Pacers Not About to Crash Party

All those worries about a hangover, and then it turned out the party never actually ended. Talk instead should have been of a carry-over.

There was hardly even a need to put the lampshades back, when it came right down to it. No use for aspirin and sunglasses. Rather than move around for a few days, the revelers might as well have just crashed on the spot. It would have conserved their legs and, as was proven, been just plain practical.

Late Sunday afternoon became Wednesday night and the Lakers played in transition better than even their coach might have expected, Phil Jackson having expressed concern in the final moments before the start of the NBA championship series that the just-concluded seven-game Western Conference finals could have cost some of his players their emotional edge. He was curious to see for sure.

Then the answer came.

That was Zen, this is now.

The Lakers put aside all concerns about their mental and physical state in the wake of the grueling test from the Trail Blazers, and ultimately the emotional win at Staples Center on Sunday, with exactly the sense of urgency that has been missing on several occasions in the playoffs. They were ready for work, on time first thing in the morning, eyes clear.

“We were prepared regardless,” forward Rick Fox said.

There is statistical corroboration. The Lakers won the first quarter of the first game of the NBA finals, 33-18, building a 17-point lead that became the jump start for the eventual 104-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers. And that might not be the most telling number.

A day after getting countless questions about how much they have left after the Portland series, the Lakers immediately swatted those doubts aside by winning an opening quarter for the first time since Game 2 of the conference showdown, before a series of big early deficits. They did something Wednesday, when the energy level was in question, they had not been able to do in times with a greater comfort level.

There was no letdown from the high of beating the Trail Blazers and there was no downfall from having to expend all that energy. Just a game of 51.1% shooting and 12 turnovers. As if they were rested and mentally crisp.

“A letdown?” A.C. Green said. “No. Not at all.”

The ironic thing is that their finals inexperience may have been a help. At least that’s their story. Several Lakers have been at that stage before-- Shaquille O’Neal, Ron Harper, Robert Horry, Brian Shaw, John Salley and Green--but this unit never has. So, the thinking went, everyone would be too excited to be drained, this being the first such grand moment together.

It probably didn’t hurt it was the organization’s first trip this far since 1991, or that it was the first in the building. It just seemed new, not repetitive. Maybe that helped push the needles back to full.

“I can understand if we’d been in this situation before,” said Horry, who won titles with the Houston Rockets but before this season had never gotten closer to the championship series than the 1998 conference finals that ended in a sweep. “But no one has here. We weren’t going to miss the opportunity.

“A lot of teams, when they’ve been there before, get big heads because ‘We’re good.’ We’re not good.”

Meaning they have not accomplished the goal yet.

Wednesday brought at least a minor achievement, in addition to the significant outcome. Before they rode the 43-point, 19-rebound coattails of O’Neal and did their part defensively to limit Pacer star Reggie Miller to one-of-16 shooting, the last seven teams who won a Game 7 proceeded to lose Game 1 of the following round. And only one of those seven teams recovered all the way to victory in the series, Jackson’s Chicago Bulls having beaten Indiana in the 1990 Eastern finals and lost to Utah before beating the Jazz for the title.

“When you look at what history has dictated, you go through a grueling seven-game series the way we just went through it with Portland,” Fox said. “I appreciate you guys bringing that up so we could be more attentive.”

Said Horry: “When you turn on the TV, everybody’s talking about something. They’ve got to pick something out.”

Not really.

“Phil obviously mentioned to us the stat and the history,” Fox said. “The finals bring a sense of urgency in itself.”

Like Jackson was going to let that one pass without turning it into fuel. He’s got to pick something out.

“The way we look at it,” Kobe Bryant said, “we’re three games away from accomplishing our goal. By no means are we going to let down. By no means are we going to let up.”

They haven’t so far, at least.