WEDMAN SIDELINED FOR REST OF SERIES

June 9, 1984

WEDMAN SIDELINED FOR REST OF SERIES

Celtics forward/guard Scott Wedman has a hairline fracture in his lower left leg and is expected to be lost for the remainder of the championship series.

Wedman was accidentally kneed in the leg early in the second quarter of Wednesday's overtime thriller in Los Angeles. Wedman told assistant coach Chris Ford he thought he was bumped by Michael Cooper. He asked out of the game and was unable to run when K.C. Jones tried him again late in the half. Wedman couldn't put any weight on the leg Thursday and needed a wheelchair to board the flight home from the coast.

Wedman's leg was X-rayed at University Hospital early yesterday. "The X- rays revealed an undisplaced hairline fracture in the proximal end of the fibula," said Dr. Thomas Silva, the team physician. "He's out of the question for tonight and Sunday. We can't make any prediction beyond that."

In the first four games of the finals, Wedman played 73 minutes, shot 46 percent (17 for 37) and grabbed 21 rebounds. He hit the winning basket in Boston's Game 2 overtime victory.

"Scotty has been shooting the ball well, said Ford. "Now we have to rely on Danny (Ainge) and hope Gerald (Henderson) and D.J. are hitting. But our guys will do the job. In the playoffs, you have to overcome injuries to personnel."

Since DJ started guarding Magic Johnson in the second half of Game 4, Magic is 6 of 14 from the floor with nine turnovers and 18 points in six quarters . . . Larry Bird, who complained of dizziness due to the heat, said, "There's always a lot of emotion on our bench, but tonight the guys were helping out by fanning us and cooling us down during timeouts. They knew that was our bread and butter." . . . The Celtics scored 20 points on second shots. LA had 11 on followups. Boston got 22 points off the break to LA's 15. The Lakers did not score a fast-break point in the final quarter . . . Kevin McHale who had hit only 11 of 34 shots in the first three games, responded with five of eight last night . . . LA missed 12 of 35 free throws . . . Robert Parish would not speak to the media after the game. He took off with ex-Warrior Clifford Ray . . . Celebrities in the crowd included Isiah Thomas of the Pistons, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and Patriots coach Ron Meyer . . . A group of fans behind one basket brought a clothesline, a reminder of Kevin McHale's flying tackle of Kurt Rambis in Game 4 . . . Banner of the night was directed at Laker fan Jack Nicholson, who did not attend: "Jack - Choke On Your Own Coke" . . . The Celtics fly to LA this morning, and will return from Game 6 on a red-eye that arrives Monday morning at 7 . . . Nine of the last 11 NBA championships have been won by road teams.