Hardaway Is Slowed, but Hardly Stopped

Ron Harper looked tired at the start, felt tired at the end.

“Just a long day today,” he said.

It could have been worse. The Lakers could have lost, Penny Hardaway could have had a monster game and the blame would have come down on Harper with the force of a Shaquille O’Neal dunk.

Instead, the Lakers won easily. And only the questions came.

Will he slow Hardaway?

Can he slow Hardaway?

Sunday afternoon, when the Western Conference semifinals opened at Staples Center, Hardaway had 16 points before halftime and Phoenix trailed by only five, a workable deficit. Hardaway had only nine points in the second half and the Suns were outscored, 59-36, in what became a 105-77 victory for the Lakers.

Hardaway finished with 25 points, and no other Sun had more than 13. He made nine of 18 shots and teammates shot only 32.2%. He even had two blocked shots, or two more than Phoenix’s starting frontcourt--Luc Longley, Cliff Robinson and Shawn Marion--combined.

About the only consolation was that Hardaway knew it might be like this. Well, maybe not like a 28-point-loss, especially after the Suns had been resting while the Lakers had been dealing with Sacramento. But moments like this in general.

Jason Kidd had returned only Tuesday, the Game 4 series clincher against San Antonio, after being out since March 22 because of a broken ankle. Kevin Johnson has played only 11 games, including Sunday’s, since being lured out of retirement as an emergency replacement for Kidd. The Lakers are one of the few teams who can match up with the Suns’ big guards. They unleashed Kobe Bryant, the first-team all-defense selection, on Kidd, who proceeded to make one of six shots with seven assists and five turnovers in 39 minutes.

So there was extra pressure on Hardaway.

He knew it. “Jason is really trying,” he said. “He might be pushing a little.”

The Lakers knew it. “I believe that he knows for them to have any chance that he needs to have a big game,” Harper said.

The rest of the Suns knew it. “I think he’s just looking at this as a great challenge,” Johnson said.

Hardaway had a stretch from late in the first quarter until halftime when he made five of seven shots. Two of those were three-pointers. Harper was in the midst of a stretch of six consecutive misses, at the same time he was struggling to contain Hardaway’s rested legs, some 40 hours after the Lakers needed a Game 5 to advance against Sacramento.

Harper’s plan was to use his size--6 feet 6, 215 pounds--against Hardaway, 6-7, 215. Again, it was his plan.

Reality was another matter.

“Early in the game?” Harper said. “Uh-uh. No.”

It got better for Harper, and, consequently, all the other Lakers. Hardaway was held in check the second half, making only three of six shots, and the Lakers charged away.

Far away, eventually.

“It’s going to be big for us,” Bryant said of the impact of Hardaway being slowed, in Game 1 and beyond. “But if Penny wants to be aggressive and go ahead and get 25 while the other guys are not getting much, that’s fine with me. We just need to make him work for his points.”

Especially if he’s working alone, making for even shorter Laker days. And a shorter series.