Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990 TAG: 9005160264
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: INGLEWOOD, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium
Kevin Johnson scored 37 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, as the Suns won the Western Conference semifinal 4-1 despite a career playoff-high 43 points from Magic Johnson, his second consecutive game with that many points.
It was the first time in seven tries that Phoenix has beaten the Lakers in the playoffs.
Kevin Johnson and Jeff Hornacek, who finished with 22 points, had four each in the final two minutes of the game. A drive by Johnson cut the Lakers' lead to 97-96 with a little more than two minutes left, then Hornacek made a pair of free throws to put Phoenix ahead for good with 1:30 left.
A dunk by Mark West, then two free throws each by Kevin Johnson and Hornacek made it 104-100.
Byron Scott's 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left got the Lakers to one point, but Kevin Johnson made two more free throws with 2.4 to go to make it 106-103.
The Lakers' final hope for a tying 3-pointer went awry when Michael Cooper threw an inbound pass crosscourt out of bounds.
Phoenix rallied from a 35-20 first-quarter deficit, finally catching the Lakers at 74-74 late in the third quarter. The Suns went ahead 88-86 on a 3-pointer by Dan Majerle early in the fourth quarter.
Eddie Johnson had 11 points in the third quarter as the Suns trailed 80-77 heading into the fourth.
The Suns, refusing to be put away, fought back from a 35-20 first-quarter deficit to cut the difference to 61-53 at halftime. As the first quarter belonged to Magic Johnson - 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and three assists - Kevin Johnson took over in the second for Phoenix with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Byron Scott had 17 points for the Lakers, but James Worthy had just 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB