Mar. 29, 1964 - The Lakers climbed off the floor in the second half, and with the roaring approval of 13,862 L.A. Sports Arena fans, scored a 97-88 victory over the St. Louis Hawks last night to even up the NBA Western Division playoffs at two games apiece. The triumph, coming after L.A. was apparently outclassed and down by 10 points early in the third period, set up a sudden-death battle in St. Louis tomorrow night.
It was Frank Selvy night, and the popular retiring veteran (pictured) not only received gifts but played an important part in keeping the Lakers rolling after Jerry West and Elgin Baylor put them in front. It was a fantastic night for West, who pumped in 39 points despite being saddled with a fifth foul five minutes into the second half.
Hawk star Bob Pettit stretched the St. Louis lead to 10 with a drive-in layup to open the third period. But West, Baylor, and Dick Barnett rang up six straight points, and the Lakers trailed, 53-49, after 3½ minutes.
The crowd was on its feet as Baylor found the range and, when Rudy LaRusso hit two free throws with 5:46 remaining in the third, the Lakers took a 60-58 lead — their first since early in the game. When Krebs, playing brilliantly after coming in at center, and Baylor scored quick ones, L.A. was on top, 73-64, and the fans were screaming themselves hoarse. That third quarter, one of the finest the Lakers played all year, wound up with them leading, 75-67.
After the game, St. Louis coach Harry Gallatin said: “We concentrated so hard on making Jerry [West] foul out that we stopped doing everything else. Len Wilkens, Richie Guerin, and Bill Bridges all tried to take him in under the basket so he’d foul them while shooting, but it never happened. Meanwhile, our normal offense came apart. Too often we’d go one-on-one instead of passing the ball around for a good shot. We’re not that kind of team, and we never have been. Look at the number of assists: 25 for the Lakers and 17 for us. Which team worked together better and helped each other out?”
