Feb. 26, 1964 - The Lakers had a King for a hole card tonight and Lady Luck made it a good hand for the snake-bitten L.A. professionals. Rookie Jim King, the littlest Laker of them all, was 10 feet high in the final quarter, and he sparked the club to a brilliant last-quarter burst that wiped out the red-hot Cincinnati Royals, 103-97, to the roaring delight of 12,395 customers at the L.A. Sports Arena.
King tossed in 12 of his career high total of 17 points in that last 12 minutes of thrilling action. And it was just what coach Fred Schaus’s battlers needed to end a string of hard-luck defeats. King was the difference in a game in which ace scorer Jerry West and his running mate, Dick Barnett, couldn’t find the basket. The former Tulsa star could, however, and he fired from all over in a tremendous demonstration that shocked the crowd and the Royals even more.
Schaus is firmly convinced the Lakers are ready to roll right into the playoffs. “We have had more desire, more hustle, and more everything the last nine games than at any other time all season,” beamed Schaus. “We just had horrible luck. We needed something to get us going, and the two Jims [King and Krebs] were just what the doctor ordered. Also, through this stretch, [Elgin] Baylor has been as good as ever. Tonight, Jerry [West] didn’t shoot well, but when he took over the defensive job on Oscar [Robertson], he really did it.” West guarded the magnificent Robertson for the last 20 minutes and limited the all-pro, all-everything to three field goals the rest of the way.
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