Lakers Romp as Plot Twists Revealed

You knew there would be shouts and casualties, sporadic weirdness and sudden blasts of glory.

You knew this series couldn’t end without Rasheed Wallace getting tossed or Shaquille O’Neal drawing a stream of fouls and shooting dozens of free throws or Phil Jackson and Mike Dunleavy plotting against each other and dragging the action on and on.

But all in Game 1?

The marquee best-of-seven NBA Western Conference finals matchup began uproariously with a 109-94 Laker victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at Staples Center, triggered by a huge performance by the Laker reserves and lighting the fuse for future mayhem.

It was a stage-setting series opener, featuring uplifting surges, electric displays of temper and a strange brownout in the fourth quarter, when Dunleavy, Portland’s coach, tried to cut into the double-digit Laker lead and stopped the game cold by ordering 12 intentional fouls of O’Neal over the last, endless 5:27.

O’Neal, who had 41 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, eventually came through by making 10 of his final 15 free throws--after having missed six in a row--and made 13 of 27 overall.

He also set NBA playoff records for most free throws in a half, 27, and a quarter, 25 in the fourth.

But even after O’Neal had shot the Portland bench several menacing stares during the procession, Dunleavy made it clear that he almost certainly would use the tactic again this series.

IN QUOTES

“Obviously, [when] we get down to the end of the game, I don’t think it’s a bad strategy. From our standpoint, had we scored better, we’d have a chance to win the game. I can’t not do what I think, from a strategic standpoint, is the right thing to do because people are going to miss their cocktail reservation or something.”

MIKE DUNLEAVY,

Trail Blazer coach

THE SERIES

Lakers lead, 1-0