nba.714vpoznanovic,
Uh, ljudi, ovako vam to izgleda kad vam postanu dostupne i komercijalne
vijesti Associated Pressa (prepoznaćete ih po malim slovima u naslovu). :)
Uobičajeni pregledi i statistike sinoćnjih utakmica su na kraju.
Jordan expected to be fine for next game
DEERFIELD, Ill. (Apr 29, 1996 - 17:41 EST) -- In agony with back
spasms about 15 hours earlier, Michael Jordan walked into Chicago
Bulls headquarters Monday with a bounce in his step -- and with
confidence that he'll be ready for the next game.
"I was surprised at how well he was doing. He was quite a bit looser
than yesterday," Bulls trainer Chip Schaefer said. "Now I'd be
surprised if he's not close to normal by tomorrow."
Jordan suffered the spasms late in the second quarter of Sunday's
playoff victory over the Miami Heat, bringing the sellout crowd to an
uncomfortable silence.
Though the NBA's all-time scoring average leader returned for the
third quarter -- to relieved applause from the fans who consider him
the greatest player ever -- he was noticeably stiff. And Jordan left
the court for the trainer's room well before the Bulls wrapped up the
106-75 victory that gave them a 2-0 series lead.
Jordan received treatment Monday but didn't practice, and he left
without talking to the media.
"Michael feels quite comfortable that he'll be ready Wednesday" for
Game 3 at Miami, coach Phil Jackson said. "Michael has the ability,
like a lot of great athletes, to recover quickly."
Said Scottie Pippen, Jordan's only remaining teammate from the 1991,
1992 and 1993 championship years: "I've seen him take quite a few
falls. He's always been able to bounce back."
Some of those falls came against the "Bad Boy" Detroit Pistons, who
had a big rivalry with Chicago in the late 1980s and early '90s. Three
former Bad Boys are now with the Bulls: Dennis Rodman, John Salley and
James Edwards.
"I played against this guy and I put him on his back a couple of
times," Salley said. "One time, Dennis and I hit him, and his feet
went out from under him. He fell on his tailbone and I knew he was in
pain. He got up limping. They called a timeout and when he came out of
the timeout, it was like he had gone out and gotten a new tailbone.
"He just keeps going. He's a competitor."
Jordan, who scored 26 of his 29 points Sunday before leaving with the
injury, got twisted around when Chris Gatling fouled him and
immediately grimaced in pain. The foul wasn't a particularly hard one
-- not nearly as vicious as the one Keith Askins committed on Jordan
in the third quarter.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a target the next game," Jordan said
after Sunday's win. "I'll be ready. We'd like to finish off the Heat
as soon as possible."
Jackson would like to think that Miami coach Pat Riley and his players
will be too professional to try to hurt Jordan.
"You can't be worried about those things," Jackson said. "You have to
understand that the Heat plays very physically when it comes to going
to the basket. We'll just have to be able to take our blows and make
our foul shots."
Salley, who played three seasons for Miami, said Askins isn't in awe
of Jordan and might take another shot at the Bulls' star.
"Keith is not a Michael Jordan fan at all," Salley said. "He thinks
Michael puts his shoes on one at a time, like the rest of us. He
doesn't realize that Michael's shoes just go on his feet all by
themselves."
nba.715vpoznanovic,
Kidd to talk to group interested in buying Mavericks
DALLAS (Apr 29, 1996 - 16:53 EST) -- The Ross Perot Jr. group wants to
get Jason Kidd's advice before making any personnel decisions once
they officially purchase the Dallas Mavericks.
The All-Star guard was in town Monday to talk to the Perot Jr. group,
a sign the sale of the Mavericks could be announced later this week.
Kidd wants the new owners of the NBA franchise to keep Dick Motta as
coach. Current owner Donald Carter said Kidd's "input is very
important" to the sale of the club.
"I think we need coach Motta," Kidd said after the Mavericks completed
their regular season. "I hope he's the coach next year."
Carter said he is hopeful the sale can be finalized this week.
Completion of the $125 million sale has been considered a formality
since April 15, when the Perot group reached an agreement in principle
to purchase the team.
"I wore a suit to work Friday and I told my employees that Friday
couldn't be a casual clothes day because I thought that they were
close," said Carter. "I ain't putting on a suit until I hear something
for certain."
A Maverick's spokesman said Carter may not have to wear a suit until
at least Tuesday.
Despite paperwork delays, Carter was enthusiastic about the sale and
potential impact on the franchise.
"I feel excited about the future of the team, about the new arena,
everything," Carter said.
He said the sale would be good for the city and would help the effort
to build a new sports arena.
Carter, who paid $12 million for the team in 1980, said he would keep
between 21 and 30 percent of the franchise.
Joining Perot, the son of Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, in the
purchase of the team are auto dealer David McDavid and Frank
Zaccanelli.
Carter said he expects the new ownership group to interview Motta,
team president Norm Sonju and director of player personnel Keith
Grant.
nba.716vpoznanovic,
Johnson seeks that old Lakers magic
HOUSTON (Apr 29, 1996 - 20:47 EST) -- The Los Angeles Lakers may be
doing what the Houston Rockets did a year ago -- getting better during
the playoffs.
And one big reason is Magic Johnson, who is blending with his new
teammates as the Lakers await Game 3 Tuesday night in their
first-round series with the defending champions.
Johnson, who won five titles in the 1980s with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, is
trying to get this team in a championship frame of mind.
"We feared no one and we knew what we could do," Johnson said of the
Lakers' glory days. "We came in and said, 'We're taking over.' These
guys don't know me and I don't know them."
But Johnson is getting closer after leading the Lakers to a 104-94
victory Saturday that evened the series at a game apiece.
"They haven't seen me say 'get out of the way, I'm going to take it
over,"' Johnson said. "I've got to know when to take over a game. I
had a feeling before when Byron (Scott) would be off. I'd say, 'Uh oh,
I've got to take over."'
He's still having a hard time getting to that point with his current
teammates.
"Now, I'm hesitating and that's not me," Johnson said.
Game 4 is at The Summit on Thursday and Game 5, if necessary, is in
Los Angeles on Saturday.
The Rockets fought through injuries last season, just as they have
this year, and blossomed in the playoffs en route to their second
straight NBA crown.
The Lakers are hoping that as Johnson, who came out of retirement to
play 32 regular-season games, will help them get stronger in the
playoffs.
Johnson says he and Nick Van Exel are starting to mix well.
"When I first came back, he wasn't sure where he fit," Johnson said.
"He didn't know if I would take his minutes. He stood and watched and
then he said, 'I think I can play with this old man.' He saw that he
could get some easy shots."
Johnson felt he wasn't involved enough in the loss in Game 1. He got
the ball in Game 2 and the Lakers won.
"Maybe I didn't handle it too well, but I know what I have to do,"
Johnson said. "If I'm not effective, I don't think we'll win. Every
player wants the ball. I want it and Hakeem (Olajuwon) wants it. You
don't want to sit, you want to show what you can do."
Keeping Olajuwon in the game will be the key for the Rockets in Game
3. The center fouled out Saturday with 10 minutes to play and Los
Angeles pulled away.
"That's why you're going to see him on fire," teammate Mario Elie
said. "When you have a star like Hakeem sitting down half the game,
he's going to come back with a huge game."
Olajuwon groused after fouling out, but now says he's put that behind
him.
No unfinished business?
"That's why it's a best-of-5 game series," Olajuwon said. "If this
were college, we'd be finished now. The unfinished business now is the
ball is in our court. We came back home 1-1. It could have been
worse."
The Rockets have been missing their 3-point touch in the playoffs,
hitting just 6 of 31 shots. That's got to change, too.
"I'm not a psychic or anything, but I hope we can get it going outside
because that takes the pressure off Hakeem inside," Sam Cassell said.
"We've got good ball movement so we've just got to take the shot. We
passed up too many open shots on Saturday."
nba.717vpoznanovic,
Heat burn to beat smirking Bulls
MIAMI (Apr 29, 1996 - 19:53 EST) -- The Miami Heat still believe they
can beat the Chicago Bulls, and that's no joke.
"I hate them smiling at us, laughing at us, talking stuff and making
fun of us," Heat guard Tim Hardaway said Monday. "We have to go out
and try to do something about it."
Winning and grinning, the Bulls sent the Heat into full retreat with a
pair of lopsided victories at the United Center. Chicago will go for a
sweep in the best-of-five first-round playoff series Wednesday at
Miami Arena.
Heat coach Pat Riley is unaccustomed to playoff failure on this scale.
In New York and Los Angeles, each of his 13 teams advanced to the
second round.
But Riley said all is not lost -- only the first two games.
"We need to get a win," he said. "There have been a lot of teams that
lost the first two games on the road, and you go home and get your win
and you build from there."
For Miami, the defeats carried an extra sting because the series has
been filled with ill will between the teams.
Center Alonzo Mourning -- full of bravado earlier -- and forward Walt
Williams declined to talk to reporters Monday, meaning the Bulls
apparently have already won the war of words.
"They're the best right now," Miami forward Chris Gatling said. "We're
trying to learn."
Against perhaps the best team ever, few gave the Heat much of a
chance. But they have yet to give the Bulls even a good game, losing
by 17 points Friday and 31 Sunday.
"If you take a look at teams in the past that have become good teams,
they've all gone through some adverse times," Riley said. "Even the
Bulls last year went through it. If we're facing some right now, then
I hope it will advance us and prepare us and equip us for the next
game or the next series or the next year."
Despite the challenge of containing Michael Jordan, the Heat's biggest
problems have been at the offensive end. They averaged 80 points and
23.5 turnovers in the two losses while shooting just 42 percent.
The biggest culprit has been Mourning with 13 turnovers and just 24
points, barely half his average.
"It's not just Zo; everybody has to get going." Hardaway said.
"Everybody played terrible Sunday."
He's right -- starting forwards Williams and Kurt Thomas were shut
out.
Don't expect Riley to single out anyone for blame.
"This team won a lot of big games down the stretch with a lot of
contributions from everybody," he said. "That's who we are. Then we go
on the road to Chicago in the playoffs and don't play well.
"Don't start pointing fingers at individual players. It's not fair to
them. Our team has gotten beaten by a very good team, and I'm not
going to point at anybody."
nba.718vpoznanovic,
NBA early draft entries through April 29
College and high school players who have announced they will enter the
1996 NBA draft early:
Ray Allen, g, junior, Connecticut
Kobe Bryant, f, Lower Merion HS, Ardmore, Pa.
Marcus Camby, c, junior, Massachusetts
Ronnie Henderson, g, junior, LSU
Dontae' Jones, f, junior, Mississippi State
Stephon Marbury, g, freshman, Georgia Tech
Darnell Robinson, c, junior, Arkansas
Samaki Walker, c, sophomore, Louisville
Lorenzen Wright, c, sophomore, Memphis
nba.719vpoznanovic,
Van Gundy nixes credit for New York's lead
PURCHASE, N.Y. (Apr 29, 1996 - 20:00 EST) -- Jeff Van Gundy doesn't
want any credit for the New York Knicks' success, even though his job
is riding on it.
Van Gundy, who took over when Don Nelson was fired March 8, has a
non-guaranteed, $1 million contract for next season.
If New York keeps winning, it will be hard for management to justify
another change. But if the Knicks suddenly collapse against Cleveland
or get swept by in the second round, Van Gundy's seven-year
association with the team likely will end.
New York leads Cleveland 2-0, with Game 3 in the best-of-five series
Wednesday night. Game 4, if necessary, is Friday night.
Ernie Grunfeld, the president and general manager Knicks, reiterated
Monday that Van Gundy's status will be evaluated after the season.
"This is a time to be concentrating on the playoffs," Grunfeld said.
"He's had the team playing very hard and very well, and from that
standpoint we're very happy with the job he's doing."
Van Gundy, a 34-year-old former Knicks assistant under Nelson, Pat
Riley, John MacLeod and Stu Jackson, was his usual self-deprecating
self Monday after practice.
"I come to work every day, and I think I know what my contribution
should be," he said. "To try to have a working environment that's the
best it can be for the players, to plan and prepare and get them ready
for the next game and to fight anything that gets in the way of
winning.
"I know that NBA basketball is about 2 percent coaching and 98 percent
playing. And that's probably the biggest thing I've done well. After
I've done those three things, I've tried to stay out of the way."
Still, Van Gundy is operating under the same lame-duck status as
several of his veteran players.
Derek Harper will be a free agent this summer, as will J.R. Reid,
Willie Anderson, Gary Grant and Herb Williams. Patrick Ewing has only
one season left on his contract.
New York will have about $10 million of salary cap room to play with
in the free agent market, and the direction they move in -- including
who will be the coach -- will be determined largely by how well they
do in the playoffs.
"I think this team gets too much of a knock in the regular season,"
Van Gundy said. "This team had 47 wins and I don't know where that
ranks in the whole scheme of things, but in one city it's cause for
celebration and in another city it's a reason to back up the truck."
The Knicks have been unusually sharp in the first two games against
the Cavs.
"I didn't get them refocused or ready," Van Gundy said. "I tried to
plan and prepare. If you're going to give credit for being ready to
play, it's the team's."
New York hasn't lost in the first round of the playoffs since 1991,
Van Gundy's second season as an assistant, but they haven't swept a
first-round series since 1989 against Philadelphia.
