The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 440

THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY, MAY 26, 1991 msl Oiarlo 7-2, splits series tte tops St. Blue Jays (17-22) and scored on Anastacio Garcia's sacrifice fly. Charlotte 7, St. Lucie 2 CHARLOTTE ST. LUCIE ab bi ab i It bl Hulse cf 5 13 0 Howell cf 3 110 Newkirk 2D 4 3 3 1 Diaz 2b 2 0 0 1 Oliva 3b 5 0 0 1 Howard If 4 0 10 Greer rf 3 0 2 2 Thomas dh 4 0 0 0 Powell dh 2" 0 2 1 Fordyce 3 0 10 Tannahill dh 2 0 0 0 Pride rf 4 12 1 Colon ss 4 0 10 Butterfield 3b 4 0 2 0 Niethammerc 4 1 I OHoffnerlb 3 0 0 0 Morrow If 4 110 Henderson ss 3 0 10 Clinton lb 3 12 2 Total! 36 715 7 Totals 30 2 8 2 Charlotte 101 020 003 7 St.

Lucie 110 OOP OOP 2 second when Curtis Pride hit a one-out solo home run, his third of the year. "I'd like to see one of these home runs with runners on base once in a while," Tamargo said. Charlotte tied the game at 2 in the third. Newkirk singled, went to second on Greer's groundout, and scored on Powell's base hit. The Rangers scored twice in the fifth.

Hulse opened with a single, went to third on Newkirk's double, and scored on Jose Oliva's ground-out. Greer's hit brought Newkirk home. Mets starting pitcher Gregg Langbehn (2-6) went 6 Vis innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits. He struck out two and walked one. "Gregg made a couple of bad pitches early," Tamargo said.

"It would have been a whole different By MIKE MELTON Special to The Palm Beach Post PORT ST. LUCIE Charlotte had 15 hits off three St. Lucie pitchers as the Rangers beat the Mets 7-2 Saturday night at Thomas J. White Stadium to split a four-game series. St.

Lucie travels to Baseball City today to start a four-game series. "They (Charlotte) swung the bats well tonight," St. Lucie manager John Tamargo said. "We were missing some fastballs in the strike zone. He (Rangers starting pitcher Rowley) was up all night, and we couldn't capitalize." Craig Newkirk led the Rangers with three hits, including two doubles, with one RBI and three runs scored.

David Hulse was 3-for-5, Rusty Greer was 2-for-4 with two RBI, Kenneth Powell was 2-for-2 fielder Brian Davis was released. Pitcher Denny Harriger, on the disabled list since opening day because of a throwing arm injury, may be activated soon. Pitcher Deron Sample (shoulder injury) is about two weeks away. Still on the active list but day-to-day is James Harris, who was struck on the head by a pitched ball in Lakeland Monday night. West Palm Beach 5, Dunedin 1 WEST PALM BEACH Righthander Stacey Collins (2-2) pitched a two-hitter for the Expos (25-17), who moved into first place in the FSL's East Division, one-half game ahead of the Vero Beach Dodgers.

He lost his shutout in the ninth when Nigel Wilson tripled for the ballgame if we could have gotten him a couple more runs." Chris Dorn relieved Langbehn and went 1 innings before Joe McCann came in to close out the game for the Mets. St. Lucie threatened in the bottom of the eighth. Derek Henderson singled, Howell reached base on an error, and Diaz's sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, but Tim Howard hit a fly ball to left and leftfielder Timmie Morrow threw Henderson out at the plate to end the inning. The Rangers added three runs on four hits in the ninth.

Notes The Mets are 16-9 when they scores first 2-14 when they don't. The Mets have scored nine runs in Langbehn's six defeats Out Florida State League with one RBI and James Clinton went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Rowley (7-1) held St. Lucie to two runs on five hits in seven innings. He struck out five arid walked two.

