Shaq Hammers Trail Blazers
NBA playoffs
Shaquille O’Neal, the $120 million man imported to help Los Angeles win its first NBA championship of the 1990s, looked to be worth the money Friday night.
O’Neal had a playoff career-high 46 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 95-77 in their series opener.
He was also better than usual at the free-throw line, hitting 12 of 18 to atone for two missed foul shots against Portland on Sunday that helped cost the Lakers the Pacific title.
O’Neal thoroughly dominated 7-foot-3 Arvydas Sabonis, one of the few centers who can match up with the 7-1 O’Neal. Sabonis had 18 points and nine rebounds, but couldn’t control O’Neal under the basket.
With less than a minute remaining, O’Neal scored his final two points on a rim-rattling, alley-oop dunk that sent Sabonis sprawling backward into courtside photographers.
Portland (77) - Wallace 7-15 4-9 18, C.Robinson 3-12 0-2 6, Sabonis 6-14 5-6 18, Rider 2-4 2-2 7, Anderson 5-12 3-3 14, Dudley 1-2 0-4 2, Augmon 0-0 0-0 0, Trent 5-10 0-0 10, R.Robinson 1-2 0-0 2, Butler 0-1 0-0 0, J.O’Neal 0-1 0-0 0, Wingfield 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-73 14-26 77.
L.A. Lakers (95) - Campbell 9-18 1-2 20, Horry 0-1 0-0 0, S.O’Neal 17-27 12-18 46, Jones 2-3 1-4 5, Van Exel 4-12 0-0 10, Rooks 0-2 1-2 1, Fisher 0-4 0-0 0, Kersey 2-4 1-2 5, Knight 0-0 2-2 2, Scott 2-3 0-0 4, Blount 0-0 0-0 0, Bryant 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 37-75 18-30 95.
Portland 24 16 22 15 - 77
L.A. Lakers 22 21 25 27 - 95
3-Point goals-Portland 3-18, (Rider 1-2, Sabonis 1-4, Anderson 1-6, Wallace 0-1, R.Robinson 0-1, C.Robinson 0-4), Los Angeles 3-9, (Van Exel 2-5, Campbell 1-1, Horry 0-1, Fisher 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Portland 54 (Dudley 11), Los Angeles 51 (S.O’Neal 11). Assists-Portland 18 (Rider 5), Los Angeles 28 (Van Exel 8). Total fouls-Portland 26, Los Angeles 24. Flagrant foul- S.O’Neal. A-17,505 (17,505).
Bulls 98, Bullets 86
Chicago
Michael Jordan scored 29 points and had eight rebounds and eight assists as Chicago began defense of its title.
The defending champions won despite shooting 38 percent and getting little production from Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc, who returned after missing several weeks with injuries.
“It’s not displeasing at all,” Jordan said. “This is the toughest game to play of all 15, to get the first one out of your system, to get a (feeling) of what the playoffs are going to be like.”
Game 2 of the best-of-five series will be Sunday at Chicago, which has won 22 of 24 first-round playoff games in the 1990s.
Chris Webber, named NBA player of the week as the Bullets finished the season with a four-game winning streak to make the playoffs, had only eight points in 24 minutes before fouling out. He averaged 20.1 points this season.
Washington, appearing in the playoffs for the first time in nine years, is looking for its first series victory since 1982.
Rodman, who missed the final 13 games with a knee injury, played with a brace and had nine rebounds and one point before being ejected for his second technical foul with 6:23 to play.
Washington (86) - Webber 3-7 0-0 8, Howard 7-15 7-9 21, Muresan 4-5 4-4 12, Strickland 8-16 3-6 19, Cheaney 5-14 1-2 11, Grant 0-1 0-0 0, Murray 3-5 4-4 13, Legler 0-2 1-2 1, Whitney 0-2 1-1 1, L.Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 30-67 21-30 86.
Chicago (98) - Pippen 5-16 5-5 16, Caffey 2-6 3-4 7, Longley 4-10 1-2 9, Harper 3-9 1-2 8, Jordan 12-25 5-5 29, Rodman 0-3 1-2 1, Kukoc 1-10 5-6 7, Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Kerr 4-5 2-2 13, B.Williams 4-7 0-1 8, Buechler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-92 23-29 98.
Washington 20 23 13 30 - 86
Chicago 24 23 17 34 - 98
3-Point goals-Washington 5-10 (Murray 3-4, Webber 2-4, Legler 0-1, Whitney 0-1), Chicago 5-18 (Kerr 3-3, Pippen 1-5, Harper 1-5, Jordan 0-1, Kukoc 0-4). Fouled out-Webber. Rebounds-Washington 51 (Strickland 10), Chicago 58 (Pippen 10). Assists-Washington 17 (Strickland 8), Chicago 26 (Jordan 8). Total fouls-Washington 25, Chicago 28. Technicals-L.Williams, Chicago coach Jackson, Rodman 2. Ejections-Rodman. A-24,122 (23,854).
Hawks 89, Pistons 75
Atlanta
Dikembe Mutombo was the NBA’s defensive player of the year. In the first game of the playoffs, he showed he can score, too.
Mutombo had 26 points, a career playoff high, and Atlanta took Game 1 of its Eastern Conference series against Detroit.
Detroit, which has not won a playoff game in five years, led 43-39 at halftime but hit only 12 of 38 shots (32 percent) in the second half.
Mutombo kept the Hawks in the game with his offensive output, then Atlanta’s guards took control in the final period. Steve Smith had eight points and Mookie Blaylock five in the fourth quarter when the Hawks pulled away from a three-point lead entering the period.
Atlanta broke open a tight game after Terry Mills drove for a basket that pulled with Pistons to 66-64 with 8:09 remaining. Blaylock hit a 3-pointer, Mutombo connected on a hook and Smith finished off the spurt with a 3-pointer and a layup off a loose ball. The 10-2 run gave the Hawks a 76-66 lead and Detroit never got within eight the rest of the way.
Grant Hill, who suffered a case of food poisoning earlier in the week, burned the Hawks in the first half with his superior quickness, scoring 14 points.
Detroit (75) - Hill 8-19 4-5 20, Thorpe 4-13 1-2 9, Mahorn 0-0 0-0 0, Dumars 7-16 2-3 17, Hunter 3-9 1-2 9, Mills 4-10 2-4 11, Long 2-4 0-0 4, McKie 2-3 0-0 4, Ratliff 0-0 1-2 1, Curry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-74 11-18 75.
Atlanta (89) - Corbin 3-9 4-4 11, Laettner 5-13 8-8 18, Mutombo 10-14 6-6 26, Smith 6-13 4-4 17, Blaylock 5-14 1-2 13, Henderson 2-3 0-0 4, Hancock 0-1 0-0 0, Recasner 0-0 0-0 0, James 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-68 23-24 89.
Detroit 18 25 15 17 - 75
Atlanta 20 19 22 28 - 89
3-Point goals-Detroit 4-17 (Hunter 2-6, Mills 1-3, Dumars 1-6, Long 0-1, McKie 0-1), Atlanta 4-15 (Blaylock 2-5, Corbin 1-4, Smith 1-4, Laettner 0-1, James 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Detroit 44 (Hill 14), Atlanta 45 (Mutombo 15). Assists-Detroit 15 (Hill 7), Atlanta 12 (Laettner 4). Total fouls- Detroit 21, Atlanta 18. Technicals-Detroit illegal defense 2, Corbin. Flagrant fouls-Mills. A-15,795 (16,378).