Van Gundy said the Knicks will change little in Game 3, and he expects
few adjustments by Cavs coach Mike Fratello.
"I think Jeff is holding his own against Fratello," said John Starks,
who averaged 18.5 points in the first two games while shooting 60
percent from 3-point range. "He's not panicking, he's calling the
right plays, taking timeouts at the right time. I can't say he's been
outcoached."
Backup Hubert Davis is 7-for-8 from 3-point range, Patrick Ewing is
averaging 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds and Anthony Mason is averaging
16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds.
The Knicks haven't really shown a weak spot, while the Cavs have
received sub-par performances from Danny Ferry, Bobby Phills and Chris
Mills.
"I can't tell coming out of a locker room if we're going to play well
or not play well," Van Gundy said. "That's impossible to tell.
Sometimes it changes between the locker room and the layup line,
something can happen that you have no control over.
"If you can tell whether a team was ready or not, you should be a
coach making a million dollars."
nba.720vpoznanovic,
Magic have overmatched Pistons on brink of elimination
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (Apr 29, 1996 - 13:29 EST) -- How sl-o-o-ow can
you go?
The upstart Detroit Pistons figured their best chance of bushwhacking
the powerful Orlando Magic was to turn down the tempo. It was a nice
try, but it didn't work.
Orlando won Game 1 by 20 points, Game 2 by 15 points, and can sweep
the best-of-5 first-round series with a victory Tuesday night at The
Palace.
"We've got to grind it out," Pistons coach Doug Collins said. "We
don't have the firepower they do. I'm not crying. That's just the
difference between the two teams."
When the Magic has its regular starting lineup on the floor --
Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Scott, Horace Grant, Anfernee Hardaway and
Nick Anderson -- they are formidable, to say the least. The defending
Eastern Conference champions won 60 games this season. They were 29-5
when those five were healthy enough to play together.
"I think with the five guys we have starting, we're hard to beat,"
Grant said. "I mean, five guys have to step up to beat us, not just
two or three."
At the moment, the Pistons don't have that many horses.
Still, the Pistons were able to win one of four from the Magic during
the regular season. Their strategy was to go with a slow, deliberate
offense. The idea is to milk every second from every possession in
hopes of keeping the game within reach.
Sometimes it works. In the first two playoff games, the Pistons were
tied and within three at halftime. Each time, the Magic put the game
away with a surge in the third quarter. Orlando has outscored Detroit
by a combined 57-36 in the third quarter.
"It's very hard to force tempo on them because they don't want to
run," Hardaway said. "Everything they get they're going to slow down
and set up a half-court game unless the numbers are perfect for them,
like a 3-on-1."
It comes with a price, however. Because they work the ball up the
court so deliberately, the Pistons frequently find themselves with 10
seconds or less to get into an offense and put up a shot before the
24-second clock expires.
"It's a difficult way to live," Pistons captain Joe Dumars said. "And
when you play the way we play, you have to have a high rate of
success, because you're only going to get so many shots."
The strategy worked well enough to limit Orlando to 73 shots in Game
2. The problem, from a Detroit standpoint, was that the Magic made 38
of those shots. The Pistons, however, made only 29 of 69 shots.
"We understand what we're up against," said Dumars, the lone holdover
from the Detroit team that won successive NBA titles in 1989 and 1990.
"And that's why we have to keep the tempo to our liking. Because once
they start blocking shots and getting steals, they get out in the open
court and run. And we can't keep up with them."
The Pistons might be more competitive if their bench were just a
little deeper. Detroit got only two points from the bench in Game 2.
Orlando's bench only scored five points, but that's plenty when all
five starters are scoring at least 14.
"I'd love to make this a chess match," Collins said. "But they've got
all the kings and I've got a couple of rooks right now."
nba.721vpoznanovic,
Suns try to avoid first playoff sweep since 1989
PHOENIX (Apr 29, 1996 - 20:29 EST) -- The Phoenix Suns, who haven't
been blanked in a playoff series in seven years, are on the bubble
after losing two straight in San Antonio.
Of course, the Suns were worse off in 1993, when they started 0-2 at
home before running the table on the Los Angeles Lakers. Energized by
former coach Paul Westphal's guarantee his team would come back,
Phoenix rebounded from the early scare and reached the finals.
But only Charles Barkley and Kevin Johnson are holdovers from three
years ago, and they weren't enough Sunday, when David Robinson led the
Spurs to a 110-105 victory despite what may have been the Suns'
emotional high-water mark.
Phoenix coach Cotton Fitzsimmons emphasized he's an optimist.
"See this cup I'm holding; this cup is more than half-full," he said
Monday.
But Fitzsimmons shied away from predicting the Suns could beat the
Spurs three straight, starting Wednesday night.
"You'll have to talk to somebody else about that. That happened to be
a very good prophecy by Paul," Fitzsimmons said.
This time, the Suns' opponent is a division champion, and the Suns are
the seventh seed. Also, San Antonio's stars -- Robinson and Sean
Elliott -- are at the top of their game compared with Phoenix's team
leaders.
In the late stages of Game 2, Barkley missed a shot and Johnson
committed the last of his five turnovers when he got hemmed in
underneath the basket.
Plus, the Suns, an old team, may have to finish the series without
their freshest set of legs. Fitzsimmons said rookie starter Michael
Finley's ankle injury will keep him out of at least the next two
games.
Meanwhile, the Spurs keep getting the necessary boost from different
players.
In a 22-point rout of the Suns on Friday, Will Perdue and Vinny Del
Negro did the damage. Two days later, Robinson scored 40 points and
had 21 rebounds -- just enough to blunt a spirited game by the Suns --
and Avery Johnson had 12 points, 15 assists and just three turnovers.
All that didn't keep Kevin Johnson from predicting Phoenix would
advance to the next round. He said the Suns may have found themselves
in Game 2.
"I've been saying all year that you need a point in time where your
team has a defining moment, and it's not always when you're
victorious," Johnson said. "Just a certain point where everybody gets
on the same page."
San Antonio's Chuck Person said the first-game blowout made the Suns
dangerous for the rest of the series.
"Barkley and KJ came to play," Person said. "They played hard and with
a lot of intensity. They were phenomenal."
"They're not done yet. There's still some basketball left to be
played," said Robinson, who was injured in 1992, when the Suns beat
the Spurs 3-0 in the first round. It was the last time the Spurs, who
reached the Western Conference finals last year, have been swept.
"Our standard for this season is last year's playoff run," Avery
Johnson said. "We want to do better than that, so we are really
focusing on winning this series."
nba.722vpoznanovic,
Kings come home after stunning Sonics in Game 2
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Apr 29, 1996 - 20:29 EST) -- Kings fans were
celebrating their first playoff spot in a decade when Olden Polynice
grabbed the microphone and warned: "It's not good to just get into the
playoffs. We have to make some noise."
By evening their first-round series against Seattle with a 90-81 win
Sunday night, Sacramento let out a primal scream and forced the
SuperSonics into another episode of reliving collapses of playoffs
past.
It was the Kings' first playoff game win since 1981. As they prepared
for Game 3 of the best-of-5 series on Tuesday, the Kings tried to
dampen their excitement and act like savvy playoff veterans.
"I think we opened a few eyes with one victory, but the only way we're
really going to make any noise is by taking the series," said forward
Brian Grant. "The momentum is in our favor now, but it doesn't mean
anything unless we build on it."
The Kings, in the playoffs for the first time in a decade, are the
only team with a losing regular-season record in the playoffs. They
are trying to become only the second No. 8 seed to win a playoff
series since the NBA went to a 16-team playoff format in 1984.
The only successful No. 8 seed was Denver, which stunned the Sonics
two seasons ago. Seattle also lost in the first round last year, and
Sunday's defeat immediately revived questions about their postseason
blahs.
"We put enough pressure on ourselves without hearing it from you every
day," Sonics forward Detlef Schrempf complained Monday to reporters at
the team's practice in Seattle. "We know we'll continue to hear it
until we do better."
A big reason for Sacramento's win in Game 2 was a 45-28 rebounding
advantage, despite the return of Shawn Kemp to the Seattle lineup
after a one-game suspension.
But Polynice, who has led the Kings in rebounds in each of the first
two games, was limping badly Monday because of a bruised right thigh.
He watched film with his teammates for an hour and a half, but headed
for the training room when the Kings took the floor for a short
practice.
"Trying to put pressure on the leg hurts," said Polynice, injured
Sunday when he collided with Seattle's Nate McMillan while jostling
for a rebound. "It's just real sore and real stiff right now."
Polynice, who had several hours of electric stimulation on the thigh
Monday, vowed to play Tuesday. He has not missed a game due to injury
since joining the Kings in February 1994.
The Sonics, winners 97-85 in Game 1 on Friday, swept their four-game
season series against Sacramento and have not lost consecutive games
since November.
"No one's panicking," said Seattle guard Hersey Hawkins. "It's a long
time since we've lost two games in a row. Now is not the time to do it
again. They were tougher than us in Game 2, but we know what we did
wrong."
While Seattle is trying to ignore its past playoff collapses, the
Kings are trying not to get caught up in the excitement of their fans,
who mobbed the airport Sunday night to welcome back the team.
"There was just a thunderous ovation for everybody. I don't know if
anyone will ever forget that," Kings coach Garry St. Jean said with a
raspy, tired voice. "All of us who have been here for some time know
what these fans have gone through in terms of disappointment."
And Polynice, who issued his warning to fans after the regular-season
finale on April 21, said the Kings -- who lost 11 in a row in the
middle of the season -- still have proven nothing to the rest of the
NBA.
"We've got to win this series. We want to show people we belong here,
we want to show teams around the league," he said. "They might think
we got in because Denver had a bad year or Golden State blew it, but
we got here because we busted our butts -- especially after we lost 16
of 17."
nba.723vpoznanovic,
In playoffs for first time, Laettner having fun again
ATLANTA (Apr 30, 1996 - 14:48 EST) -- Christian Laettner looks like
he's back at Duke.
The fist is pumping. The lungs are howling. The body is diving to the
floor for loose balls.
Look closely and you might even see the beginnings of a smile,
something that was unthinkable during his three-plus seasons with the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
"I can't remember when I've had more fun playing basketball," Laettner
said, savoring his 24-point, eight-rebound performance Monday night in
a 90-83 victory over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference
playoffs. "It was like a practice game with no refs. If you get
fouled, don't worry about it."
Laettner was a fixture in the postseason at Duke, leading the Blue
Devils to NCAA titles in 1991 and '92. But when he got to Minnesota,
he found himself on a team that had no hope of making the playoffs.
With every defeat, Laettner's patience diminished and his reputation
as a whiner grew. Finally, after he directed an outburst at teenager
Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves shipped him to the Hawks in February.
In Atlanta, Laettner has been leery of opening up to the media, but he
seems to be making a concerted effort to mesh with his new teammates.
He's constantly offering encouragement and hasn't complained about
having to play out of position at center.
He credits his change in attitude to being with a playoff team.
"Working hard for three years in the NBA, playing and practicing as
much as anyone else and you're not winning your share of games because
you're not on a very good team," he said. "I'm glad to be on a better
team, that's all."
The Hawks, who have a 2-1 edge in their best-of-5 series with the
Pacers, are one victory away from moving into the second round for
just the second time in eight years. Game 4 will be Thursday night in
Atlanta.
Laettner's passion for the game was very evident against the Pacers
Monday night. Giving up five inches and 35 pounds to Rik Smits,
Indiana's 7-foot-4, 265-pound center who scored 29 points in Game 2,
he made up for the size disadvantage with pure effort.
He hurled his body on the floor for loose balls. He kept wading inside
to keep the ball alive on the offensive boards. He brought the crowd
to its feet midway through the third quarter when he outmuscled
everyone for a rebound and was fouled on the following shot, his
emotions erupting in a primal scream.
"Yeeeaaahhh!" he yelled, his fist pumping furiously.
"It was like something was born tonight," he said later. "The refs let
us bang a little more than in Indiana (during the first two games).
The intensity was overwhelming, and we played with a lot more fire."
The Pacers, who needed a big performance from Smits to compensate for
the absence of Reggie Miller due to an eye injury, couldn't help but
notice Laettner's play. Smits finished 5-of-14 from the field and had
only five rebounds.
"Laettner was great," Indiana coach Larry Brown said. "He fought Rik
on the post. He made pressure plays. And he kept rebounds alive."
nba.724vpoznanovic,
Bulls sense kill against Heat
MIAMI (Apr 30, 1996 - 18:47 EST) -- Pat Riley hurried out of the gym
following practice Tuesday and disappeared up a set of stairs, taking
them two at a time.
He had reason to rush. Against the Chicago Bulls, Riley and his Miami
Heat face a long, hard climb.
Despite spasms in Michael Jordan's back and Dennis Rodman's behavior,
Chicago leads Miami 2-0 in their first-round playoff series.
Basketball's best team goes for a sweep Wednesday night at Miami
Arena.
"We sensed the kill when we started this series," Bulls forward
Scottie Pippen said.
Miami would need three consecutive wins to overtake Chicago, and since
the Bulls haven't lost three in a row all season, no one has raised
the possibility. Even Heat center Alonzo Mourning abandoned the brazen
tone that backfired on him in the first two games.
"This is a learning experience for me," he said, "and hopefully it
will better me as a player."