Johnny Maldonado relieved Rowley to earn his first save. Charlotte (16-24) took a 1-0 lead in the first when Newkirk doubled and scored on Greer's single. St. Lucie (18-23) tied the score in their half of the first when Patrick Howell led off with a triple and scored on Alberto Diaz's ground-out. The Mets made it 2-1 in the Dorn.

Niethammer. DP Charlotte 2. St. Lucie 2. LOB Charlotte 5, St.

Lucie 5. 2B Newkirk 2, Niethammer. Pride. 3B Howell. HR Pride (3).

SB Clinton (3). 5 Howell, Diaz. SI- Newkirk. er ea sp Charlotte Rowley W.2-1 7 5 Maldonado Sv. 1 2 3 St.

Lucie Langbehn 6 6's 10 Dorn 1 4 McCann 1 1 Dorn faced three batters in ninth. 2:46. A 863. Pro Basketball Chicago withstands Detroit's late rallies Lakers predicting physical Game 4 'We want to sweep them bad, but they have a lot of SCOTTIE PIPPEN gave the Pistons their only lead of the game, 38-36, with 4:15 left in the second period. Then Chicago finished the half with a 15-5 spurt, with Jordan scoring his only points of the second quarter on a bank shot with 3.6 seconds left, giving the Bulls a 51-43 halftime lead.

1 'J t-' 'S? irA 'trm VJ ft ft Hi f' I' It i Scott Drexler BULLSfrom 1C any contact. I made a conscious effort not to foul him because I had I four fouls." Isiah Thomas scored 29 points, 1 Johnson 25 and Mark Aguirre 17 for Detroit. Horace Grant had 17 points for the Bulls, who allowed more than 100 points for the first time while winning 10-of-ll playoff games. The Pistons, who defeated the Bulls in the conference finals in 1989 and 1990 and eliminated them from the playoffs the last three years, are trying to become the third franchise to win three consec- utive NBA titles. Minneapolis did it from 1952-52 and the Boston Celt-' ics won eight straight champion- ships from 1959-66.

"We remembered the tension and pressure the Pistons put forth jn this building," Jackson said. "We 1 withstood that today in the second half." "It got real quiet down the stretch," Jordan said. "That's what we had to do, get the crowd out of 5 the came." FO FT Reb CHICAGO Mln A tYTA 0T A PF Pts 38 10 16 44 8-13 6-10 2 5 1119 6-6 1-3 1- 2 2 2 1112 2- 2 2 2 0 2 0-0 5 10 2 8 0-4 0-1 0 7 00 0-1 3-5 2 2 Pippen Grant Cartwright Paxson Jordan Hodges Armstrong Perdue Levingston Williams 40 26 46 16 18 6 23 2-4 II 4 02 2 0-0 The Associated Press INGLEWOOD, Calif. The Los Angeles Lakers expect Game 4 of the Western Conference Final to be rougher than the first three, but the Portland Trail Blazers say they want to take a more intellectual approach. "I think the game will be a lot more physical and we have to be ready for that," L.A.'s Byron Scott said.

Buck Williams said he doesn't think that's the answer for land. "I don't think we need to be more physical; we need to play smarter, especially with our shot selection and our defensive game," Williams said. Friday's late summary 18C The Trail Blazers need desperately to do something in today's 3:30 p.m. game at the Forum, trailing 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. "Game 4 is going to be crucial for us," Clyde Drexler said.

"It's no time to panic, but we need more intensity on defense and need to keep up the effort for the full four quarters." The Lakers, outmuscled in a 109-98 loss at Portland in Game 2, came out physically for the third game. Boxing out and contesting almost every Trail Blazers shot, Los Angeles led 10-0 and never trailed in a 106-92 victory Friday night. Portland stayed within range in the first half, but an 18-7 run to start the third quarter put the Lakers up 61-47. The Trail Blazers shot 37 percent from the floor to the Lakers' 49.4 percent. "We were missing wide-open shots, everything," Portland coach Rick Adelman said.

