best-of-five NBA playoff series between the Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers continued.

But Monday’s sounds were mumbles and grumbles from the lips of the persecuted. At least, that’s the way they were describing themselves .

In Los Angeles, the anger and frustration were being expressed by Laker center Shaquille O’Neal, who practiced with his teammates Monday afternoon before flying to Portland, where the Lakers, having won the first two games of the series, could end it tonight at The Rose Garden.

That didn’t seem to be solace enough for O’Neal, who was pointing one of his sizable fingers at the two or three Trail Blazers who pile on O’Neal’s back every time he gets the ball down low.

“That monkey- . . . defense they play, all that scratching is starting to get me [ticked] off,” he said. “[Center Arvydas] Sabonis had better watch out.”

But asked what Portland’s alternative was to double- and triple-teaming, and clutching and grabbing the Lakers’ dominating man in the middle, O’Neal admitted there was no alternative.

“Once I get the ball in the blue [area], they are either going to block my shot or foul me,” he said. “I can do a lot of things. I can go left, I can go right and I got the fade-away.”

In Portland Monday, the Trail Blazers were still complaining about the disparity in free throws in the first two games. Sunday, the Lakers shot 52, to 21 for Portland. The total for the two games is 95-65, in the Lakers’ favor.

Said Trail Blazer Coach Mike Dunleavy, “I come back and I watch the film and I see five or seven replays where I’ve got the guys on NBC saying, ‘Those aren’t fouls,’ ‘That’s not a foul,’ ‘I don’t think that was a touch,’ ‘That’s pretty cheap.’ I don’t have to say anything. It’s been said on national TV by guys who are more objective than I certainly would be, so I hope it changes it back.”

Portland guard Damon Stoudamire said that Dunleavy believes his players are being victimized for previous sins.

“What Mike told us is that all the things we’ve done throughout the season, in terms of negative publicity and yelling at referees, is all coming back on us,,” Stoudamire said. “But, at the same time, we’ve got to fight through it.”

O’Neal realizes he must fight through the defenses and focus on the basket and he admitted that the bruises on his body from the double- and triple-teams are not as bad as the emotional bruises he would feel if they left him in man-to-man coverage.

“They’ve got to stop me from getting my 40, 50, 60, 80 [points],” he said. “I would take it personal if they left me to go cover somebody else. For a 25-year-old to get double- and triple-teamed, that’s respect.

Uh, Shaq, you’re 26.

“That’s right,” he said with a reluctant nod, “I’m 26. Damn.”

Although they have won seven consecutive games overall, and seven straight on the road going back to the regular season, the Lakers have lost six of their last seven playoff road games over the last two seasons. . . . The Lakers, up 2-0 against Portland, have won 37 of the 39 playoff series in which they’ve won the first two games.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

SO, WHO’S COUNTING?

Comparing Lakers and Portland in fouls committed. Averages are two-game totals.

*--*

FOULS SEASON Lakers 1,859 Portland 1,859

*--*

AVG. AT PORTLAND

Lakers: 25.5

Portland: 23

AVG. AT FORUM

Lakers: 21.5

Portland: 29.5