Ceballos Threw Up Terrific Shots, And More

Cedric Ceballos’ nerves were in their usual jangled knot Saturday, but at least he untangled a misunderstanding about his role as the Lakers’ leading scorer.

After taking Magic Johnson’s words too literally in Game One, he took his brother Christopher’s words to heart in Game Two and scored a playoff career-high 25 points to help the Lakers stun the Seattle SuperSonics, 84-82, in their Western Conference best-of-five series.

Ceballos, whose queasy nervous system forced him to leave the court on two occasions to vomit in the locker room, rebounded from a season-low two points in the Lakers’ opening loss.

The fifth-year pro from Cal StateFullerton, who joined the Lakers last fall after four years with Phoenix, connected on a playoff career-high 6 of 9 from the 3-point line.

Following a discussion with Johnson, the Lakers’ vice president, Ceballos was tentative while missing 9 of 10 in the first game.

“I wanted him to make sure he would look (to pass) if he was double or triple-teamed,” Johnson said. “I think he misunderstood and he was less aggressive. But I know Cedric is a pro, and I knew he’d bounce back. Tonight he didn’t force shots. He let them come to him.”

The biggest shot that came Ceballos’ way proved to be the gamewinner. He caught a cross-lane pass from center Vlade Divac and drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, stopping a 6-0 Seattle run and giving the Lakers an 84-79 lead with 1:11 to go.

As he raced back on defense, he pumped his fist and joyously pointed at Johnson, who was seated behind the Lakers’ bench.

Ceballos’ 3-pointer was the only Lakers’ basket following a 22-minute power outage delay. During the delay, Ceballos was in the locker room vomiting.

His nervous stomach has plagued him throughout his pro career to the point where mid-game trips to the locker room are routine.

Twenty-point games are also routine, which is why Ceballos’ 1-for-10 performance was such a surprise in the first game.

In anticipation of the Sonics’ attempts to double- and triple-team the first-time All-Star, Johnson counseled Ceballos to make sure he involved his teammates.

But Ceballos had difficulty walking the fine line between being a team player and playing his style of offense.

“I felt I wasn’t really looking for my game,” he said. “I wasn’t being aggressive.”

After his teammates hit six of their first seven shots for a 12-4 lead, Ceballos missed badly. But on the Lakers’ next possession, he knocked down a 3-pointer off a pass from Divac.

A few minutes later, he connected again from the 3-point line off a Divac pass. His third attempt from beyond the arc also found the net. Before intermission, he added an 18-foot jumper and a 19-footer, helping L.A. forge a 43-36 halftime lead.

In the second half, Ceballos hit another trio of 3-pointers and a 20-foot jumper off another feed from Divac, who finished with a team-high six assists, seven rebounds and 17 points.

“Cedric Ceballos is a great player, and when he plays his game we are a great team,” Divac said. “We knew he was not going to have the same kind of offensive game that he had in the first game.”

Ceballos expressed his openinggame frustrations to his brother, Christopher, by telephone on Friday.

During the conversation, Cedric realized that he only attempted 10 shots, seven below his average.

“He told me, ‘Don’t worry about it and don’t be gun shy,”’ Cedric said.

As well as Cedric responded, his only turnover of the game gave the Sonics a chance to win.

With the Lakers leading 84-82 and 16 seconds to play, Ceballos’ entry pass was snared by Nate McMillan. During a time out with 10.5 seconds remaining, Ceballos hoped his miscue wouldn’t cost L.A. the win or allow the Sonics to force an overtime.

“I thought about it for a while, but we were still (ahead),” he said. “I didn’t want to put myself in the tank.”

As Ceballos watched from the bench, replaced by Eddie Jones, the Lakers’ swarming defense and the Sonics’ indecision - they made four passes in their brief window of opportunity - resulted in a missed shot by McMillan.

When the buzzer sounded on a 1-1 series tie, Ceballos was jubilant.

“We were trying to steal a game,” he said. “We sucked it up.”