Divac Doesn’t Flop in the Fourth Quarter : Lakers: After starting out soft, he finally takes it to Duckworth as team overcomes big deficit.

PORTLAND, Ore. —  Vlade Divac had stage fright before the Lakers met the Portland Trail Blazers in the opening game of the NBA Western Conference finals Saturday.

“I was nervous because this was my biggest game, the most important game of my life,” the Laker center said. “And I played really soft.”

Pushed around by Portland center Kevin Duckworth, who elbowed him out of the way for position in the first half, Divac pleaded for help from the officials, who didn’t call fouls because they felt Divac was flopping.

Duckworth was apparently trying to intimidate Divac, who hasn’t become fully acclimated to the physical style of play that officials allow in the lane during the NBA playoffs.

Laker guard Magic Johnson pulled Divac aside and told him to stop complaining to the officials and concentrate on playing.

“I said, ‘Vlade, that’s the way it’s going to be. Let’s go,’ ” Johnson said. “I told him, ‘If you turn around to the ref and Duckworth is dunking, that’s not going to help us.’

“What I’m trying to get him to understand is that the difference between (the NBA) and Europe is that this is a man’s game. You can’t expect to get calls. And if you don’t get calls, you just continue to play.”

Outplayed by Duckworth, who outscored him in the first three quarters, 12-4, Divac finally struck back in the final quarter. Divac scored eight points and also had a blocked shot and two steals in the fourth quarter as the Lakers overcame a 12-point deficit to hand the Trail Blazers a 111-106 loss.

“I just seemed to wake up in the fourth quarter,” said Divac, who hit four of five shots in the final quarter. “I take care of business.”

With the Lakers trailing, 92-80, at the start of the final quarter, Divac scored six points in a 13-0 run at the start of the quarter.

Divac became more aggressive. Instead of picking up his dribble or passing off when the Trail Blazers tried to double-team him, he drove to the basket.

And Divac also had an easier time after Duckworth went to the bench for a 5 1/2-minute rest only 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter. Portland defenders Jerome Kersey and Cliff Robinson weren’t as effective as Duckworth.

Divac made an eight-foot jumper over Duckworth in the key to cut the score to 92-82 on the Lakers’ first possession of the quarter. After Terry Teagle hit a jumper and Sam Perkins added a hook shot from the left side, Divac scored a fast break layup off a pass from Johnson to cut the score to 92-88. After the Blazers used a timeout to try to halt the Laker run, Divac sank a hook shot over Kersey to cut the deficit to two points. Byron Scott then drilled a three-point jumper to give the Lakers a 93-92 lead.

After the Trail Blazers regained the lead on Clyde Drexler’s three-point play, Divac tied it, at 95-95, when he made a shot in the lane over Robinson.

“Vlade did a terrific job in the fourth quarter,” Laker Coach Mike Dunleavy said. “We were able to go to him in the low post. Down the stretch I thought he did a real nice job of contesting shots and he got a couple of blocks in there.”

But Divac might have made his biggest play when he drew a foul from Duckworth with 2:41 remaining.

With the Lakers trailing, 104-103, the Trail Blazers were trying to set up a play when Duckworth elbowed Divac and picked up his fourth foul, turning over the ball to the Lakers, who took the lead for good when Johnson scored on a back-door layup off a pass from Scott.

Duckworth thought the officials made the wrong call.

“It was a terrible call,” Duckworth said. “I had the ball in good position. It was crazy. He was trying to stop me from roaming and I just put my hand on him. I probably shouldn’t have done it, but it was a crucial time in the game and I was trying to get position. It was one of those unbelievable calls.”

Divac thought the call believable.

“It was a good call,” Divac said. “He’d done that before, but I was flopping and they didn’t call it.”

After averaging 16 points and 10.3 rebounds as the Lakers swept Houston in the first round, Divac was a non-factor as the Lakers ousted the Golden State Warriors. Playing with an injured wrist against the Warriors, Divac averaged just 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game after averaging 42 minutes against the Rockets.

But Divac, who hit six of nine shots and finished with 12 points and two rebounds in 29 minutes Saturday, said he’s healthy now.

“I was down after the last series because I was only averaging 15 or 16 minutes, but now I’m OK,” Divac said.