The Bulls' blowouts of 17 and 31 points have been marred only by
Jordan's injury and Rodman's ire.
Jordan sustained back spasms during Sunday's 106-75 victory in Game 2.
He sat out part of the second half but practiced Tuesday and expects
to play Wednesday.
Rodman was fined $5,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture
toward a referee while leaving the court Sunday after being ejected in
the third quarter. Coach Phil Jackson said the incident was
embarrassing, and it renewed the Bulls' concern that Rodman may come
unraveled during the playoffs, as he did last year with San Antonio.
"He wants to be a bad boy and show everybody they can't control him,"
Miami guard Tim Hardaway said. "He needs to grow up, that's what he
needs to do."
Rodman has averaged just 7.5 rebounds a game, half his league-leading
average. Jordan, on the other hand, paced Chicago in both victories
with 35 and 29 points.
The last time Jordan made a postseason appearance in Miami, he scored
56 points. That was four years ago.
"What can you say?" Riley said. "You're talking about the greatest
single player maybe in the history of mankind. Somewhere along the way
we have to play a rock-solid game offensively and hope we can contain
him a little bit."
Miami's premier player, like Jordan, is hurting the Heat. Mourning has
more turnovers than rebounds -- 13 to 10 -- and just 24 points.
Mourning rejected the suggestion that his team relies too heavily on
him.
"That's why they have me down here," he said. "That's why I'm on the
cover of the media guides and magazines. That's why when we play on
NBC, the camera is always on me -- because they picture me as being
the franchise player.
"Therefore I have to step up to the challenge, and to tell you the
truth, I haven't performed to that level yet."
Maybe a change of venue will produce a different result. The road game
will be the first in the playoffs for the Bulls, and during a record
72-victory season, eight of their 10 defeats came away from the United
Center.
The Heat, however, are uncertain whether they can count on crowd
support at Miami Arena.
"I think there are more Chicago Bulls fans here than Miami Heat fans,"
Hardaway said. "What's going to change it? If we win the series."
That's unlikely. But the Heat badly want to win at least one game and
achieve a measure of redemption for their poor play thus far.
Given the circumstances, Jordan figures the Bulls merely need to stay
close.
"If we can get past the first half in contention, then hopefully our
experience will overcome them and make them feel there's no hope
left," Jordan said. "We have to put them in position where they give
up on themselves."
Riley, who holds the NBA playoff record for coaching victories with
137, finds himself on the verge of being blanked in 1996. He bristled
when the possibility was raised that his team had practiced for the
final time.
"Don't ask me that question," he said. "You can report it, but don't
ask me that question. I'm getting excited about Game 3."
nba.725vpoznanovic,
Cavs arrive as longshots in series
NEW YORK (Apr 30, 1996 - 18:00 EST) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers,
winners of their last three games at Madison Square Garden, came to
town Tuesday looking to become only the sixth team in NBA history to
recover from an 0-2 deficit and win a five-game series.
There is a tremendous home-court disadvantage in the Knicks-Cavs
series, with the road team winning 12 of the last 14 games. Game 3 is
Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EDT.
New York hasn't defeated Cleveland at home in more than a year. The
Cavs beat the Knicks by 10 in December and by four in early April.
"As Terrell Brandon says: Lights, camera, action. They feel
comfortable playing here," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said.
Cleveland also won its last playoff game at the Garden, 90-84 in the
first round last season to even that series 1-1. The Cavs eventually
lost 3-1 by losing two straight at Gund Arena.
New York has had 15 losses at home this season -- the most in five
years.
"It's been a steady decline since we were 37-4 (in 1992-93). I don't
have an answer for that. We've got to find a way to reverse that trend
at home," Van Gundy said. "It's a great concern, particularly because
Cleveland has handled us not only this year, but more so last year.
They blew us out both times, I mean big time. They had us down by 25
both games."
But Cavaliers coach Mike Fratello wasn't expecting a letdown from the
Knicks, especially since New York is looking at a probable
second-round matchup with the Chicago Bulls.
"New York will try to end its series as quickly as they can so they
will have the same preparation time, the same rest time, etc. (as the
Bulls). The last thing they want to do is go into a five-game series
and then face a team that won three straight and is ready to go,"
Fratello said Tuesday.
The last team to come back from an 0-2 deficit and win three straight
in a five-game series was the Denver Nuggets in 1994 against Seattle.
The Phoenix Suns in 1993 against the Los Angeles Lakers were the only
team in NBA history to lose the first two games at home and then win
the next three.
"They will try to break our spirit early in the game and hope that
we'll just say: 'That's it, we can't do it,"' Fratello said.
One key for Cleveland will be its outside shooting.
In Cleveland's last victory at New York on April 11, Danny Ferry had
the highest-scoring game of his career, scoring 32 points on 11-of-13
shooting -- including 5-for-5 on 3-pointers -- as the Cavs won 101-97.
In the Cavs' three regular season victories over New York, they
averaged nine 3-pointers a game, but in their two playoff losses they
have made only 12.
Ferry is shooting just 38 percent overall and 1-for-12 on 3-pointers,
Bobby Phills is 1-for-6 on 3-pointers and Chris Mills is 0-for-4.
"New York has obviously made us do some things that we don't want to
do. It's a different Knicks team now, and when you go back to the
regular season, the only time when they were healthy they beat us by
10 points," Fratello said.
"They've just done a great job. Going to Charleston (for pre-playoff
camp) was very good for them, It reunited the group, got it back
together again and got their heads all in the same direction,"
Fratello said.
"But at the same time, if we couldn't do it, I'd say 'Hey, we just
can't do it,' but that's not the case."
nba.726vpoznanovic,
Rockets' Tomjanovich succeeds in job he never really wanted
Riverside Press-Enterprise
(Apr 30, 1996 - 10:00 EST) -- It's probably simplistic to think of
Del Harris and Rudy Tomjanovich as mentor and protege. After all, it
has been a lot of years since the two worked together, when Harris was
the coach of the Houston Rockets and Tomjanovich was first a veteran
player nearing the end of his career and then an advance scout.
Besides, Tomjanovich has earned his stripes as a coach -- thanks to
back-to-back NBA championships -- even though he has said all along he
doesn't really want to be a head coach.
"Who the hell said I'm comfortable with this thing," the Rockets'
coach joked the other day. "It's a tough job, and I've been very
fortunate. But I wouldn't recommend it ... There's problems every day.
It never ends."
If it is that difficult, that treacherous a job, it's hard to tell
from the results, or the respect Tomjanovich has received not only
from the league but also from the toughest audience of all, his
players.
After all, they're the ones who benefit from some of the things
Tomjanovich learned playing for Harris, who now is pacing in front of
the opposite bench during the Los Angeles Lakers-Rockets first-round
playoff series, which continues Tuesday night in Houston tied 1-1.
The principles are simple: Treat your players like grown men, give
them the respect they deserve, but always put the welfare of the
franchise above the ego of the individual.
"He's not an authoritarian coach," said Tomjanovich's superstar,
Hakeem Olajuwon. "He puts people in responsible positions, and he
stresses the importance of the team. He says it is our team, and no
one player is bigger than the team, so he uses the team to fight
against any individual that's not one of the group."
Tomjanovich spent his last two seasons as a player -- 1979-80 and
'80-81 -- under Harris.
His final season, Houston finished 40-42 in the regular season,
stunned the defending champion Lakers in the first round and rode that
momentum all the way to the NBA Finals, falling to Boston in six
games.
"As a player, he (Harris) would let me make suggestions," Tomjanovich
remembered. "We'd talk about things. We even hung around a little bit
off the court -- played some golf, played some tennis, had some beers
and talked about the great game of basketball."
Tomjanovich retired as a player in October of 1981. Shortly after
that, Harris offered him a spot as an advance scout, and Tomjanovich
spent two seasons on the road, watching the rest of the league and
learning more about the game.
"It was the foundation (of his education)," Tomjanovich said. "I
learned a lot just by analyzing other people's offenses."
Harris recalled that while Tomjanovich seemed to have the makings of a
basketball lifer, it was hard to tell if he had the makings of a head
coach, because he had no interest in that particular job description.
"I know how many times he'd say, 'Boy, I never want to be a head
coach,"' Harris said. "I know he wanted to stay in Houston and be a
career assistant coach. He loved the city of Houston, he wanted to
stay there, and he figured that if he was a head coach, someday they'd
run him out.
"Right now, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen, but that was
his perception at the time."
Afraid that he'd be sent packing anyway when Harris was fired in 1983
-- "that staggered me," he says now -- Tomjanovich instead moved into
a spot on the coaching staff of successor Bill Fitch. He remained an
assistant for eight-plus seasons under Fitch and Don Chaney before
that day in February 1992 when Chaney was fired and management let it
be known that Tomjanovich had no choice but to take the job.
Since then, he has a regular season record of 224-134, a 37-22 playoff
record, and an amazing 10-1 record the last three seasons in games in
which the Rockets have faced elimination. He has the unwavering
support of his management and of his star players, hardly an easy task
in today's NBA.
Maybe it's because he runs his team the way he liked to be coached --
unpretentiously, with firmness but also with respect.
"Everybody has to coach to their personality. You can't try to be
someone you're not. I think the things that I do are use honesty,
respect until it's no longer deserved, and understanding. I also
project an image that they're going to be well taken care of because
of the preparation, the work. I'm going to try to come up with the
answers.
"But it's really a give-and-take situation. I try to have my guys
believe it's their team, too, and let's take responsibility for it."
Sound familiar? Well, this is the way Harris once described the job:
"You've got to be able to give respect to the players. You've got to
be able to give them input. You have to listen, because there's no
respect if you don't listen or allow input. Then, it's just all talk."
nba.727vpoznanovic,
NBA players without college experience
(Apr 30, 1996 - 19:01 EST) -- Players who did not play college
basketball prior to joining the NBA (excluding players who played
professionally outside the United States):
Player, First NBA season, Last NBA season
Kevin Garnett, 1995-96, active
Thomas Hamilton, 1995-96, active
Lloyd Daniels, 1992-93, 1994-95
Shawn Kemp, 1989-90, active
Moses Malone, 1976-77 (ABA 1974-76), 1994-95
Bill Willoughby, 1975-76, 1983-84
Darryl Dawkins, 1975-76, 1988-89
Reggie Harding, 1963-64 (ABA 1967-68), 1967-68
Bob Knight, 1954-55, 1954-55
Ed Stanczak, 1949-50 (NBL 1946-49), 1950-51
Al Cervi, 1949-50 (NBL 1937-49), 1952-53
George Ratkovicz, 1949-50 (NBL 1941-49), 1954-55
Joe Graboski, 1948-49, 1961-62
James Browne, 1948-49, 1949-50
Stan Brown, 1947-48, 1951-52
Connie Simmons, 1946-47, 1955-56
Stan Miasek, 1946-47, 1952-53
Leo Gottlieb, 1946-47, 1947-48
John Murphy, 1946-47, 1946-47
Tony Kappen, 1946-47, 1946-47
Nick Shaback, 1946-47, 1946-47
nba.728vpoznanovic,
Sabonis likes his first taste of NBA playoffs
PORTLAND, Ore. (Apr 30, 1996 - 20:36 EST) -- Arvydas Sabonis finally
has had a taste of NBA playoff intensity, and he likes it.
"Every game is like your last game," he said Tuesday. "All players
play very hard and strong. It's another story, I think. It's
interesting. You need to play 100 percent."
Without the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian, the Portland Trail Blazers almost
certainly would not have even made the playoffs. As the Blazers try to
even their best-of-5 series 2-2 at home Wednesday night, Sabonis is
obviously the No. 1 weapon.
In the first three games, the 31-year-old rookie averaged 26.3 points
and 10 rebounds. His minutes of play, held down during the regular
season because of his long history of leg problems, have inched
upward. In Monday night's 94-91 overtime victory that kept Portland
alive in the series, he had 27 points and 12 rebounds in 38 minutes,
his longest time on the court so far.
"You don't think about whether you're tired or you're not tired,"
Sabonis said. "You just play."
Sabonis' wife is expecting their third child any day. He seemed
surprised that he might even have the option of skipping a game to be
with her when the child is born.
"I don't know how it is here in the United States. If it's possible to
come back or not," he said, adding with a smile. "But I think she's
going to wait."
Even though he's been tough on the Jazz, Sabonis has not been his
usual accurate self from the field, shooting just 44 percent, partly
because he has been contending with an aggressive defense from Felton
Spencer, Greg Ostertag and Antoine Carr.
"I'm still waiting for him to have one of his 9-for-11 nights,"
Portland coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "I'm very happy with the way a lot
of our people are playing, but the one thing I'm hoping for that we
haven't seen from us is a real strong offensive night."
The offense couldn't have been much more miserable for both teams than
it was Monday night, when the Blazers shot 34 percent and the Jazz 38
percent. They were even worse in the first half.
Portland scored an all-time low 12 points in the fourth quarter of
Game 2 Saturday night in Salt Lake City, then followed with an even
more futile 11 points in the first quarter of Game 3.
The 68 points scored in the first half (Portland led 37-31) Monday
night tied the NBA's all-time low for the playoffs.
"I can't see us playing any worse than that, or even that bad
offensively," the Blazers' Rod Strickland said.
Utah shot 59 percent from the field in the first two games. Karl
Malone, who was 13-for-30 in his 35-point performance Monday night,
said the poor shooting in Game 3 had little to do with Portland's
defense.