"It just seemed to happen to everybody at once." "I can't remember when we shot so poorly," Portland's Terry Porter said. "Shots just didn't fall." Totals 240 42 73 28-35 12 39 21 30 113 Percentages: FG .515. FT .800. Three-point goals: 1-4, .250 (Armstrong 1-i. Pip-pen 0-1 Paxson 0-1 Hodges 0-1 Team rebounds: 7.

Blocked shots: 9 (Jordan 5, Cartwright 3, Pippen). Turnovers: 14 (Pippen 6. Armstrong 2, Perdue 2, Grant. Cartwright. Jordan.

Hodges). Steals: 9 (Jordan 3, Grant 2, Hodges 2, Cartwright, Armstrong). Technical fouls: illegal defense. 1 :07 fourth. Flagrant fouls: Williams, 1:14 third.

Illegal defense: 1 The Bulls started the game like champions while the Pistons were in disarray. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael Jordan picks up a loose ball and stops a fast break attempt by Detroit's Isiah Thomas. Jordan had three steals. Lakers coach Mike Dunleavy wasn't exactly feeling secure despite the 2-1 lead. "It means nothing," he said.

"It doesn't mean anything until you win four games." Vlade Divac, no factor in the first two games, was a spark for the Lakers in Game 3. After having a just four rebounds and 21 points in the games at Portland, he had 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks Friday night. And he was a hero at the turning point of the game, scoring 10 points, with three blocks and a steal in a span of six minutes at the opening of the third quarter as the Lakers took command. "I had big pressure before the game," said Divac, who drew media criticism for his lackluster outings in Oregon. "Everybody watched me (in Game 3) to see how I would play.

All day I thought about the game." "He played a tremendous game," said Magic Johnson, who had 19 assists, 14 points and seven rebounds. "Vlade was very aggressive, he was ready. There's only so much he can take, then he's going to explode." While Divac's spurt in the third quarter was a decisive part of the game, the Lakers' defense probably made the difference. The Trail Blazers' difficulty shooting was due in large part to the Lakers' having a hand in the shooter's face almost every time. I im 7-H witn x-isj ptr FO FT Reb DETROIT Min A PF Pts NBA Playoffs in the first period after making 11 of its first 16 shots and Detroit was missing 10-of-14 attempts.

Then Johnson came off the bench and scored six points during an 8-0 run that closed the gap to 24-16. Chicaeo missed its last five 0-3 12 5-7 3 10 9 22 7-17 Rodman Edwards Laimoeer Dumars Thomas Aguirre Salley Johnson Henderson Rollins 0-0 0-0 0-0 5-7 11-15 2 2 5-7 3 5 0-0 00 5-7 00 4- 7 23 5- 7 04 14 4-7 0-0 0-0 4-6 36 11-17 1 0 1 1 0-0 shots of the quarter and had three turnovers in the last two minutes of the period. After Craig Hodges gave the Rullc a 9fi-1fi lonH a miniitp intn thp p.m. (NBC) Monday's game Chicago at Detroit, 3:30 p.m. (NBC) Tuesday's game L.A.

Lakers at Portland, 9 p.m. Wednesday's game Detroit at Chicago, 9 p.m., if necessary Thursday's game Portland at L.A. Lakers, 9 p.m if necessary Latest Line Favorite Line Underdog L.A. LAKERS 3 Portland Home team in CAPS CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-of-seven) Saturday's result Chicago 1 13, Detroit 107, Chicago leads series 3-0 May 24 result LA. Lakers 106, Portland 92, L.A.

Lakers lead series 2-1 May 21 results Chicago 105, Detroit 97 Portland 109, L.A. Lakers 98 May 19 result Chicago 94, Detroit 83 May 18 result L.A. Lakers 111, Portland 106, Lakers lead series 1 -0 Today's game Portland at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 Totals 240 40 85 26-36 21 39 13 33 107 Percentages: FG .471, FT .722. Three-point goals: 17, .143 (Aguirre 1-3, Thomas 0-1 Henderson 0-1 Dumars 0-2).

Team rebounds: 8. Blocked shots: 2 (Rodman. Dumars). Turnovers: 15 (Thomas 4. Edwards 3.

