After the game-winning shot, Ralph Sampson and his teammates embraced each other in a heated hug, cheering ecstatically.
They had defeated the Lakers, the defending champions, by a score of 4:1, with a fantastic buzzer-beater on the road.
What an astonishing achievement it was, to so easily trample the 61-win Lakers underfoot—so what was there to fear from the 63-win Trail Blazers?
However, Hakeem Olajuwon was missing from the jubilant crowd; he had been ejected from the game with 5 minutes and 14 seconds remaining and had returned to the locker room.
As he left the court, Olajuwon felt some regret; he had previously held onto Sampson to keep him from acting rashly, but ended up losing his temper and punching Kupchak.