"I look at it as what we didn't do and what I didn't do," Malone said
Tuesday. "I guarantee you one thing, I'm not going to stop. If the
shot's open, I'm going to take it. We just didn't capitalize."
No team depends more on precise offensive execution than Utah, and the
Jazz didn't have it Monday night.
"If you don't execute, you don't get any decent shots to break teams
down," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "If you execute and break them
down a time or two, the confidence starts to build a little bit."
Wednesday night's game is the fourth in seven days for the two teams.
Fatigue would seem a possibility, but Sloan scoffs at the notion.
"The only time you have to worry about being tired is when the season
is over," he said.
If Portland wins, the deciding Game 5 will be Sunday in Salt Lake
City. It was in Game 5 of the first round a year ago that Utah blew a
big lead at home and lost to eventual NBA champion Houston. Forget
about any comparison, Sloan said.
"Last year and 10 years ago have nothing to do with this team," he
said.
nba.729vpoznanovic,
Spurs hoping to prove they have killer instinct
PHOENIX (Apr 30, 1996 - 18:06 EST) -- The San Antonio Spurs, a team
accused of having no killer instinct, plan to erase that image by
eliminating the Phoenix Suns.
"We're in position to sweep," coach Bob Hill said about Wednesday
night's Game 3 of the first-round series. "They have to beat us three
games in a row, and I don't think they can do that. We're a very good
road team."
The Spurs, who beat Phoenix 3-1 in the regular season, own a 2-0
series lead, routing Phoenix the first game in San Antonio and pulling
out a narrow victory the next.
Now, they go for the jugular.
But David Robinson, mindful of San Antonio's 0-5 record in playoff
games played in Phoenix, was more cautious than his coach.
"They're not done yet. There's still some basketball left to be
played," he said.
Robinson is the 1996 playoffs' leading scorer (34.0) and
second-leading rebounder (13.5). In addition, Avery Johnson is second
in assists (16.5), Will Perdue is second in field-goal percentage
(78.6) and Vinny Del Negro is first in 3-point shooting -- he's tried
just two and made both.
The Suns counter with Charles Barkley, who is fourth in scoring (28.0)
and first in rebounding (16.0), and Kevin Johnson, who ranks just
below Avery Johnson in assists. But nobody in the supporting cast has
been spectacular in the postseason, with Michael Finley out because of
a sprained ankle and Danny Manning slowed by tendinitis.
Doc Rivers, the Spurs' lone injured player, did not travel to Phoenix
on Tuesday because of back spasms. But he's a backup.
Perdue, Del Negro and Avery Johnson starred in the Spurs' 120-98
obliteration of the Suns, played days after a round of stories that
labeled Robinson as "soft."
Then the towering center took over Sunday to lead a 110-105 win,
scoring 40 points and grabbing 21 rebounds after Phoenix adjustments
made to corral Perdue and Del Negro left him open.
"To Bob's credit, we were very prepared for a lot of that stuff,"
Robinson said.
One thing Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons did in the second contest was
keep John Williams, a strong defensive player, on Robinson for 26
minutes, nine more than in the first. And when Williams sat down,
Barkley drew the single-coverage assignment on the Spurs' superstar.
Williams said the same scheme was likely to be in evidence in the
America West Arena.
"He's going to get his points," Williams said. "What we don't want is
for one of their role players to go off on us."
Barkley observed that the Suns came closer when Robinson ran wild.
"Dave Robinson is a great player, and that's it," Barkley said. "We
didn't do a very good job on him in Game 1, and we expected to
dominate one game, and he played terrific Sunday."
Barkley dismissed Hill's comment as trying to pump up his team.
"We're going to go out there and do our best," Barkley said. "If the
Spurs have got a better team, they're going to beat us. I don't think
they do."
nba.730vpoznanovic,
Sonics lack heart of champions
Scripps-McClatchy Western Service
(Apr 30, 1996 - 07:42 EST) -- Let's have a big Sacramento welcome for
the Seattle SuperSonics, best in the West and suddenly unable to draw
a breath without choking.
Winners of 64 games in the regular season, the Sonics are threatening
to flush the residue of those victories down the drainpipe.
As basketball teams go, the Sonics are better than the Kings in every
measurable category -- measurable being defined as qualities that can
be statistically proven.
The Sonics have a superior point guard, stronger forwards, a deeper
bench. And experience? Well, experience isn't even close.
Yet in the category of heart -- the one subjective concept that can
make a real difference in the postseason -- the Kings are winning in a
romp.
Here's how Sonics forward Detlef Schrempf put it, neatly summarizing
Seattle's code-blue crash: "There was no offense, no rebounding and a
lot of turnovers."
And there will be no future for the Sonics if they can't get past the
Kings in the Western Conference playoffs.
Despite their high-priced talent and impressive record, despite their
pretensions, the Sonics have the heart of a butterfly. They are
beautiful to behold. Get too close and they flutter away.
In the space of three hours Sunday, the Sonics not only lost
home-court advantage in their playoff series against the Kings, they
took the first wobbly steps toward one of the most spectacular
flameouts in contemporary NBA history.
The only reason for winning all those games in the regular season was
to secure the home-court nod come tournament time. Now the tournament
is here, and the Sonics can write off the last six months as a waste
of time.
It might not be so bad if the Sonics were having problems against a
contender. Instead, the Seattle juggernaut finds itself backed against
the wall by a bunch of slap-happy playoff freshmen, neophytes whose
mothers are still packing their lunches.
The Kings haven't done anything to deny their newcomer status. They
have been sloppy and inconsistent, enduring awful stretches sprinkled
with flashes of brilliance by Mitch Richmond, Brian Grant, Tyus Edney
and Sarunas Marciulionis.
The Sonics have been known for their defense, but their traps and
double teams are nothing compared to the defensive posture assumed by
the squad away from the court.
Having folded in the playoffs the last two seasons, the Sonics are
experts at inventing excuses. A suitable playoff motto for the Sonics,
courtesy of the O.J. defense team: If the other team gives us fits,
we'll just call it quits.
"We can't be worrying about what happened to us the last two years,"
Seattle swingman Nate McMillian said. "We need to get together and
figure out what changes we'll need to make to play better."
Last season the Sonics said they were too tight, too selfish, too
immature to advance in the playoffs. This season, rolling to those 64
triumphs, the SuperSonics began referring to themselves as "great."
They are great, all right -- great big flops.
For all their supposed greatness, for all their depth and speed and
size and experience, the Sonics have yet to produce a first-class
quarter against the Kings.
In Game 1, the Sonics could have knocked the Sacramentans over with a
whisper, such was the Kings' paralyzed condition.
But what did the Sonics do? They failed to put the Kings away until
the final minutes, letting the Kings pull within seven points. A true
contender -- the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets -- would have
hammered the Kings by 30 points.
And Game 1 merely encouraged the Kings. They cast away their fears,
tossed aside their worries and correctly identified the Sonics as a
club with big hats and no cattle, flat-liners on the cardiac monitor.
None of which is to say the Sonics can't come back. Order up 12 heart
transplants and an oil drum of intestinal fortitude and the Sonics
will be ready to go, pretenders to the throne of greatness.
nba.731vpoznanovic,
Miller leaving Raptors
TORONTO (Apr 30, 1996 - 19:42 EST) -- Oliver Miller has filed for his
free agency, leaving the NBA Toronto Raptors with an unexpected $2.5
million windfall.
Miller exercised a right in his contract to declare himself a free
agent a day after the NBA season ended, Raptors officials said
Tuesday.
The team can now use the $2.5 million he was to be paid next season on
free agents. They could also renegotiate a deal with Miller.
"It's going to provide us with some flexibility," said Glen Grunwald,
Toronto's assistant general manager and vice-president of legal
affairs.
Miller has been with three teams in a four-year NBA career and was the
last player chosen by GM Isiah Thomas in the June 1995 expansion
draft. The 6-foot-9, 300-pound center averaged 12.9 points and 7.4
rebounds in 76 games with the expansion Raptors last season.
"I don't want Isiah to think I'm betraying him or anything like that,"
Miller told the Toronto Sun from his home in Dallas on Monday. "When I
was going through a lot of personal stuff this season, Isiah was right
there for me.
"I'm not going to do anything crazy and be greedy. I'd like to finish
my career in Toronto. Basically, this is a business decision."
Miller, who turned 26 on April 6, was the most vocal critic of coach
Brendan Malone, who was replaced after the season. Miller said Malone
didn't give him the respect he was due and treated the players
differently after wins than after losses.
However, Miller was also a fan favorite and, apparently, a favorite of
management. At a post-game ceremony on the last day of the regular
season, he was heralded as a key part of the Raptors' future by team
president John Bitove.
With Miller's salary, the Raptors were precariously close to the $18
million they will have to spend on players next season under salary
cap rules.
nba.732vpoznanovic,
Temporary order gives custody to mother of former UNC star's child
DURHAM (Apr 30, 1996 - 13:42 EST) -- Rasheed Wallace of the Washington
Bullets will not be allowed to remove his 8-month old son from North
Carolina under a judicial protective order.
The custody order, signed Monday by Chief District Court Judge Kenneth
C. Titus, allows the child's mother, Chiquita Bryant, to keep the
infant with her. The order is temporary, pending a further judicial
review.
In requesting the order, Bryant said Wallace "has not made reasonable
attempts to spend time with the child and is unavailable to the
child."
In addition to custody, Bryant wants Wallace to pay child support and
reimburse her for legal fees, since she is a full time student at N.C.
Central University.
Bryant had Wallace arrested earlier this month on an assault charge.
She claims he entered her home and choked her in an attempt to remove
the child from her arms. Bryant says Wallace intended to take the
child with him to Maryland.
Wallace was a star at North Carolina.
nba.733vpoznanovic,
BULLETS GM NASH RESIGNS
Washington Bullets vice president and general manager John Nash on
Tuesday announced his resignation, effective immediately. A search for
a successor will begin immediately.
In a prepared statement, Nash cited personal reasons for his
departure.
"For reasons that are personal, I have decided to resign from my
position with the Washington Bullets, effective immediately," said
Nash. "Mr. Pollin (owner Abe Pollin) and the Bullets organization gave
me a wonderful opportunity to help rebuild the franchise. Despite our
inability to make the playoffs this past year, I truly believe that
the Bullets have the quality players on their roster needed to be a
playoff team next year and a contender by the time they become the
Wizards.
"My immediate plans are uncertain, but I do intend to focus on some
personal family matters. I would prefer to have no further public
comment on this matter at this time."
Nash leaves the Bullets after almost six years as the team's vice
president and general manager. Nash was hired in June of 1990.
nba.734vpoznanovic,
INJURY SIDELINES HEAT RESERVE SCHAYES
Miami Heat reserve center Danny Schayes will sit out Wednesday's
playoff contest against the Chicago Bulls because of fractures on the
right of his face.
Schayes sustained the injury during a practice session on April 23,
but initial examinations allowed him to play in the first two games of
the series this past weekend. A lack of progress in the healing
process led to a CAT scan being taken this morning, which revealed the
fractures.
The 15-year NBA veteran appeared in 32 games with the Heat after
signing as a free agent on Dec. 12. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.8
rebounds in 12.5 minutes per outing during the regular season and 3.5
points and 2.0 boards in the two playoff games.
The Bulls lead the Heat, two games to none, in the best-of-five
series.
nba.735vpoznanovic,
REGGIE LEWIS' WIFE SUES DOCTORS FOR NEGLIGENCE
BOSTON -- The wife of former Boston Celtics' star Reggie Lewis has
sued the team of cardiologists that cleared Lewis to play after he had
collapsed during a playoff game.
Donna Harris-Lewis claims in a suit filed Tuesday in Suffolk Superior
Court that Dr. Gilbert Mudge Jr. and three associates were negligent
in telling Lewis he could play without limitations after his collapse
on April 29, 1993.
Lewis later died while shooting baskets on July 1993.
The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, claims Mudge failed to
treat Lewis with the "standard care and skill required of and
ordinarily exercised by the average qualified physician."
The suit also says Reggie Lewis "experienced conscious pain and
suffering prior to his death."
Mudge treated Lewis at Brigham and Women's hospital some time after
his first collapse. Lewis originally was evaluated by team physicians
at New England Baptist Hospital, but left and sought treatment from
Mudge.
