BOSTON (AP) -Julius Erving attended Game 4 of the NBA finals along with fellow Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the winner of a contest.
Erving, who won an NBA championship in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers, might have been able to win more titles if not for the powerful Celtics and Lakers teams. But that didn’t prevent him from watching when they met in the NBA finals. Boston beat Los Angeles in 1984 before the Lakers beat the Celtics in 1985 and 1987.
“I probably would have tuned in,” Dr. J recalled. “Not that I’m a big basketball fan, but I am an Eastern Conference guy. I’m always pretty loyal, cheer for the conference. Plus, the games in my era between Larry (Bird) and Magic (Johnson), and Boston and L.A. were very exciting. You wouldn’t want to miss those.”
So he’d root for the Celtics?
“It’s hard to root for Boston,” Erving said. “I root for the conference. Rooting for Boston, that’s asking a little much, especially in public.”
Erving was expecting to see Ray Allen bounce back from his 0-for-13 shooting performance in Game 3.
t, though, it was dinner with Abdul-Jabbar and Gregory Tutunik of Buffalo Grove, Ill., who won a Kia automobile and a trip to the finals through an online contest in which fans could vote for the NBA’s MVP award.
“Dinner with the Captain and the Doc, not a bad deal,” Erving said.
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IF AT FIRST: The Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Boston Celtics on second-chance points in each of the first three games of the NBA finals. That added up to a 43-20 advantage for the Lakers, who won two of those games.
What did Boston need to do to change that?
“A little bit of everything,” backup forward Glen Davis said. “We need to win the battle of the boards. We’ve got to close out everything.”
Los Angeles outscored Boston in second-chance points 16-0 in Game 1, 17-13 in Game 2 and 10-7 in Game 3. The Lakers also outrebounded the Celtics in winning Games 1 and 3. The Celtics held the edge on the boards when they won Game 2.
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THE OFFICIAL WORD: For all the complaints about the officiating, Phil Jackson doesn’t think the topic is any “hotter” than in other NBA finals he’s been involved in.
“It’s always contentious,” the Lakers coach said before Game 4. “There’s been a little more focus, perhaps, this time. Perhaps some of it has been an undercurrent in the past, but it’s always a contention.”
ferees in the series.
The best players all have been whistled for five fouls – Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in Game 1, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett in Game 2 and Pierce, Garnett and Derek Fisher in Game 3. Ron Artest fouled out of Game 2 and Lamar Odom had five fouls in each of the first two games.
“What we like to say to the players is You play beyond the refereeing, you play above the refereeing,” Jackson said. “If it’s going to be (called) tight, then you’ve got to play according to how it’s going to be refereed. If it’s going to be played loose, then you have to adjust to having a tougher type game.”
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ALLEN HITS PRE-GAME SHOT: Ray Allen missed all 13 of his shots in the Celtics’ 91-84 loss to the Lakers in Game 3 on Tuesday night. But he was right on target Thursday night – before the game, anyway.
As the Celtics guard was walking toward the trainer’s room, he tossed a towel about 25 feet across the locker room. It landed right on the chair in front of his locker.
“Nice shot. Is that an omen?” a reporter asked.
A silent Allen just kept walking.
Then he hit his first shot of the game on a layup.
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COWBOYS’ CONFERENCE: Boston guard Tony Allen, who went to Oklahoma State, said he hasn’t been following the upheaval that could lead to the dissolution of the Big 12.
hools.
“I really don’t understand the logic of it. Why are they doing it?” Allen said before Game 4 of the NBA finals. “If it’s good for them, much love.”
As part of the shuffle, Nebraska was likely to join the Big Ten.
“I actually liked playing in the Nebraska gym,” Allen said.
The shakeup is being driven by football, and it could leave basketball powers like Kansas in a weakened shell of a Big 12 or looking for a smaller conference to join.
Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who went to Kansas, declined to comment before the game.
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