Mar. 13, 1965 - Jerry West is under a full head of steam, and he’s not about to let up now.
The Laker great, one of the very best all-around players in the game, ripped the St. Louis Hawks apart to the delight of 13,499 L.A. Sports Arena fans tonight.
Although playing only the equivalent of three full quarters, West popped in 37 points, 12 of them in the last 5½ minutes to give the Lakers a 106-101 victory.
West had to be at his best, too, because Elgin Baylor, whose knees are hurting him again, played only 18 minutes and didn’t score a point.
The West performance must have stunned Richie Guerin because the likable player-coach of the Hawks still wasn’t available to the press 15 minutes after the conclusion of the game.
But Bill Sharman, a great of a few years back and color man on the St. Louis broadcasts, was in a talkative mood, and it was all about West.
“I’m always asked to compare West and Oscar Robertson,” he said, “and I say that Oscar can do more things, passing and dribbling especially. But when you get down to the other end of the court, West is something else again.
“Certainly, he blocks more shots than any other guard ever — and more than most centers. Then, too, he breaks up a lot of plays.
“He’s so quick it’s amazing. Nobody ever could get away good shots as fast as he does. And in the clutch, he’s just too much.”
Said Laker coach Fred Schaus: “I wonder if we failed to make it clear to Jerry that we clinched the division title last night. But I’m glad we won this one because we had a lot of fans out there who wanted to see us win.
“The 13,499 fans are the only reason Baylor played at all. It will be up to him whether he plays at all tomorrow night.”
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