On Tuesday, the hospital defended Mudge and his associates, Mark
Creager and Peter Friedman of Brigham and Women's, and John Rutherford
of Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
"We believe that when the facts in this case are fully reviewed in a
court of law, it will be determined that the physicians acted in a
responsible manner and in the best interests of Mr. Lewis," the
statement read.
nba.736vpoznanovic,
LA Lakers (98) At Houston (104)
LA Lakers
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Campbell F 35 8-11 2-3 1 9 10 2 5 1 2 18
Ceballos F 35 6-11 3-3 3 3 6 0 2 0 2 16
Divac C 23 4-9 2-2 1 3 4 1 1 0 1 11
Jones G 38 7-12 1-2 0 4 4 1 3 1 0 16
Van Exel G 36 5-16 0-0 1 4 5 4 2 0 2 12
Johnson 38 2-9 3-4 4 5 9 13 0 0 2 7
Peeler 23 3-10 0-0 0 2 2 2 4 2 0 8
Threatt 12 4-8 0-0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 10
Blount Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Lynch Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Roberts Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Strong Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 39-86 11-14 10 31 41 25 18 4 9 98
(.453) (.786) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 9(8 Pts)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Horry F 41 6-12 0-0 2 8 10 3 3 2 0 15
Brown F 20 4-7 0-0 0 4 4 0 3 1 0 8
Olajuwon C 42 12-27 6-7 2 6 8 3 2 0 2 30
Drexler G 39 6-12 4-8 1 6 7 11 1 3 1 16
Smith G 17 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 4
Cassell 31 4-10 1-2 0 3 3 6 1 1 1 9
Elie 30 5-9 2-2 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 14
Bryant 20 4-6 0-0 2 3 5 0 5 0 1 8
Chilcutt Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Jones Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Mack Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Recasner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 43-88 13-19 8 31 39 29 15 8 5 104
(.489) (.684) Team Rebs: 13 Total To: 5(7 Pts)
LA Lakers 28 27 20 23 - 98
Houston 34 22 24 24 - 104
Blocked Shots: LA Lakers - Campbell 2, Divac 2. Houston - Olajuwon 2,
Horry 2, Drexler, Cassell, Elie, Bryant.
3-Pt. Field Goals: LA Lakers 9-28 (.321), Ceballos 1-4, Divac 1-2, Jones
1-3, Van Exel 2-5, Johnson 0-2, Peeler 2-6, Threatt 2-6. Houston 5-16
(.313), Horry 3-7, Drexler 0-2, Smith 0-1, Cassell 0-3, Elie 2-3.
Technicals: None.
Officials: Steve Javie, Ed F Rush, Don Vaden.
A - 16,285. T - 2:11.
nba.737vpoznanovic,
NO FOUL PLAY: ROCKETS TAKE 2-1 SERIES LEAD
HOUSTON -- What a slight difference it makes when Hakeem Olajuwon
plays in the fourth quarter.
Olajuwon, who fouled out with 10 minutes remaining in a Game 2 loss,
scored six of his 30 points in a decisive 13-0 fourth-quarter run as
the Houston Rockets moved a step closer to the second round with a
104-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday to take 2-1 lead
in the best-of-five Western Conference quarterfinal series.
The two-time defending champions can close out the series at home with
a victory in Game 4 on Thursday. The Rockets are trying to become the
fourth franchise to win three straight championships.
During the 13-0 run, the Lakers were held scoreless for six minutes
and 20 seconds.
"Our defense made some big steals," said Olajuwon, who committed only
two fouls. "We pressured the ball. In the playoffs, defense is the
key."
Clyde Drexler added 16 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for the
Rockets.
"We had a great stretch of defense in the fourth quarter," Houston
coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Our guys have been in so many tight
games and survived, we're not the kind of team that rolls over."
Magic Johnson, who scored 26 points in the Lakers' victory in Game 2,
had seven points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in 38 minutes, but shot
just two for nine from the field.
"It was frustrating because, well, give them credit, they doubled me,
which they hadn't done before," Johnson said. "It took me so far out
of my game and we hadn't seen that."
"This was the best game of any series (this year) and I've seen them
all," Johnson added. "No game compares to this one. People blocking
shots, 3-pointers, we come back, they come back, going back and forth.
It's just one of those incredible things."
Elden Campbell scored 18 points and Eddie Jones and Cedric Ceballos
added 16 apiece for Los Angeles, which is trying to avoid being
eliminated in the first round for the third time in its past four
playoff appearances.
Sedale Threatt scored the last of his 10 consecutive points for the
Lakers with a 3-pointer at the 8:20 mark to give Los Angeles an 89-86
lead, but the Lakers went cold after that.
Robert Horry tied the game with a 3-pointer before Mario Elie gave
Houston the lead for good with two free throws to make it 91-89 with
7:38 remaining. The teams went scoreless for nearly three minutes
before Olajuwon hit a hook shot to extend Houston's lead to 93-89 with
4:40 left.
Drexler had a steal and fed Elie for a dunk before Olajuwon added two
free throws and a hook shot to make it 99-89 with 2:27 to go. Anthony
Peeler finally ended the drought with a 3-pointer to pull Los Angeles
within 99-92 at the 2:01 mark, but Olajuwon hit a jumper to restore
the nine-point bulge 18 seconds later.
Los Angeles pulled within 102-98 on a 3-pointer by Peeler with 33
seconds to play, but failed to take advantage of Drexler's poor free
throw shooting down the stretch. He made just two of six free throws
in the final 33 seconds, but the Lakers failed to score.
Horry finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Elie added 14 off
the bench for Houston, which shot 49 percent (43 of 88) from the floor
and committed only five turnovers.
"It's a lot of pride and grit on this team," said Elie. "We have
playoff experience. We know each other's strengths and tendencies and
we have the big guy in the middle."
Six players finished in double figures for Los Angeles as Nick Van
Exel scored 12 points, Vlade Divac added 11 and Threatt 10 for the
Lakers, who shot 45 percent (39 of 86).
Houston just played a good game overall," Lakers coach Del Harris
said. "They were terrific for four quarters. We we terrific for all
but six minutes."
nba.738vpoznanovic,
Orlando (101) At Detroit (98)
Orlando
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Scott F 45 6-10 3-4 1 3 4 2 4 1 2 18
Grant F 40 7-10 2-2 5 11 16 1 5 0 0 16
Oneal C 32 4-13 5-9 1 4 5 3 5 1 6 13
Anderson G 41 7-14 6-10 3 4 7 1 3 1 1 22
Hardaway G 41 7-17 8-9 2 3 5 5 2 2 3 24
Shaw 14 0-4 0-0 0 1 1 3 3 1 1 0
Koncak 11 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 4 0 1 2
Wolf 10 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 4
Bowie 6 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2
Bonner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Royal Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Thompson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 35-73 24-34 13 27 40 17 32 6 15 101
(.479) (.706) Team Rebs: 11 Total To: 15(15 Pts)
Detroit
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Hill F 33 4-8 9-11 0 6 6 5 5 2 3 17
Thorpe F 35 5-9 5-6 6 7 13 3 5 0 2 15
West C 25 3-4 1-3 1 5 6 0 3 0 0 7
Houston G 48 11-25 9-10 0 1 1 1 5 0 5 33
Dumars G 47 6-14 1-1 2 3 5 7 2 0 3 15
Curry 12 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2
Reid 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0
Hunter 11 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Mills 19 1-7 4-4 1 1 2 0 3 1 0 6
Ratliff 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Leckner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Roe Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 32-71 29-35 10 23 33 16 30 3 14 98
(.451) (.829) Team Rebs: 9 Total To: 14(19 Pts)
Orlando 27 24 30 20 - 101
Detroit 18 30 22 28 - 98
Blocked Shots: Orlando - Grant, Oneal, Hardaway. Detroit - Reid 2.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Orlando 7-18 (.389), Scott 3-6, Anderson 2-5, Hardaway
2-5, Shaw 0-2. Detroit 5-20 (.250), Houston 2-8, Dumars 2-7, Curry 0-1,
Hunter 1-2, Mills 0-2.
Technicals: Orlando - Illegal Defense, Detroit - Head Coach Collins 2
(Ejected), Illegal Defense.
Officials: Ed Middleton, Hue Hollins, Nolan Fine.
A - 20,386. T - 2:52.
nba.739vpoznanovic,
MAGIC BROOM RIDE: ORLANDO SWEEPS DETROIT
DETROIT -- First, Shaq was out with foul trouble. Then, Doug Collins
went out with technical foul trouble.
Anfernee Hardaway, however, stayed in the game and ignited a
third-quarter rally to lead the Orlando Magic to a 101-98 victory over
the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday, completing the first-round playoff
sweep.
Hardaway scored 15 of his 24 points in the third period and sparked a
16-6 burst with Shaquille O'Neal on the bench. The burst turned a
57-55 lead into a 73-61 advantage.
"When Shaq went out, Penny said he wanted the ball and he was taking
over," Orlando's Dennis Scott said. "And that's exactly what we let
him do, because we knew he would do it."
The Pistons' frustration peaked when coach Doug Collins was ejected
after drawing his second technical foul with 2.4 seconds remaining in
the third quarter.
Nick Anderson added 22 points for Orlando, which nearly blew a
10-point lead in the final 5:45 as Allan Houston, who finished with 33
points, rallied the Pistons. Detroit had two final attempts to tie the
game, but the Magic held on to win the best-of-five series for its
first-ever playoff sweep.
"I know we had a lot of tired guys, but I think it was good for us to
get it done in three if we could," Orlando coach Brian Hill said.
"Certainly, they made us go to the wire for us. I thought Penny was
the big difference in the second half."
Horace Grant scored 16 points, including a controversial putback
basket with 11.2 seconds left to give the Magic a 99-95 lead.
Orlando led 97-95 with 36 seconds to play and worked the shot clock
down before Hardaway launched a long 3-pointer right before the shot
clock expired that did not appear to touch the rim. The ball was
batted around and eventually put in by Grant.
"His shot did not hit the rim but it came off Shaq and hit the rim.
Then Horace picked it up and scored," Hill said.
"It definitely hit the rim because that's why I fumbled it," said
Orlando center Shaquille O'Neal. "It may have only hit a screw, but it
hit something."
The referees originally ruled a 24-second violation, then reversed
their decision and gave the Magic the basket. On the ensuing
possession, Houston nailed a 3-pointer to make it 99-98 with just over
eight seconds to play.
Anderson then hit two free throws with 7.5 seconds to go for the final
margin.
The Magic, defending Eastern Conference champs and seeded second,
await the winner of the Indiana-Atlanta series. Sixth-seeded Atlanta
holds a 2-1 edge and can close out the series Wednesday night with a
win at home.
"Controversy has followed Orlando and Detroit all year. If I say
something, it's going to sound like I'm whining and I'm not going to
do that," Collins said. "I hope our guys don't think I let them down
tonight. I was just going to go to bat for them. When I left, I
thought my spirit was still with them."
The third quarter rally for Orlando began when Hardaway hit a jumper
and converted a three-point play around two free throws by Hill to
make it 62-57 with 8:25 to play. Scott added a layup before Terry
Mills hit a jumper to pull the Pistons within 64-59.
Grant hit two jumpers around a layup by Otis Thorpe, extending
Orlando's lead to 68-61. Collins earned his first technical, leading
to a foul shot by Scott to make it 69-61.
Hardaway and Anderson added a free throw each before Joe Wolf closed
the run with a jumper to make it 73-61 with 3:32 left in the third
quarter.
"When Shaq is out, I'm the man we go to," Hardaway said. "They used
the energy from Collins leaving and the crowd. They had nothing to
lose, they made some big shots. We knew they were a good team and we
weren't expecting to sweep them."
The Magic led 91-81 on a basket by Anderson before Detroit made one
last rally. Houston hit a runner and converted a three-point play
around a free throw by Joe Dumars to close the gap to 91-87 with 4:38
to play.
O'Neal made one of four free throws on Orlando's next two possessions
and Dumars nailed a 3-pointer to make it 92-90 at the 2:25 mark. Grant
then hit two free throws and a 19-foot jumper to push the Magic's lead
to 96-90 with 90 seconds left.
O'Neal finished with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting and then complained
about the calls he wasn't getting.
"I was tired, but that wasn't why I missed eight of nine in the first
half," said O'Neal. "Let's be honest. I'm the only guy in the NBA that
can say on national TV, 'They're going to foul me,' and then they do
foul me. And I still don't get a call. After 80 games a year, I'm
surprised I don't get to go to the line more. Nothing's changed.
"It's not humanly possible for Mark West to push me like that without
having two hands on my back. it can't be done, you can't tell me it
can."
nba.740vpoznanovic,
Seattle (96) At Sacramento (89)
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
D Schrempf F 37 6-11 2-4 0 5 5 6 3 0 5 16
Kemp F 22 3-8 1-5 3 6 9 0 5 2 2 7
Johnson C 16 1-6 0-0 4 2 6 0 3 2 0 2
Hawkins G 33 2-8 9-11 1 1 2 0 2 1 2 14
Payton G 45 5-11 4-6 1 6 7 7 3 1 2 15
Perkins 31 5-13 5-8 2 3 5 1 3 1 1 17
Mcmillan 20 3-5 0-0 0 4 4 1 3 0 0 7
Askew 19 1-5 3-3 1 1 2 2 3 0 0 6
Brickowski 17 5-6 0-0 0 2 2 0 3 1 0 12
S Scheffler Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Snow Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Wingate Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 31-73 24-37 12 30 42 17 28 8 12 96
(.425) (.649) Team Rebs: 12 Total To: 12(12 Pts)
Sacramento
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Owens F 36 3-9 2-2 2 8 10 6 5 0 2 8
Grant F 36 4-13 0-4 3 4 7 2 6 0 2 8
Polynice C 41 8-16 2-2 5 9 14 0 5 0 1 18
Richmond G 48 6-17 8-11 0 5 5 2 3 0 1 24
Edney G 35 7-13 2-2 1 5 6 5 0 2 2 17
Smith 18 1-2 1-2 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 3
Marciulionis 16 2-5 1-2 2 0 2 3 0 3 0 6
Simmons 10 2-4 1-2 0 0 0 1 3 2 0 5
Causwell Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Gamble Dnp - Not Wth Team - Personal Reason
Hurley Dnp - Coach'S Decision
C Williamson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 33-79 17-27 13 32 45 21 25 7 8 89
(.418) (.630) Team Rebs: 12 Total To: 10(13 Pts)
Seattle 26 22 16 32 - 96
Sacramento 28 22 23 16 - 89
Blocked Shots: Seattle - Kemp 2, Payton 2. Sacramento - Grant 2,
Polynice 2, Owens.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Seattle 10-22 (.455), D Schrempf 2-3, Hawkins 1-2,
Payton 1-4, Perkins 2-5, Mcmillan 1-2, Askew 1-3, Brickowski 2-3.
