Answers Don’t Come Easy for Sabonis

If you thought Portland’s Arvydas Sabonis seemed helpless going up against the Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal in Game 1 on Sunday, you should have seen him try to answer questions about the Laker center after the Trail Blazers’ practice at Staples Center on Tuesday.

Sabonis didn’t exactly support Portland Coach Mike Dunleavy’s argument that O’Neal often gets away with offensive fouls and three-second violations, but he didn’t completely disagree either.

“If the refs call three seconds, it’s different,” Sabonis said. “If they call offensive foul, when he turns around with his elbows, it’s also different.

“[But] it’s the referee’s job. . . . What do I do? If I talk, is something [going] to happen, [is] something [going] to change? Nothing. I’m relaxed. I’m doing my job. I’m playing the best way possible against Shaq. That’s it.”

Over the last eight playoff games against O’Neal (including seven games during last season’s Western Conference finals), Sabonis has tried a variety of tactics. He has done everything from push and shove to flop and fall, without much success.

The Trail Blazers can only hope that being more aggressive on offense will draw O’Neal into foul trouble. But don’t look for Sabonis to be more active with the ball.

“Look, I’m 37 years old and I am too tired, you know, just from defense,” Sabonis said. “It’s difficult for me to look for my offense.

‘[But] if Shaq has three fouls or four fouls, [it would be good] if we have a chance to play Lakers without Shaq.”

Backup big man Dale Davis agreed.

“We have to take it at him,” he said. “We have to put him in pick-and-rolls and attack the basket. Hopefully, that will get him in foul trouble.”

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Because he believes O’Neal is a three-second violation waiting to happen every time the Lakers have the ball, Dunleavy continued to raise questions about the officiating in Game 1.

“I have to go check my rule book because I thought they started counting three seconds when a player went into the lane,” Dunleavy said Tuesday. “I didn’t realize they didn’t start counting until after you entered the lane and stopped to camp out.”

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For the Trail Blazers to have success against the Lakers in Game 2, they must get into the open court the way they did early in the second quarter Sunday.

With point guard Rod Strickland and swingman Stacey Augmon making plays on defense and triggering easy baskets, Portland went on a 15-2 run to erase an 11-point Laker lead.

“We just rebounded and tried to play a little ‘D,’ ” said Strickland, who scored all eight of his points in the second quarter.