1984 NBA Finals Game 5
Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Summary
Larry v. Magic: Game-by-Game Media Coverage
KAREEM CAN'T STAND THE HEAT
Lakers' center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stepped into Auerbach's Inferno last night.
When Abdul-Jabbar left, he was suffering from third-degree burns after playing in the stifling 97-degree heat of the decaying, non-air conditioned Boston Garden.
Abdul-Jabbar scored 19 points during the Lakers' 121-103 NBA Championship Series' loss to the Celtics. But, he shot just 7-for-25, played only 35 minutes and looked like a 37-year year old man who was drowning in a sea of perspiration.
''The heat was a factor for me,'' Abdul-Jabbar said after the Celtics took a 3-3 lead in the series. ''I don't know about anybody else. I wasn't getting tired, but I couldn't breathe real well. It was so hot.
''It's like going to a local steambath with all your clothes on and doing 100 push-ups and then running up and down. I'd have to say it affected me a lot. There's nothing physically wrong with with me and I couldn't play energetically.''
The 7-2 Abdul-Jabbar, a perennial All-Star who had such a rejuvenated regular season, has finally started to show his age for the first time in this physical best-of-seven series. He got off to a terrible start, shooting an ugly 4-for-16 in the first half, then faded badly after the Celtics turned up the heat at the end of the third quarter.
''I couldn't shoot the ball,'' Abdul-Jabbar admitted. ''I had no spunk - my shot wasn't there. The ball was wet. It was wet a lot. That probably was a factor.''
Gifted guard Magic Johnson might be the catalyst to the Lakers' success. But, Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, is the key to whatever hopes the Lakers have of salvaging what looked, at one time, to be a lock four-game sweep.
When Abdul-Jabbar's shot went into cold storage, there was some speculation on the part of West Coast writers that the Celtics might be making a conscious effort to take away the lane defensively, forcing Kareem out to a less effective position on the wing.
''They're not taking away anything,'' Lakers coach Pat Riley insisted. ''What'd the man shoot tonight? Seven-for-25. The man's a 60-percent shooter. I hope we get the same shots for him Sunday.''
Riley is hopeful the Lakers can shoot the ball with a little more authority from the perimeter in Game 6 tomorrow at the Forum. Before last night, Los Angeles was shooting 54 percent in the series. They shot just 42 percent in Game 5, never really getting the motor humming on their fastbreak.
''The Celtics made a point of getting back on defense,'' Abdul-Jabbar said. ''The game was kind of like in slow motion. They weren't breaking fast. But, it seemed like everybody was running in the mud.''
The Lakers cannot afford to stay mired in that quicksand much longer. They let the Celtics, and Larry Bird in particular, manhandle them during an embarrassing loss that, in its own way, had as much of a devastating impact as the Lakers' 33-point victory in Game 3 last Sunday.
Bird scored a game-high 34 points, shooting 15-for-20 and presenting special problems defensively for Michael Cooper.
''The man who made the difference is Larry Bird,'' Riley said. ''He's one of those young-old veterans who really knows how to play the game. Every movement he makes out there has a purpose, and he does whatever he has to do to win. He's just a terrific basketball player.''
Bird is so terrific that Riley is toying with the idea of making a matchup adjustment for Game 5. Cooper, who has more quickness than any of the Lakers' wing players, had been fairly successful denying Bird the ball in favored positions during the first three games of the series.
But, last night, Cooper did not receive necessary help and Bird cranked up a great one. Riley can hope the more pleasant, air-conditioned conditions at the Forum can help revitalize his team. Or, he can can consider moving 6-9 James Worthy over to guard Bird and letting Cooper play Celtics' guard Dennis Johnson.
While Riley is watching the videotapes, he will have to find a way to unleash Magic Johnson again. The 6-9 Magic man had tortured the Celtics with his creativity in the first four games, but he shot just 3-for-9 and scored only 10 points.
Much of the credit for handcuffing Johnson must go to Dennis Johnson and Quinn Buckner, who constantly placed pressure on him. Much of the blame for an unexpected vanishing act must go to Magic himself for only getting off nine shots.
''I just didn't feel it,'' Johnson claimed. ''I just wasn't in sync. You know, we were due for a probably not-so-good game, and it happened tonight.''
In all fairness, Johnson might have been wiped out from constantly having to handle the ball against the Celtics' wave of extended pressure. Rest assured, that factor will be dealt with as the Lakers prepare for a must-win situation.
''I'm sort of glad that it ended up this way,'' Riley said. ''If we're going to lose, I'm glad that it stung and humbled us because I think we'll rebound much better.''
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