Sacramento 6-19 (.316), Owens 0-2, Richmond 4-10, Edney 1-3, Marciulionis
1-3, Simmons 0-1.
Technicals: Seattle - Illegal Defense, Sacramento - Illegal Defense 3,
Simmons.
Officials: Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, Greg Willard.
A - 17,317. T - 2:27.
nba.741vpoznanovic,
SONICS RALLY BEHIND BIG FOURTH QUARTER
SACRAMENTO -- It's never easy with these guys.
The Seattle SuperSonics, not a team that has thrived on pressure in
recent seasons, appear intent on proving that pressure can become
their ally.
Tuesday, tied 1-1 with the Sacramento Kings in their best-of-five
Western Conference series, the heavily-favored, top-seeded Sonics fell
behind by 10 points in the third quarter, still trailed by eight with
six minutes remaining -- and actually rallied to win the game, 96-89.
A pressure situation, and the Sonics actually responded.
"We wanted to let everyone know what type of team we are, what kind of
guts we have," Seattle guard Hersey Hawkins said. "We just had to keep
our composure."
Hawkins' 3-pointer with 1:04 left capped a 9-0 run that give Seattle a
92-86 lead.
"They started to hit the shots when they needed them," said Kings
guard Tyus Edney. "I don't think it was so much that we were running
out of gas down the stretch, they were just hitting the shots that
they were missing earlier in the game."
Seattle dodged a major bullet en route to a 2-1 lead. The SuperSonics,
who have won 185 games the past three regular seasons but were
eliminated in the first round of the last two playoffs, trailed 69-59
with 2:53 left in the third quarter after an 11-0 run by Sacramento.
"We had trouble making shots, but we stayed together and pulled it out
in the fourth quarter," said Detlef Schrempf, who scored 16 points
including the go-ahead layup with 2:39 remaining in that game that
gave Seattle an 87-86 lead. "We were pointing fingers early, but we
stayed together."
Mitch Richmond scored 24 points and Olden Polynice added 18 for
Sacramento, playing its first home playoff game since 1986.
The Kings have not won a home playoff game since an 88-79 victory over
Houston in the Western Conference finals on April 22, 1981 -- when
they were in Kansas City. Game 4 is Thursday at Sacramento.
Edney gave the Kings an 83-75 lead with 5:47 to play on a 3-pointer
before the roof caved in. Seattle closed within two points on
3-pointers by Frank Brickowski and Sam Perkins, who totaled 17 points.
Sarunas Marciulionis made a free throw, but Perkins hit two foul shots
to pull the Sonics within 84-83 with 3:43 to play. Richmond and Hersey
Hawkins traded free throws before Schrempf's go-ahead layin.
On Sacramento's next possession, Brian Grant missed two free throws.
Shawn Kemp, who battled foul trouble the entire game and scored only
seven points in 22 minutes, scored in the paint and was fouled, but
missed the foul shot. After another Sacramento miss, Hawkins drilled a
3-pointer from the right side.
Billy Owens had a tip-in with 54 seconds left for Sacramento's only
basket in the final 5:47. The Kings were outscored in the fourth
quarter 32-16.
"It's not over. Sacramento has really made this a great series," said
Seattle coach George Karl. "We stayed in the game. We didn't lose our
belief even though we were frustrated."
Edney finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists for
Sacramento. Seattle's bench outscored the Kings' reserves 42-14.
nba.742junior,
-> #713, koky> Na STB-u i BK su rekli da su Barkley i Robinson imali po 12
> skokova. Odakle im ta informacija, ako se ovde pojavljuju druge
> brojke ?
Odluči sam kome ćeš da veruješ ;) Ja sam već rekao ko je meni Bog ;))
A što se tiče BK i StB, dobijaju podatke sa istog mesta, odatle je uostalom
i jedino moguće .. samo je pitanje preko koliko kanala dobiju tu vest, a zatim
ostaje i pitanje voditelja koji čita podatke .. ;))
nba.743imangovski,
Jel prenose(direktno)play off na bk,i kad?
nba.744vpoznanovic,
DREXLER'S INJURY A PAIN IN THE NECK FOR ROCKETS
HOUSTON -- Houston Rockets guard Clyde Drexler had neck spasms during
practice Wednesday, and there is a chance he might not play Thursday
night in Game 4 of the Rockets' playoff series against the Los Angeles
Lakers.
The Rockets lead the Lakers 2-1 in the best-of-5 first-round series.
Dr. Bruce Mosley said Drexler's neck was stiff when he awakened
Wednesday and the condition worsened during practice.
"What we're hoping is that he makes a really good turnaround during
the next 24 hours and will be ready to play," Mosley said. "But that's
something we'll have to decide Thursday.''
nba.745vpoznanovic,
MAVS' DUMAS CHARGED IN ATTACK ON PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND
DALLAS -- Dallas Mavericks guard Tony Dumas has been charged with
assault on his pregnant girlfriend. Police say Dumas beat and punched
her.
Police filed a Class A misdemeanor assault charge against Dumas
stemming from an incident last Friday. The charge carries a penalty of
up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The assault charge is Dumas' second brush with the law this year.
On Jan. 14, Dumas was arrested and charged with falsely reporting to
police that his car had been stolen.
Police say he filed the report as a cover for fleeing the scene of an
accident earlier that night. The false report charge against him is
pending.
Dumas was a first-round draft pick of the Mavericks in 1994 after
leaving Missouri-Kansas City.
nba.746vpoznanovic,
HOYA SAYS SEE YA: IVERSON TO ENTER NBA DRAFT
WASHINGTON -- Georgetown point guard Allen Iverson announced Wednesday
he will bypass his final two years of college eligibility and enter
the NBA draft.
Iverson becomes the first Georgetown player in John Thompson's 24
years as coach to leave school early. The school has featured star
players such as Patrick Ewing, Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, Alonzo Mourning
and Dikembe Mutombo.
Iverson made the official announcement at an afternoon news conference
at the school and was accompanied by Thompson.
"After carefully weighing my options with coach Thompson and my
family, I've decided to enter the NBA draft," Iverson said. "I
definitely plan to further my education, but my family needs to be
addressed right now."
Iverson has an immediate need for the money an NBA contract would
bring. He announced Wednesday for the first time that he is a father
of a 1-year-old girl, and he said he wants to get a specialist for his
younger sister, whom he said was suffering from seizures.
Iverson has been driving a $130,000 Mercedes on loan from a car dealer
since early April, adding to the speculation he would leave school
early. The matter likely would have been investigated by the NCAA if
Iverson decided to return for his junior year.
Thompson on Wednesday blamed Iverson's departure on NCAA rules that
prohibit the university from giving the sophomore's sister the medical
help she needs.
"We have the most antiquated set of rules," Thompson said. "There are
almost archaic."
Many NBA scouts say Iverson will be the first point guard selected and
a likely top-four selection in the draft. Iverson and Stephon Marbury,
who left Georgia Tech after his freshman year, are rated as the top
point guards in the draft.
"It's going to be difficult in the beginning, but here at Georgetown
we're prepared for things like that," Iverson said of life after
college. "He (Thompson) gets us prepared for things like that. I'm
going to take a lot of the things he taught me and a lot of the things
he told the other players and just use that."
Iverson led Georgetown to a 29-8 record and three NCAA Tournament wins
in 1995-96. The Hoyas advanced to the East Regional final before
losing to Massachusetts.
"Anytime that Allen Iverson leaves, in my opinion, would be too soon,"
Thompson said. "When you look at something like this, you have to look
at it from a broad perspective and you have to consider all things
that are involved.
"It would be stupid of me to try and train a man to think and make
judgements, and then me try to persuade him or discourage him from
doing something he feels in his heart he must do.
"If Allen had a choice, he would stay at Georgetown University,"
Thompson said. "If you listen very carefully to what he said to you,
at this time in his life, it's necessary for him to make this decision
and go forward."
Iverson was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in both his
freshman and sophomore years. He led the conference in scoring at 24.5
points per game, and steals at 3.8. Iverson averaged 3.6 turnovers and
was fourth in conference field-goal percentage at 49.1. Iverson's 5.03
assist average ranked eighth in the Big East in 1995-96.
Iverson's stay at Georgetown began in controversy.
In December, the Virginia Court of Appeals reversed the 1993
conviction of Iverson and two friends in connection with a bowling
alley brawl.
Iverson was an 18-year-old high school student when he was convicted
of three counts of maiming by mob in connection with a chair-throwing
incident during a fight at a Hampton, Va., bowling alley in February,
1993.
He was sentenced to five years in prison and served three months
before being granted clemency and enrolling at Georgetown. Iverson was
one of the nation's top freshmen players last year.
Iverson's lawyers argued in their appeal that the incident was
racially motivated and that no mob formed. The appeals court agreed
that there was no mob involved.
nba.747vpoznanovic,
NETS NOT FOR SALE, BUT OWNERSHIP WILL BE RESTRUCTURED
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New Jersey Nets will not be sold and the
team's board of directors will meet Friday to restructure the
ownership group.
The Wednesday announcement ends weeks of speculation, including
reports that John McMullen -- owner of hockey's New Jersey Devils --
offered $90 million to buy the Nets.
According to Nets president Michael Rowe, board member Henry Taub will
be named chairman and chief executive officer on Friday, replacing
Alan Aufzien. Principal owners David Gerstein and Jerry Cohen will
retain their ownership interests, Rowe said.
"The Nets ownership considered substantial offers to sell the team,
but decided to commit themselves to strengthening the organization and
building the organization and building the best team possible," Rowe
said.
Nets executives said they have advised NBA officials of the team's
plans.
New Jersey finished sixth in the Atlantic Division in 1995-96 with a
30-52 record, 30 games behind first-place Orlando and 12 games out of
the final Eastern Conference playoff berth. The Nets traded former
All-Stars Derrick Coleman and Kenny Anderson during the season, missed
the playoffs for the second consecutive season and fired coach Butch
Beard.
nba.748vpoznanovic,
PEROT GROUP BUYS MAVS; COACH MOTTA STEPS DOWN
DALLAS -- After much speculation, Dallas Mavericks owner Donald Carter
officially agreed Wednesday to sell a majority interest in the team to
a group headed by Ross Perot Jr. and David McDavid.
The sale is rumored to be for $125 million, more than 10 times the $12
million Carter paid for the expansion team in 1980.
Mavericks coach Dick Motta, the third-winningest coach in NBA history,
agreed to step down as part of the sale. Motta, 64, will stay with the
Mavericks as a basketball consultant, according to a team spokeswoman.
"Coach Motta has a personal relationship with Don Carter, as everyone
knows," McDavid said. "He expressed to me that he wanted to exit when
Don sold majority interest. We've asked him to stay on as a basketball
consultant and he accepted.
"We're putting together a list of coaching candidates and coach Motta
will be consulted for his input. We're looking forward to benefiting
from his vast knowledge of the NBA and the Mavericks."
Motta guided Dallas to a combined 62-102 record over the past two
seasons in his second stint with the Mavericks. He also coached the
team for its first seven seasons in the NBA, compiling a 267-307 mark
and four playoff appearances.
The announcement of the sale was made at a 4 p.m. ET news conference
at Reunion Arena.
"I'm at peace and I'm excited about the future of the Mavericks and
what this new blood can do for the team," said Carter, who will retain
a minority ownership stake. "I believe I'm putting the team in good
hands. That helps ease the pain and gives me strong faith in the
future.
"These new owners will appreciate the strong organization and the
relationships we've built."
The group is headed by Perot, the son of the businessman and former
presidential candidate. McDavid, a Dallas-area car dealer, will
represent the team on the NBA Board of Governors.
Other notable names reportedly involved in the group include former
Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Roger Staubach and professional golfer
Fred Couples.
"David and I are very excited and honored to be in partnership with
the Carters as owners of the Mavericks," said Perot, who serves as
chairman of the successful Hillwood Development Corporation. "The next
few years are going to be very exciting ones in the history of this
team and this community with the building of a great team and a great
arena. We look forward to a very bright future."
Dallas Stars owner Thomas Hicks reportedly was also in negotiations to
purchase the Mavericks from Carter. Both teams currently play in
Reunion Arena.
The Mavericks became the NBA's 23rd franchise in 1980. The height of
their success came in 1987, when they won 53 games and reached the
Western Conference finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven
games.
But injuries, bad trades, free agency and the recurring
substance-abuse woes of forward Roy Tarpley led to the franchise's
decline. In the 1992-93 and 1993-94 campaigns, the Mavericks went
24-140, the worst two-season record in NBA history.
