Pat Riley: Fate Assures Laker Win in Game 7

1984 NBA Finals

Pat Riley thinks his Lakers have already won tonight's title match against the Celtics.

"It's destiny," the Lakers coach said yesterday. "I believe in the Fates, and I think it's our time . . . I think the script is written for us to win."

Riley has a couple of wounded warriors. Bob McAdoo sat out Sunday's second half with an Achilles tendon injury, and Magic Johnson has been bothered by tendinitis in his left knee.

Riley said the injuries won't matter. "There's only 48 minutes left in the season," noted the Laker coach. "Tendinitis and Achilles tendons . . . they mean nothing now."

McAdoo said he would try to play, and Magic, obviously, will play as many minutes as necessary.

Meanwhile, the Celtics are expected to still be without Scott Wedman. He suffered a hairline fracture of his left fibula in Game 4 and was still walking with a cane when the Celtics came back to Boston yesterday.

NBA commissioner David Stern chose not issue any statement in response to Larry Bird's charge Sunday that Stern wanted a seventh game because the league needed the money. After Sunday's Celtic loss, Bird said he had been told that Stern said the league wanted a seven-game series. "When Stern makes a statement like that, things are going to happen," said Bird.

Stern was in Dallas yesterday, listening to representatives of the Clippers explain why they have moved from San Diego to Los Angeles. Stern's office said the commissioner was "unreachable," and no one there knew his exact whereabouts. However, NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre spoke with Stern. "David said Bird's comment is ridiculous. Like every fan in America, he has been looking forward to a seventh game. It's a dream matchup, and everybody has wanted to see a seven-game series since Day 1."

You can expect Bird to take more than 11 shots tonight. Bird felt he didn't get the ball enough Sunday, and K.C. Jones said, "I agree with that. We should have gotten him the ball more, and we talked about it after the game." Gerald Henderson on the same topic: "Hopefully, we'll get the ball to Larry a little more. Maybe when they were coming back Sunday he should have gotten the ball. That's something to consider." Bird is averaging 28.5 points, 14.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 turnovers and 44 1/2 minutes in the series. He's shooting 52 percent (56-108) from the floor and 82 percent (56-68) from the line. Magic Johnson is averaging 18.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists, four turnovers and 42 minutes per game. He's shooting 60 percent (42-70) from the floor and 74 percent (26-35) from the line.

Nine of the last 11 NBA crowns were won on the road. No Celtic team has ever lost a series after building a 3-2 lead . . . The Celtics are 13-3 in seven-game series (Knicks in 1973, Sixers in '77 and '82), but are 6-0 in final-round seventh games, including 3-0 vs. LA. The Lakers have never won a seventh game in an NBA final. They lost three to the Celtics and one to the Knicks (1970) . . . The Lakers are 5-4 on the road in the playoffs this year . . . LA arrived in Boston late yesterday afternoon . . . The Celtic brass met yesterday morning and discussed extra security for tonight's game. Assistant general manager Jan Volk said, "There will be additional (security) people . . . We're really not concerned about the behavior of our fans." . . . Has anyone noticed that we have not seen a single Coop-a-Loop in this series? . . . Boston's bench has scored 198 points to LA's 184 . . . Tickets marked "Game M" will be honored for tonight's finale.