The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers were cruising rather nicely in Game 2 of the National Basketball Association finals Thursday night.
They were functioning well on both ends of the floor, all the while keeping the vocal Palace crowd relatively under control.Then, on a freaky and, certainly for the Lakers, untimely play, guard Magic Johnson, the club's lifeblood, came up lame with a partially torn hamstring in his left leg in the third quarter. The injury reduced Magic to a locker-room spectator and severely hurt the Lakers' hopes.
"It was disheartening to see him go out," Michael Cooper said. "But he told me before he left to keep the leadership going, to keep the fire going."
Cooper and the Lakers did. But in the end, they lost, 108-105, as a missed free throw by James Worthy with two seconds left foiled a praiseworthy effort.
"We were fortunate to win," Piston Coach Chuck Daly said. "We didn't play nearly as well as we did in Game 1. But we got a break when Magic went out."
Added Joe Dumars, who had 33 points, 26 in the first half, "You've got to get the win any way you can. You can call it an escape if you like. But we'll take it."
The Pistons, whose 14-game playoff streak of limiting foes to under 100 points was broken, lead the series, 2-0, with Game 3 Sunday in Los Angeles. Johnson's status for that game was undetermined Thursday night, although team physician Robert Kerlan said, "It is almost in the same location as Byron Scott's, but it does not appear to be as severe."
Without Johnson (19 points, nine assists in 29 minutes) and Scott (out for the second straight game), it was too much for Los Angeles to overcome. The critical play occurred in the third quarter. Mark Aguirre keyed a 9-3 Pistons run with six points to tie the score, 75-75, with 4:43 left in the period.
As Aguirre drove in for a layup, Magic came up lame, holding his left hamstring. No one touched Johnson, but as he neared the midcourt line he grabbed his leg. He reluctantly went to the locker room for treatment, never to return.
"I felt a twinge early in the third quarter, but I thought everything was OK," Magic said. "Then, on that last play, I pulled it."
He added, "I'm so upset. I keep asking, `Why? Not now. Why me? Why now, after all the hard work?' "
It was reasonable to assume that the Lakers would fold without their key player. But they showed grit by not folding. With the score tied, 79-79, Worthy made a pair of free throws, Cooper hit his fourth three-pointer and reserve Tony Campbell made a trey with 1:38 left in the third for an 87-79 lead.
Stunned, the Palace crowd of 21,454 grew silent, as the Pistons, who had finally seemed ready to overtake the Lakers, fell further back. Without Magic, the Lakers outscored Detroit, 17-9, the rest of the third quarter for a 92-84 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
But Isiah Thomas (21 points, 19 in the second half) and Vinnie Johnson (18) helped Detroit stage an 18-3 run at the start of the fourth period, which gave them a 102-95 lead with 4:32 left.
The Pistons led 106-100 after a Thomas basket with 1:23 left, but the Lakers again showed their courage. They prevented Detroit from scoring, cutting the lead to 106-104 with 32 seconds left.
The Lakers' defense forced a 24-second violation with eight seconds left, and Worthy was fouled by Dennis Rodman at 0:02. He missed the first. "It just wasn't my night to make it," Worthy said.
He made the second, and the Lakers fouled Thomas with a second left. He made them both to preserve the victory. The Lakers had only 13 points in the fourth quarter, and only two field goals.
"I think it was more a matter of them picking it up without Magic than us letting down," Dumars said. "They have some great players on that team. We knew they'd come out tougher."