This season, the Mavericks were expected to push for a playoff spot,
but injuries and dissension hurt the team as it sputtered to a 26-56
record. Dallas has not reached the playoffs since 1990.
nba.749vpoznanovic,
BULLETS NAME UNSELD TO REPLACE NASH AS GM
LANDOVER, Md. -- Wes Unseld, who played for the Washington Bullets for
13 seasons and coached them for seven, was named general manager on
Wednesday.
Unseld takes over for John Nash, who resigned as general manager on
Tuesday.
"Many times through the history of this franchise, I have turned to
Wes to lead the way," Bullet chairman Abe Pollin said. "As we enter a
very exciting and important time in the Bullets development, I can
think of no other candidate more appropriate to take the Bullets into
the future than Wes Unseld."
Unseld was the executive vice president for the Bullets and Washington
Sports and Entertainment for the previous two years. He managed the
sponsorship, communications, community relations and game operations
for the Bullets and the NHL's Washington Capitals.
Unseld was the top overall pick of the Baltimore Bullets in the 1968
NBA draft and that season joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players
ever to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in
the same campaign.
Unseld was a Hall of Fame player, and he played on the 1977-78 Bullets
team that won the NBA championship. He did not fare as well as the
coach, compiling a record of 202-345 from 1987 to 1994.
In a prepared statement issued Tuesday, Nash cited personal reasons
for his departure and said that he would be attending to family
affairs in the near future without any further comment.
Nash, 49, left the Bullets after almost six years as the team's vice
president and general manager. Nash was hired in June of 1990.
Nash's most significant moves as Bullets general manager came in 1994
when he selected forward Juwan Howard in the first round of the June
draft and then acquired forward Chris Webber from Golden State in
November.
However, the Bullets failed to qualify for the playoffs in Nash's
tenure as general manager and their streak of eight consecutive years
without making the playoffs is currently the longest in the NBA's
Eastern Conference.
nba.750vpoznanovic,
Cleveland (76) At New York (81)
Cleveland
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Mills F 41 4-15 0-0 4 4 8 1 4 2 1 8
Ferry F 34 3-12 0-0 0 6 6 2 6 1 2 6
Cage C 37 0-1 0-0 6 6 12 1 4 0 0 0
Phills G 22 4-10 1-3 1 4 5 1 1 0 2 10
Brandon G 44 6-14 7-8 0 2 2 7 5 1 5 19
Hill 23 3-5 7-8 4 3 7 0 6 0 2 13
Majerle 31 4-11 5-6 0 2 2 1 0 2 2 16
Sura 8 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 1 2 4
Amaechi Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Crotty Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Lang Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Marshall Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 26-71 20-25 15 27 42 14 29 7 16 76
(.366) (.800) Team Rebs: 5 Total To: 17(16 Pts)
New York
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Oakley F 32 5-10 2-4 3 3 6 4 6 1 4 13
Mason F 45 4-10 3-4 1 8 9 4 3 2 2 11
Ewing C 42 5-10 6-14 2 8 10 1 2 0 6 16
Starks G 39 7-11 3-6 0 5 5 4 3 0 4 22
Harper G 35 2-5 2-4 0 4 4 3 3 3 1 6
Davis 28 2-4 4-5 1 2 3 1 2 0 1 9
Williams 6 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Ward 13 0-3 0-0 1 0 1 2 1 2 3 0
Anderson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grandison Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grant Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Reid Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 27-55 20-37 8 30 38 19 20 8 21 81
(.491) (.541) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 21(22 Pts)
Cleveland 16 16 23 21 - 76
New York 24 26 16 15 - 81
Blocked Shots: Cleveland - Ferry, Cage. New York - Ewing 4, Williams.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Cleveland 4-19 (.211), Mills 0-1, Ferry 0-4, Phills
1-4, Brandon 0-4, Majerle 3-6. New York 7-13 (.538), Oakley 1-1, Starks
5-7, Davis 1-3, Ward 0-2.
Technicals: None.
Officials: Mike Mathis, Jack Nies, Tommy Nunez.
A - 19,763. T - 2:29.
nba.751vpoznanovic,
KNICKS SWEEP CAVS, DESPITE NOT WAITING TO EXHALE
NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks did everything in their power to give
the game away in the fourth quarter.
Problem was, the Cleveland Cavaliers just wouldn't accept the gift.
The Knicks blew a 19-point lead Wednesday night but recovered to
defeat Cavaliers 81-76 for a three-game sweep of their Eastern
Conference first-round series.
"Tonight we sort of exhaled. We played to get the game over with, and
we didn't close them out," Knicks guard Derek Harper said. "In order
to beat Chicago, we're going to have to play very consistent
basketball for 48 minutes."
New York will play the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in the best-of-seven
conference semifinals that begin Sunday at Chicago. This marks the
fifth time in six seasons that Chicago and New York will meet in the
playoffs.
John Starks scored 22 points and Patrick Ewing -- who missed five
consecutive free throws down the stretch -- added 16 points against
Cleveland, as the Knicks swept a playoff series for the first time
since eliminating the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round in 1989.
"Again, it was a struggle at home," New York coach Jeff Van Gundy said
Wednesday. "Despite what happened tonight, we made the plays we needed
to to win the game. I don't think we were complacent -- we were
playing a desperate team out there and you have to give them all the
credit.
"It was good for us to get the sweep. It takes a lot of mental
toughness to do what we did."
When Cleveland point guard Terrell Brandon was called for his fifth
foul with one minute left in the third quarter, Starks started started
grinning and waving five fingers in the face of Cavs coach Mike
Fratello.
"I appreciate John trying to help me out, telling me that my point
guard had five fouls. That was very considerate on his part," Fratello
said sarcastically.
After that, the Cavs rallied and the Knicks began to crumble.
Cleveland trailed 68-57 early in the fourth quarter, but used a 13-2
run to tie the score. Dan Majerle started the spurt with four free
throws and Brandon added a jumper to make it 68-63 with 7:30 to play.
Cleveland's Tyrone Hill added a turnaround jumper, but Anthony Mason
broke the Knicks' dry spell with a layup to make it 70-65 with 6:18 to
go.
Brandon scored before Majerle made a free throw and a hook shot to tie
the score with 4:48 remaining.
"This was a tough series," Starks said. "Even though we swept,
Cleveland didn't give up at all. It just shows you what kind of team
they have."
New York took control again, taking off on a 7-0 run. Mason and Ewing
each made a foul shot before Starks drilled a 3-pointer from the left
baseline to make it 75-70 with 3:21 to play. Harper then stole the
ball from Brandon on the left side and converted a layup to extend the
lead to 77-70 at the 3:02 mark.
"We had a chance at the end but there was a three from Starks, and
then Brandon got stripped and all of a sudden it was 77-70," Fratello
said.
Cleveland made one last push, pulling within 78-76 on a layup by Hill
with 49 seconds remaining. Mason responded with a layup 14 seconds
later and Brandon missed a 3-pointer. Ewing then missed two free
throws with 23 seconds to go, but Majerle missed a layup and Starks
hit the second of two free throws with 12 seconds left to complete the
scoring.
Brandon scored 19 points and Majerle added 16 for fourth-seeded
Cleveland, which was eliminated in the first round for the third year
in a row. The Cavaliers have lost to the Knicks the past two
postseasons.
The Cavaliers are 1-9 in their past three playoff appearances and were
swept for the second time in that span. Cleveland lost in three games
to Chicago in 1994.
"You have to give the Knicks credit. They played good team basketball
down the stretch," Fratello said. "We're hurting very much as a team
right now, but I am very satisfied with the effort we got tonight. We
are looking to improve next year and I feel we will be a stronger
club."
The Knicks are in the second round for the fifth consecutive year, the
second-longest active streak behind Chicago's nine years.
"Hopefully, we can bring this brand of basketball into the next
round," Starks said. "We are a confident team right now, I'm looking
forward to play Chicago. They're the best and you have to go through
them to win the championship."
New York had taken its largest lead of the game at 44-25 with 1:38
left in the first half when Charles Oakley made a foul shot. Starks
gave the Knicks a 50-32 halftime lead on a 42-footer as time expired.
Oakley scored 13 points and Mason added 11 and nine rebounds for New
York, which shot 49 percent (27 for 55) from the floor and overcame 21
turnovers.
Hill added 13 points off the bench for the Cavs, who shot only 37
percent (26 for 71). They made just four of 19 3-pointers and were
just 16 of 63 from 3-point range (26 percent) for the series.
The Knicks connected on 30 of 51 3-pointers (59 percent) during the
series, including 17 of 22 in Game 1.
The Cavaliers made 37.7 percent of their 3-pointers in the regular
season, as did New York.
nba.752vpoznanovic,
Chicago (112) At Miami (91)
Chicago
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Kukoc F 30 4-8 6-7 1 4 5 4 2 1 1 14
Pippen F 39 6-12 8-11 8 10 18 10 3 1 5 22
Longley C 21 4-8 2-2 2 3 5 1 2 0 1 10
Jordan G 33 10-23 3-3 1 2 3 2 0 3 0 26
Harper G 34 5-6 2-2 0 2 2 3 2 0 1 13
Rodman 18 3-4 0-0 2 1 3 3 4 0 0 6
Kerr 23 2-5 2-2 0 1 1 3 0 1 1 7
Brown 7 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
Buechler 14 3-7 0-0 1 3 4 0 1 0 2 7
Salley 8 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0
Wennington 13 3-5 0-0 2 2 4 1 1 2 1 6
Edwards Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 40-80 24-29 17 31 48 27 17 8 12 112
(.500) (.828) Team Rebs: 3 Total To: 12(13 Pts)
Miami
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Williams F 19 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 2 2 0 0 2
Thomas F 17 2-5 2-2 3 5 8 2 5 0 1 6
Mourning C 41 11-19 8-8 2 6 8 2 3 1 3 30
Chapman G 30 3-9 0-0 0 4 4 2 1 1 1 6
Hardaway G 38 6-15 0-0 1 1 2 6 3 0 4 14
Gatling 20 1-8 1-3 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 3
Askins 30 4-7 3-3 1 2 3 1 5 1 3 13
Smith 22 4-10 0-0 2 0 2 3 0 2 1 10
Danilovic 15 3-6 0-0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 7
Corbin 8 0-2 0-0 3 1 4 1 1 1 0 0
King Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Schayes Dnp - Fractures Right Side Of Face
Totals 240 35-84 14-16 15 23 38 22 22 7 14 91
(.417) (.875) Team Rebs: 7 Total To: 14(24 Pts)
Chicago 37 25 27 23 - 112
Miami 23 21 22 25 - 91
Blocked Shots: Chicago - Pippen 3. Miami - Mourning 2.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Chicago 8-20 (.400), Kukoc 0-3, Pippen 2-4, Jordan 3-6,
Harper 1-1, Kerr 1-3, Buechler 1-3. Miami 7-27 (.259), Williams 0-2,
Chapman 0-3, Hardaway 2-8, Askins 2-4, Smith 2-6, Danilovic 1-4.
Technicals: Miami - Hardaway.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Bennett Salvatore, Ron Olesiak.
A - 15,200. T - 2:12.
nba.753vpoznanovic,
BULLS COMPLETE THEIR WHAMMY ON MIAMI
MIAMI -- Phil Jackson's greatest admirer is ... Pat Riley?
"Phil has put together a machine that is incredibly in sync," Riley
said Wednesday after his Miami Heat lost 112-91 to Jackson's Chicago
Bulls, who swept the first-round playoff series. "When you vote for
coach of the year, my vote is for Phil. There isn't anybody in the
league doing a better job."
Michael Jordan scored 26 points in three quarters and Scottie Pippen
had a triple-double on Wednesday. Chicago won three games by an
average of 22.7 points and swept its first-round foe for the fifth
time in the past six years.
Chicago advanced to the second round for the ninth consecutive
postseason, the longest active streak in the league.
"I don't want to sit here and I don't want my players to sit here and
wallow in total domination by the Bulls," Riley said. "They are a
well-oiled machine -- a great, great team on a mission. In spite of
what happened tonight, I'm very happy with our team."
The Bulls, who won a record 72 games during the regular season, will
face the New York Knicks in the second round, starting Sunday at
Chicago. The Knicks knocked off Cleveland in the first round and will
face the Bulls in the playoffs for the fifth time in the past six
seasons.
Riley coached New York during the previous four Bulls-Knicks
postseason matchups. During that time, he and Jackson feuded through
the media because Jackson didn't like New York's less-than-artistic
form of physical basketball, and Riley and his Knicks didn't care.
"Obviously the Knicks run the same system as Miami does," Jackson said
Wednesday. "We're going to have to be prepared for a team that
basically does the same thing."
Jordan aggravated the back injury he sustained in Game 2. He watched
the opening minutes of the fourth quarter while he was on his stomach
in front of the bench, receiving treatment. He left for the locker
room with seven minutes to play.
"It was tough getting loose, but once I got loose I felt pretty good,"
Jordan said. "I was looking forward to getting this thing over so I
could use these three days to get healthy."
Pippen had 22 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for Chicago, which
used a 15-4 run first-quarter run to take control of Game 3.
"I don't think it was an easy series," said Pippen, who had engaged in
verbal jousting with Miami center Alonzo Mourning throughout the
series. "I think we stepped up our game and played much better than
they probably anticipated."
Mourning, who was held to 24 points in the first two games, scored 30
points and Tim Hardaway added 14 for Miami, which fell to 0-6 in the
playoffs all-time against the Bulls. Miami has lost those against by
an average of 20.5 points.