Johnson 3, Aguirre 2, Rodman 2, Latmbeer). Steals: 8 (Aguirre 3, Rodman, Dumars, Thomas, Sallev, Johnson). Technical fouls: Agume. 9:41 first: Rodman. 11:10 fourth.

Illegal defense: None. second quarter, Detroit rallied again behind reserves John Salley, Johnson and Aguirre, who combined for 31 of the Pistons' 43 first-half points. During a 22-10 run, Johnson and Aguirre scored six points each and Salley seven, including a dunk that Chicago Detroit 24 27 31 31113 16 27 31 33107 A 21.454. 2 35. Officials Ed T.

Rush. Bernie Fryer, Hue Hollins. Tall orders: Patience running shorter with 7-footers It's been six years since an NBA draft offered as many quality centers as will be available this year. But unlike 1985, when four of the top six picks were centers, there doesn't figure to be an early run on 7-footers this time around. The reason can't be a huge difference in quality.

OK, that 1985 draft did have Patrick Ewing, but it also had Benoit Benjamin, Jon Koncak and Joe Kleine, none of whom have played like a lottery pick. This year's quartet Dikembe Mu-tombo of Georgetown, Stanley Roberts of LSU (and Real Madrid), Luc Longley of New Mexico and Rich King of Nebraska may prove to be as good, if not better. But two occurrences in this year's playoffs may have altered the notion that NBA suc rf Lm Ml 55 1 i Brian Biggane PRO BASKETBALL started to show anything, and his fourth before he became a dominant player. "Are any of these guys as good as Ewing? Probably not. Some of them may be very good players, but the teams that pick them are going to have to have a lot of patience." Miami fans can relate to that.

Rony Seikaly was declared a failure when he averaged 10.9 points and seven rebounds as a rookie. When he improved those numbers to 16.6 points and 10.3 rebounds and won the league's Most Improved Player award the next year, the criticism subsided somewhat, but Seikaly is still the most maligned player on the Miami roster. If the Heat wind up with Mutombo next month, the whole process could be repeated. Like Seikaly, Mutombo came to the game only recently and still has much to learn. But where Seikaly was signed for $800,000 a year, Mutombo will pull down more than $2 million his first season.

Will Heat fans, who have been nothing but patient, be willing to sit and wait yet again? Orlando would love to have such a problem. The Magic got by with the truly awful Greg Kite at center last season, and head scout John Gabriel has spoken recently of the Magic's need to get bigger. Orlando is the only one of the expansion teams without a legitimate big man on its roster. "Still, you wonder," Gabriel said. "Every day Golden State lived, it reinforced the idea of having a dominant power forward vs.

a center. Historically, forward is the safer pick, because they can play two positions. "The game is played so much above the rim now. Look what Michael Jordan did to Manute Bol (in the Chicago-Philadelphia series). Maybe shot blocking is overrated." All such speculation aside, expect Orlando to take either Longley or King with its No.

10 pick. And expect Golden State to do whatever it can and the Warriors have three No. 1 picks to offer this year to move into position to get Mutombo. "A 7-footer who can dominate the area around the basket can really affect a game." Gregory said. "Mutombo has the ability to dominate at the defensive end, and that makes him worth going after." With the draft set for one month from today, it will be another two weeks before the order really comes into focus, but here's one scenario for the top five picks that could hold up: 1.

Charlotte, Billy Owens General Manager A))an Bristow has said he wouldn't take Mutombo with the No. 1 pick. The Hornets want the best athlete available, and that's Owens. 2. New Jersey, Larry Johnson The Nets have pretty much given up hope that Chris Morris will ever be the answer at small forward.

Johnson offers scoring, rebounding and, perhaps most importantly, leadership. 3. Sacramento, Kenny Anderson If Anderson is there, the Kings will grab him. Period. 4.

Denver, Doug Smith The key is looking at players GM Bernie Bickerstaff drafted in Seattle: Derrick McKey, Shawn Kemp, Xavier McDaniel. All big, talented athletes. The 6-10 Smith fits the mold perfectly. 5. Miami, Steve Smith The Heat want the best player available, don't want to wait for Mutombo and aren't sure if Seikaly can play power forward.

