Apr. 9, 1963 - A St. Louis Hawk that is cornered and crippled is a dangerous bird. The Los Angeles Lakers, 8,110 Kiel Auditorium fans, and an L.A. television audience saw ample proof of this when the Hawks savagely fought their way to a 121-113 victory tonight in St. Louis to knot up their hectic playoff series at 3-3. The final decisive affair will be played in L.A. Thursday, and who is to say the courageous Hawks cannot pull a major upset? Hawks' coach Harry Gallatin is a strong believer in providing his opponent with something a little different. Tonight's gimmick was a time-consuming defense, designed to make the Lakers work the ball into the front court and use up time to break clear of a switching defense. All the while, the 24-second clock ticked away. The Hawks matched this defense with a .467 field goal percentage and hustle under the boards that gave them a 71-65 edge in rebounds. Bob Pettit sank a splendid 15 of 23 field goal attempts and had 20 rebounds. Cliff Hagan, coming back with a tremendous display despite his injured left hand, pumped in 24 points. And Hawk Zelmo Beaty shrugged off the discomfort of a half-closed eye to get 16 points and 13 rebounds. "We were outhustled," said L.A. coach Fred Schaus. "The Hawks worked harder for rebounds and loose balls, and they deserved to win.”
