clarinews@clarinet.com (01/14/90)
AUBURN HILLS, Mich.(UPI) -- Bill Laimbeer won't argue with those who claim the Detroit Pistons play according to the quality of the opposition. ``People say we play to the opposition. Maybe we do, but we had to elevate our game tonight,'' Laimbeer said after he scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter Saturday night, including a three-point play with 3:13 left, to lead the Pistons to a 111-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. The Pistons' performance was much better than Friday night's when Detroit had to struggle to beat the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves 97-86. ``That's one of the best teams we'll play,'' continued Detroit's veteran center, who hit 10 of 13 field-goal attempts, including seven without a miss in the fourth quarter. ``Portland has depth, they're competitive and they seem to have a good attitude.'' Pistons coach Chuck Daly echoed Laimbeer's praise of the Trail Blazers, who had a six-game winning streak halted. ``They may be more physical than we are,'' Daly said. ``They have great players at every position and I think they can seriously challenge for the Western Conference title. They look like they're on a mission.'' Daly was especially impressed with Portland's offense. ``They're right with the (Los Angeles) Lakers in their transition game,'' he said. ``It was tough for us because we didn't have time to prepare for them, playing back-to-back like we did.'' Daly also lauded the effort of Laimbeer, who led both teams with 12 rebounds. ``He was working both the offensive and defensive boards very hard. I'm not surprised because he's such a competitor,'' Daly said. Joe Dumars led Detroit with 27 points, James Edwards scored 21, including nine in the third quarter, and Isiah Thomas added 20. Clyde Drexler paced Portland with 17 points, despite missing most of the first half with foul trouble. The victory was the eighth in nine games for the NBA Central Division-leading Pistons. Two free throws by Thomas with 30 seconds left in the third quarter capped a six-point run that gave the Pistons a 79-77 lead going into the fourth quarter. Detroit opened an 83-77 advantage on baskets by Laimbeer and Thomas, but Portland pulled into an 85-85 tie on Terry Porter's 3-point goal with 9:48 to play. Cliff Robinson's basket with 4:45 left gave the Blazers a 97-95 lead and Drexler's free throw put Portland ahead 98-95, but Detroit scored the next seven points. Thomas tied the game with a free throw with 3:14 to play. He missed his second shot, but Laimbeer put up the rebound to put the Pistons ahead to stay. Laimbeer was fouled and sank the free throw to give Detroit a 102-98 advantage. Blazers coach Rick Adelman wasn't happy that his players allowed Laimbeer to put back the missed free throw. ``I told the guys if they're going to win close games they have to defend and block out,'' Adelman said. ``You just can't give up shots like that down the stretch. ``They played us strong and it got very physical in the second half. (The Pistons) know how to turn it up and do that without taking repercussions for it. By the end of the year we'll get the same respect,'' Adelman added. Portland led 73-66 with 4:39 to play in the third quarter, but Detroit outscored the Blazers 13-4 the rest of the period. Edwards had seven points during the surge. Portland scored the last four points of the second quarter to lead 55-53 at halftime. The Blazers jumped out to a 15-8 lead early in the first quarter but an 8-0 surge by the Pistons gave Detroit a 16-15 lead. The lead changed hands four more times in the quarter before the Pistons came out of the period with a 28-23 advantage. Detroit maintained its lead until Portland's Drazen Petrovic hit a pair of 3-point goals to give the Blazers a 35-34 lead with 7:59 left in the first half. There were five lead changes and four ties in the second period before baskets by Porter and Jerome Kersey in the last 40 seconds gave Portland its two-point lead at the intermission. Porter and Robinson each finished with 16 points for Portland.