Notes on a Scorecard - May 15, 1995

Perhaps the worst thing that happened to the Lakers on Sunday was that Dennis Rodman played as much for San Antonio as Julius Nwosu, Willie Anderson and Jack Haley. . . .

After barely escaping defeat in Game 2 at the Alamodome and getting blown out early in Game 3 at the Forum, the Spurs appeared to be a team in need of a lift. . . .

Coach Bob Hill supplied it when he benched Rodman for disciplinary reasons. . . .

The Spurs became determined to do something in the playoffs that they were able to do 12 times in 14 games during a stretch in March and April--win without Rodman. . . .

Replacements Terry Cummings and J.R. Reid played better defense inside than Rodman, who is so rebound-minded now that he often neglects the rest of his game. Cummings and Reid also combined for 21 points. . . .

The Spurs remained intense in the hallway after the game. . . .

“Step up and be a player,” Reid yelled at Laker guard Nick Van Exel. “Don’t be a sellout, you . . .” . . .

“We were just talking,” Reid said later, downplaying the incident. . . .

The Lakers outshot the Spurs, 25% to 23.5%, during a wonderful third quarter. . . .

Instead of “defense, defense,” the crowd should have chanted “offense, offense.” . . .

The Lakers moved the ball around about as well as the Kings moved the puck at the Forum this season. . . .

On an afternoon when they never led, the Lakers went three-point shot crazy, making only five of 24 attempts. . . .

“Here we are in the playoffs leading a second-round series, 3-1, and we still haven’t played our best basketball,” Cummings said. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s to come.” . . .

“We love Dennis,” Sean Elliott said, “but people have to put their personal agendas aside.” . . .

Laker Coach Del Harris was more demonstrative than his players in the fourth quarter, walking out on the court during a timeout and waving his arms in an attempt to get the crowd back into the game. . . .

The only suspense down the stretch was whether the Lakers would set a club record for fewest points in a game. It took a three-point basket by Anthony Peeler with 51 seconds left to equal the mark of 71. . . .

NBC should have added another half hour or so to its tripleheader schedule Sunday. . . .

Viewers in Los Angeles and San Antonio didn’t get to see the exciting last several minutes of Phoenix’s comeback victory over Houston and missed the start of the Orlando-Chicago game. . . .

*

St. Louis Cardinal Manager Joe Torre has seen enough of Dodger outfielder Raul Mondesi to last him a while. . . .

“He doesn’t seem to do anything wrong,” Torre said. “You make a mistake and he hits a home run. That’s a lot different than making a mistake and having someone hit a single. He has great bat speed.” . . .

During the fifth inning Friday night of what was one of the worst baseball games ever at Dodger Stadium, the Cardinal totals were 3-0-6. “That’s a good lifetime batting average,” Torre said. . . .

Before Hideo Nomo’s Los Angeles debut that night, sushi was served in the press box. . . .

The Dodgers need another left-handed reliever. One--Omar Dahl--isn’t enough. . . .

Tom Lasorda on Dodger miscues: “They are errors of enthusiasm rather than mistakes of complacency.” . . .

Hall of Famer and Cardinal coach Bob Gibson, who will be 60 in November, pitches batting practice and can still throw an 80 m.p.h.-plus fastball. . . .

Look-alikes: Golfer Phil Mickelson and actor Hugh Grant. . . .

The old Coliseum press box has been torn down. . . .

*

Lennox Lewis, who stopped an overweight Lionel Butler in the fifth round Saturday in Sacramento, will probably get a World Boxing Council heavyweight title rematch with Oliver McCall, who first has a July 22 date with Frank Bruno in London. . . .

In settling for a 10-round unanimous decision over substitute Melvin Foster, Michael Moorer again lacked enthusiasm. . . .

The home-ice disadvantage certainly has been a factor during the NHL playoffs. . . .

Tommy Prothro, who died at 74 Sunday, was one of the brightest people ever to coach football in Los Angeles. He was a champion bridge player who carried a briefcase with him on the sidelines and coached UCLA to perhaps its greatest upset victory ever, 14-12, over top-ranked Michigan State in the Rose Bowl after the 1965 season.