This Noise Was Good News for Lakers

By SCOTT HOWARD-COOPER

May 6, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Back to civilization (?) they went, one last showdown between Southern California and Northern California, for state bragging rights and a spot in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and, apparently, superiority of way of life.

Or so it seemed by the time the Lakers and Sacramento Kings returned to Los Angeles on Friday night for the deciding Game 5. No more rednecks or redwoods or whatever element Phil Jackson had pricked in previous days, no more cow bells, no more fires, and, soon enough, no more upstarts.

The L.A. crowd showed in a big way, for a change, and the Lakers showed up the Kings, again. The 18,997 inside Staples Center showed early, roared during parts of the national anthem in anticipation and in general rocked the house in a sustained fury like never before this season, and few times in recent years at the Great Western Forum.

This is no way to maintain a reputation. It didn’t match the (clang!) bedlam of (clang!) Arco Arena for (clang!) Games 3 and 4, if only because the noise ricochets off the ceiling and walls in the smaller building in Sacramento and evaporates by the time it reaches the lid of the cavern that is Staples, but it was a noticeable improvement from the norm.

The video scoreboard showed Chris Webber stretching about five minutes before the start Friday, and the crowd booed.

It flashed Vlade Divac. Boos.

Derek Fisher came on the screen, and cheers erupted.

The familiar bass tones of Lawrence Tanter declared in the public address system that tip-off was three minutes away, and people even gave a lusty salute to that.

All this had become an issue, of course, because of the standard that had been set earlier in the week in Sacramento, with a din that surpassed Salt Lake City in the spring and Orlando during a Shaquille O’Neal homecoming, but probably wasn’t more than Jackson, the Laker coach, had heard during the Bulls’ hyper-sound championship days in old Chicago Stadium. All the Kings’ men and women in attendance made a difference.

“You don’t go to sleep for three hours afterward because of the ringing in your ears,” Jackson said of Arco. “It upsets your nervous system a little bit.”

Just to make sure the Lakers weren’t the only ones on edge, he would later note that “we’re talking about semi-civilized in Sacramento. Those people are just maybe redneck in some form or fashion.” (It should not be forgotten in calmer times that the master psychologist also fired volleys at Orlando and San Antonio this season alone, then watched the ensuing frenzy as the offended citizenry rose up).

It wasn’t only the volume, either. Before both games, when the building went dark just after the visiting team had been introduced and just before the King starters were announced, a makeshift Laker jersey was brought to midcourt, spotlighted, and torched.

“My reaction was, that’s not what our organization would do,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who saw the routine, said, adding, “we’re more traditionalist as far as events.”

Added forward Robert Horry: “No big deal. It wasn’t like they were burning the flag or anything. We weren’t outraged. Well, we were outraged they were burning our jersey, but that was their waste of money.”

The obligatory attempts at piling on, after the Kings had tied the best-of-five series and forced Friday night down south, came right on cue. The Sacramento Bee ragged on Los Angeles, just like the voices of most every other town do, offering its comparison between the rooting interests of the two cities.

King fans spend hours painting their faces purple and white. Laker fans spend hours turning orange in the tanning booth.

King fans ring their cowbells. Laker fans ring up their agents’ cell phones.

King fans are drunk and hoarse by halftime. Laker fans are still at Spago’s at halftime.

And so on.

The revelry from the north lasted until about halftime of Game 5, when they, and their resilient team, were silenced for good.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Scoring Breakdown

Game 5: Lakers 113, Sacramento 86

Starters vs. Bench

Lakers

Bench: 36

Starters: 77