21-1 Spurt Put Blazers Off Trail

It came without much warning or provocation midway through the second quarter Tuesday night and, by the time it ended more than four minutes later, the Portland Trail Blazers were in such a dazed and confused state that it was clear they could not recover.

What completely unnerved and buried the Trail Blazers in Game 2 of Western Conference semifinal series was a impressive 21-1 Laker blitz in a span of 4 minutes 23 seconds. Even before halftime, it was obvious that Portland was headed for its second straight loss in the best-of-seven series.

Everything that makes the Lakers a great team was condensed in that dizzying four-minute span.

There were two Byron Scott breakaway layups after Portland turnovers, two Michael Cooper layups off the fast break, two jump shots by Scott and another by Magic Johnson and, of course, a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sky hook. Mix in three free throws by Johnson and two by Scott and you have the ingredients for another Laker blowout victory.

“We’ve had a lot of spurts like that,” Johnson said afterward. “But that was probably the best stretch we’ve played, especially defensively, in a while. We played super team defense, got in the lane and knocked down passes, and Byron got about four or five dunks.”

Most things that happen in the second quarter of any NBA game--even in the playoffs--is usually forgotten when it comes time for analysis. Not this time, though. Both teams talked of how the second-quarter Laker run broke the game open.

“Once the Lakers get you down,” Portland’s Clyde Drexler said, “they keep you down. It’s so hard to come back after they get running like that. They really took it to us.”

Obviously, that was what Laker Coach Pat Riley had in mind when he had Cooper, Johnson, Scott and Larry Spriggs join Abdul-Jabbar in the lineup.

“It’s all keyed to our defense,” Riley said. “We made Portland miss, we put the pressure on them and took advantage of their mistakes. We began to mix it up, alternating our man and trap defenses. So, they didn’t have a chance to get their offense going.”

Said Cooper, the catalyst in the blitz: “That’s always our plan--to get the break and go. Push it up the court. It’s a confidence thing now. We don’t need to look for Magic to start the break. Either Byron or I can start it.

“They had to be (demoralized). When a team is running, the other team tries to get it all back at one time. We were so aggressive we wouldn’t let them back in the game. It was picture-perfect defense.”

Certainly, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence at the Forum. It’s as if the Lakers and their fans know such a dominating surge is going to come. The only question is the timing and circumstances.

This time, it came at a most opportune time for the Lakers. With 9:29 left in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers had pulled to within 41-40. At that point, there was little indication that the Lakers were about to begin that surge.

But with 8:47 left, Portland Coach Jack Ramsay was given a technical foul for arguing a call against Drexler. Johnson made the technical shot and both free throws to make it 44-40. Fifteen seconds later, Portland’s Kenny Carr made a free throw, which turned out to be Portland’s only point for another 4 minutes 33 seconds.

With the Lakers’ so-called “quick lineup” in the game, they shifted the surge into overdrive and went on an 18-0 tear.

Let’s go to the videotape:

After sinking a 16-foot jumper, Johnson stole a pass from Jim Paxson and fed Larry Spriggs, who fed Cooper for a spinning layup. Then, after a missed Portland shot, Scott sank a jumper off the break.

Suddenly, it was 50-41, Lakers, and a frustrated Ramsay called a timeout. Nothing changed after the break, though. Abdul-Jabbar stole the ball from Carr underneath and heaved a length-of-the-court pass to Scott for a layup. On their next possession, the Trail Blazers went to Carr again, and this time he traveled.

Abdul-Jabbar converted the turnover by sinking an eight-foot hook. Twenty seconds later, Scott stole a pass from Kiki Vandeweghe and was fouled. He made both free throws to extend the margin to 56-41. A Drexler turnover then led to a breakaway for Scott, the long pass coming from Cooper this time.

Ramsay, watching the game slip away, called a 20-second timeout, but that didn’t help, either. Carr was called for an offensive foul, and Scott proceeded to hit a 20-foot jumper.

And, to top off the impressive run, the Lakers put together one last crushing fast-break basket before Ramsay could call another timeout to regroup. After a Drexler miss, Johnson dribbled almost the length of the court before passing to Cooper for a soaring layup.

If Ramsay and the Trail Blazers appeared demoralized at that point--they trailed by 21--they certainly had a right to be. Even though the Trail Blazers scored seven straight points after the timeout, they still trailed by 17 points at halftime.