It Simply Pays to Be Oblivious to Chaos

Robert Horry and the Lakers were back at work at their practice facility Tuesday, their swagger a little stronger, their gait a little more gamely as the Trail Blazers receded further into the past.

But not without more discussion about Horry’s series-clinching shot, and its genesis a few feet from the maelstrom being generated by the Portland bench.

Comfortable as he is in the corner, Horry might have found the other side of the Rose Garden much more desirable as he squared up and released the winning three-pointer on Sunday.

The Trail Blazers were standing. They were screaming. They all but spilled onto the court when it became apparent that Scottie Pippen couldn’t get back to cover Horry in time.

Specifically, there was the distraction created by guard Damon Stoudamire, who stood a couple feet from Horry and whipped a white towel in his general direction.

“I saw that in the video, how he was yelling and stomping,” Horry said. “I didn’t hear anybody behind me. I was just playing basketball. A lot of times, you don’t hear any of the crowd while you’re playing. I didn’t hear them or feel them.”

Horry didn’t exactly stay awake all night Sunday, visions of the winning shot swirling in his head, mindful that the Lakers needed eight points in the final 33 seconds to escape with victory.

“That’s not anything to get happy about,” Horry said. “That’s just the first round. That’s what we were supposed to do. We had the [higher] seed and we were supposed to win.”

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The Lakers brushed aside the Trail Blazers last year as if they were a minor disturbance, sweeping the first-round series by an average of 14.7 points a game.

This year was different: The Lakers’ three victories came by an average of 3.3 points, and if Horry had missed, they’d be playing a fourth game tonight.

“I don’t think we’re as good a team right now as we were last year, but that doesn’t matter,” Coach Phil Jackson said. “I think we can grow into that within a week’s time if we start putting some things together.”

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Jackson said the week off until the start of the second round on Sunday should allow forward Samaki Walker time to heal. Walker has a bone bruise on the outside of his left knee.

“That’s one of the reasons why this is a good break for us,” Jackson said. “With a bone bruise, it takes a while, maybe three or four days. Maybe Friday he can get back on the court, maybe Thursday if everything works out. It’s a good opportunity for him to recover, maybe play some shorter minutes to start with and then as the series goes on, pick it up.”

Jackson said he was displeased that Trail Blazer center Dale Davis twice kicked Rick Fox in the head while Fox was on his back under the basket late in Sunday’s game.

Neither kick was full force, the second with Davis’ heel, but Jackson was irked nonetheless.

“Today when we ran back the tape, there should have been a call there,” Jackson said. “The league should do something about it, there’s absolutely no doubt about it.”

Asked if he had voiced his grievances with the league office, Jackson said, “I’m not a tattle-taler. If they can’t pick up that stuff, then they’re not doing their job.”

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Seattle or San Antonio? To Jackson, it doesn’t seem to matter who plays the Lakers in the second round.

“We had a record of 3-1 against both of them during this year so we feel relatively confident that we can win this series,” Jackson said.