Smith, a potential superstar, makes sense, even if he is similar to Glen Rice and Willie Burton. Boston's 56-26 record and Atlantic Division title this season has stirred hopes that the Celtics might be capable of one more run at a championship before the curtain finally falls on the Larry Bird-Kevin McHale-Robert Parish era, and that they may be building a strong enough talent base to remain among the league's elite for years to come. Boston fans can correctly argue that, but for one horrible goaltending call against McHale in the final minute of Game 6 of the Detroit series, the Celtics may have survived Detroit, although they wouldn't have gotten past Chicago. As for next season, Bird will be 35, McHale 34 and Parish 38. It seems too much to hope the late-season injuries that sidelined them this year won't return, but Celtics President Dave Gavitt feels that's conceivable.

"With Larry, it was a six-year drain the (back) injury started six years ago," Gavitt said. "With Kevin, you can have that sort of ankle sprain when you're 22 as well as when you're 33. "We're trying to plug in as many fresh new legs as we can to go with the older guys compete now, but also buy some time and keep theni playing at their best until we can fill in behind them. After one year, I'm not dissatisfied with our progress. Now we have another offseason to hopefully fill in behind them again." Dee Brown was one of the best picks of the 1991 draft, and Reggie Lewis, who averaged 22.8 points against Detroit, is on his way to All-Star status.

But Brian Shaw and Kevin Gamble were major playoff disappointments: Shaw averaged 8.3 points and 3.8 assists against the Pistons and played only 19 minutes of the deciding Game 6: Gamble averaged only 4.5 points against Detroit after averaging 15.6 points cess starts in the middle. One was the fact that the game's top three big men Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Ewing were all on the sidelines when the first round ended. The second was the remarkable run of the Golden State Warriors, who stunned San Antonio, then extended the Los Angeles Lakers despite often playing a lineup that had no one taller than 6-foot-7. The Warriors have learned that playing without a center is better than using a center who can't play. "I've believed for years there have been a lot of 7-footers who don't belong in the league," Golden State Director of Seoutins Ed Greeorv said.

"The onlv reason they were in the league was because they were 7 feet tall. "I remember when Darryl Dawkins came out, everybody was excited because he could make a 20-foot jump shot. Who cares? What I want to know is, can he dominate the 10-foot area around the basket? 1990 FILE PHOTO Georgetown's Dikembe Mutombo is expected to be among the first players drafted. during the regular season. Look for Boston to go after frontcourt help in this year's draft, as none of their top frontcourt players are under 30.

But with only the 24th pick, they'll be fortunate to get anyone worthwhile. Minnesota's coaching search was more or less put on hold while the Twin Cities rooted for their North Stars in the NHL playoffs. Former Boston coach Jimmy Rodgers has had the only interview so far. Milwaukee assistant coach Mack Calvin has been mentioned as a candidate for several openings, including the Heat job, but don't expect him to land one. Insiders say his duties with the Bucks were cut back last season, and the fact that his name has even come up is a simple case of self-promotion.

Philadelphia. Detroit, Phoenix, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers are all without No. 1 picks this year. Golden State has three and Denver and Orlando two apiece. Warriors coach Don Nelson on the Lakers series: "It was not a hard series to figure.

It was big vs. small, small vs. big. Every now and then. David slew Goliath.

But riot many times. They don't'write about all the times Goliath kicked David's butt "Look at Detroit and L.A. Neither one has a true center. The way the game is today, you're better off with a real power player than a mediocre center." Utah Player Personnel Director Scott Layden pointed out that, salaries being what they are today, many owners and fans aren't willing to pay a rookie center as much as $3 million a year only to have to wait three or four years for him to develop. "We all get impatient with the players we draft," he said.

"Because we're paying them so much money, we expect instant gratification. Look at Ewing. As great as he is now, it was his third year before he really.