"It's not a good feeling at all. It's just not a good feeling,"
Mourning said. "The fact is that we've gone through a lot as a team --
a lot of ups and downs, basically a roller coaster year. It's amazing
that we put ourselves in the playoffs."
Chicago grabbed control of the game in the first quarter. Mourning
gave Miami its final lead of the game at 10-9 with a seven-foot hook
shot, but the Bulls reeled off the next 10 points.
Jordan scored 14 and Pippen added nine as Chicago raced to a 37-23
lead after one period. The Bulls made 14 of 23 shots in the quarter.
The Bulls used a 27-12 rebounding advantage to open a 62-44 halftime
lead. Miami came no closer than 15 points in the second half. Chicago
took its largest lead of the game at 105-74 on a 3-pointer by Steve
Kerr with 7:07 remaining.
All five Chicago starters scored in double figures as Kukoc scored 14,
Harper 13 and Longley 10. The Bulls shot 50 percent (40 for 80) from
the field and outrebounded Miami 48-38.
Chicago forward Dennis Rodman, who was ejected in Game 2 and fined for
making an obscene gesture as he left the court, played only 18 minutes
and finished with six points and three rebounds.
Keith Askins scored 13 points and Tony Smith added 10 for Miami, which
shot 42 percent (35 for 84) from the floor and was outscored 24-14
from the foul line. The Heat committed 14 turnovers, leading to 24
Chicago points.
nba.754vpoznanovic,
Utah (90) At Portland (98)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Benoit F 34 5-9 0-0 0 2 2 0 3 0 1 13
Malone F 38 4-16 7-12 2 4 6 6 4 6 2 15
Spencer C 20 0-3 0-0 2 2 4 0 4 0 1 0
Hornacek G 36 11-17 4-4 1 3 4 3 3 1 3 30
Stockton G 39 3-13 5-5 1 1 2 11 2 4 1 11
Eisley 9 0-2 2-2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 2
Ostertag 24 3-5 3-4 3 2 5 0 5 1 1 9
Russell 10 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0
Morris 15 0-4 4-6 2 4 6 0 1 1 0 4
Carr 12 2-5 0-0 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 4
Foster 1 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Keefe 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 240 29-77 25-33 14 20 34 21 28 14 9 90
(.377) (.758) Team Rebs: 9 Total To: 10(9 Pts)
Portland
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Grant F 31 4-7 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 8
C Robinson F 29 3-8 7-11 2 1 3 1 5 1 4 15
Sabonis C 35 6-13 10-12 0 13 13 4 5 1 3 25
Mckie G 37 5-10 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 2 5 10
Strickland G 38 10-16 5-6 2 4 6 7 1 1 2 27
Williams 26 1-2 2-2 1 3 4 0 3 0 1 4
R Robinson 10 3-4 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 2 7
Wingfield 15 0-3 1-2 2 2 4 3 3 0 2 1
Dudley 19 0-3 1-2 2 4 6 0 1 0 0 1
J Robinson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Spencer Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Trent Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 32-66 26-35 11 32 43 18 24 5 19 98
(.485) (.743) Team Rebs: 13 Total To: 19(23 Pts)
Utah 17 23 24 26 - 90
Portland 27 27 20 24 - 98
Blocked Shots: Utah - Ostertag, Carr. Portland - Williams 2, Grant,
Sabonis, Dudley.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Utah 7-15 (.467), Benoit 3-5, Hornacek 4-4, Stockton
0-1, Russell 0-1, Morris 0-4. Portland 8-17 (.471), Grant 0-1, C Robinson
2-4, Sabonis 3-3, Mckie 0-2, Strickland 2-3, R Robinson 1-2, Wingfield 0-2.
Technicals: Utah - Malone, Illegal Defense, Portland - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Dan Crawford, Joe Forte, Joe Derosa.
A - 21,401. T - 2:16.
nba.755vpoznanovic,
I BEG YOUR PARDON: JAZZ DOESN'T DIG ROSE GARDEN
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland's Rose Garden smelled quite foul to the
Utah Jazz.
Arvydas Sabonis scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half as the
Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 98-90 on Wednesday, forcing
a decisive fifth game in their Western Conference first-round series.
After winning the first two games of the series in Salt Lake City, the
Jazz came to Oregon and lost twice at the Blazers' new arena.
"We knew we could win these games on our home court," said Portland
guard Rod Strickland, who had 27 points and seven assists. "It was
just a matter of getting it done.
"They did what they had to do at their place and we've done what we've
had to do at our place. Now we have to figure out a way to steal one
there on Sunday. It's not going to be easy. We'll have to play a very,
very good game."
Game 5 is Sunday at Salt Lake City. The Jazz held a 2-1 lead over the
Houston Rockets in the first round last season, but lost the final two
games, including a 95-91 home loss in Game 5.
"I'm not making any predictions about Sunday other then we'll go in
there and give it out best effort," Portland forward Buck Williams
said. "They are a very, very good team at home and it will take a
monumental effort from us to win this series."
Utah's Jeff Hornacek scored 30 points and Karl Malone, who scored 98
points in the first three games, was held to just 15.
"Chalk this game up as an experience," said Malone, who shot four for
16 from the field. "I had a bad game and I take the responsibility for
the loss. It was just one of those things where I just didn't play
well and I really don't have anything negative to say. Portland played
very hard and they played well at home."
Utah had pulled within 34-28 on two free throws by John Stockton with
almost seven minutes to play in the first half, but Portland took off
on a 17-4 tear.
Strickland closed the run with a 12-footer, giving the Blazers a 51-32
lead with 1:30 to play in the first half.
Portland took its largest lead of the game when Clifford Robinson hit
a 3-pointer with 9:31 left in the third quarter to give the Blazers a
63-42 lead.
Utah came as close as eight points early in the fourth quarter, but
Rumeal Robinson converted a layup and Clifford Robinson added a
three-point play to give Portland a 79-66 lead just two minutes into
the final period.
Clifford Robinson finished with 15 points and Aaron McKie added 10 for
Portland, which shot 49 percent (32 for 66) from the field and
outrebounded the Jazz 43-34. Sabonis pulled down 13 rebounds, all on
the defensive end.
David Benoit scored 13 points and Stockton added 11 points and 11
assists for Utah, which shot 38 percent (29 for 77) from the field.
The Jazz made 38 percent (63 for 167) of its shots in the two games at
Portland after making 59 percent (76 for 130) in the two games at
Utah.
"They played well," Hornacek said. "They just came out and beat us.
They were 18-4 at the end of the season and they are a very good team.
Sabonis was outstanding and they got a great effort from Rod
Stickland.
"We can't get our heads down. It will help to go home and be in our
home court."
nba.756vpoznanovic,
San Antonio (93) At Phoenix (94)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 45 9-21 0-0 2 1 3 5 1 3 2 20
Smith F 19 1-3 2-2 0 2 2 0 5 1 1 4
Robinson C 35 8-18 6-6 4 3 7 4 4 1 4 22
Del Negro G 40 3-12 0-0 1 5 6 8 1 3 1 6
Johnson G 46 9-16 1-2 1 7 8 6 2 0 2 19
W Perdue 21 2-2 0-0 4 5 9 0 2 0 1 4
C Person 28 6-10 2-2 0 3 3 1 4 0 0 18
Alexander 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Herrera 4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0
Anderson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Rivers Dnp - Lower Back Spasms Not Wth Team
Williams Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 38-84 11-12 12 27 39 25 21 8 11 93
(.452) (.917) Team Rebs: 5 Total To: 11(13 Pts)
Phoenix
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Green F 21 0-3 2-2 2 4 6 0 3 0 1 2
Barkley F 40 6-12 12-15 2 11 13 3 3 1 2 25
Williams C 38 2-9 0-0 6 5 11 0 5 0 2 4
W Person G 48 9-19 2-2 4 5 9 1 1 0 2 23
Johnson G 41 8-18 2-3 2 4 6 8 2 0 4 18
Tisdale 20 3-8 0-0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 6
Manning 19 7-14 0-0 1 3 4 0 1 2 2 14
Perry 7 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0
Carr 6 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2
Bennett Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Finley Dnp - Sprained Left Ankle
Kleine Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 36-86 18-22 20 33 53 18 16 3 13 94
(.419) (.818) Team Rebs: 4 Total To: 13(9 Pts)
San Antonio 26 28 17 22 - 93
Phoenix 23 29 24 18 - 94
Blocked Shots: San Antonio - Robinson 3, W Perdue, C Person. Phoenix -
Barkley, Williams, W Person.
3-Pt. Field Goals: San Antonio 6-16 (.375), Elliott 2-7, Del Negro 0-4, C
Person 4-5. Phoenix 4-11 (.364), Green 0-1, Barkley 1-3, W Person 3-7.
Technicals: None.
Officials: Ed T Rush, Bob Delaney, Greg Willard.
A - 19,023. T - 2:15.
nba.757vpoznanovic,
SUNS RISE IN THE WES AS SPURS GO SOUTH
PHOENIX -- There were more than 19,000 happy people at America West
Arena on Wednesday, but one Person was particularly relieved.
"I'm glad we won because I couldn't have gone home for the summer if
my brother swept me," said Phoenix guard Wesley Person, who scored 23
points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Suns defeated the San Antonio
Spurs 94-93 in Game 3 and staved off elimination from the first round
of the playoffs.
Wesley's older brother Chuck finished with 18 points for San Antonio,
shooting four for five from 3-point range. Game 4 of the best-of-five
playoff series is Friday at Phoenix.
Danny Manning scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter for
Phoenix. Charles Barkley, who was scoreless in the first and fourth
quarters, finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
"We obviously dodged a bullet so we can live another day," Phoenix
coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said. "We struggled a great deal on our
shooting. But I have no complaints about the effort my team put out.
"Manning stepped up in the fourth quarter when we had to have him. I
rested him most of the ball game; he's been having trouble with his
tendinitis in his knee."
Phoenix was able to hold San Antonio without points in consecutive
possessions over the final 11:14 of the game. Suns center John "Hot
Rod" Williams made two crucial defensive plays in the late going,
batting a rebound to Wesley Person with 45 seconds left and tying up
David Robinson for a jump ball with 12.7 seconds to go.
"I can't say enough about John Williams and job he did on Robinson,"
Fitzsimmons said. "The fact is that we didn't have to double-team
Robinson hardly at all."
Robinson, who was scoreless in the first quarter, finished with 22
points and Sean Elliott added 20 for San Antonio, which missed two
opportunities to win in the final 8.8 seconds. Vinny Del Negro missed
a 3-pointer from the left wing and Elliott missed a jumper from just
beyond the foul line.
"I had a good look at the last shot, but unfortunately it didn't go
down," Del Negro said. "Now we have to re-group and get ready for
Friday. If we made a shot here and there, we get the victory. But
we're still in the driver's seat."
"I really thought we were going to get this game," Robinson said. "I
never doubted it the whole game. I put my money on Vinny on shooting
that shot every day of the week.
"We didn't establish our presence early in the game and they took
advantage of it."
San Antonio had taken its final lead -- the 13th lead change of the
fourth quarter -- on a 12-footer by Elliott to make it 89-88 with 5:15
to play. Wesley Person responded with a layup to give Phoenix the lead
for good at the 3:42 mark, and Manning added a putback almost a minute
later to give the Suns a 92-89 lead.
Chuck Person answered with a dunk to bring San Antonio within 92-91,
but Kevin Johnson converted a layup to restore the three-point lead
with 1:48 left. Robinson scored the game's final points on a layup
with 90 seconds to play.
Phoenix had led 76-71 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the
Spurs set up the see-saw for the final period as Chuck Person hit a
3-pointer and Robinson converted a three-point play to give San
Antonio a 77-76 lead with 11:14 to go.
Wesley Person hit three of his seven 3-point attempts. Kevin Johnson
added 18 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
"When I'm making the outside shot, they have another person they have
to come out for," Wesley said. "And that takes a lot of pressure off
Charles and Kevin."
Phoenix shot 42 percent (36 for 86) from the field and held a 53-39
edge in rebounds, including 20-12 on the offensive end. Barkley
outscored San Antonio at the foul line: Barkley was 12 for 15 and
the Spurs were 11 for 12.
The Spurs shot 45 percent (38 for 84) from the floor. Elliott was
nine for 21 from the field, Del Negro was three for 12 and Robinson
was eight for 18.
"We played awful," San Antonio coach Bob Hill said. "That's the worst
game we've played in. We were impatient and we didn't keep our
composure. We didn't rebound. We didn't drive the ball.
"It was just a very poor performance on our part. We don't talk about
wins and losses, we talk about performances. And that was a bad
performance."
There were 23 lead changes and 15 ties in the game.
nba.758vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
First round (best-of-five; all times Eastern)
*if necessary
Eastern Conference
Chicago defeats Miami 3-0
April 26 Chicago 102, Miami 85
April 28 Chicago 106, Miami 75
May 1 Chicago 112, Miami 91
Orlando defeats Detroit 3-0
April 26 Orlando 112, Detroit 92
April 28 Orlando 92, Detroit 77
April 30 Orlando 101, Detroit 98
Atlanta leads Indiana 2-1
April 25 Atlanta 92, Indiana 80
April 27 Indiana 102, Atlanta 94 (OT)
April 29 Atlanta 90, Indiana 83
May 2 at Atlanta 7 p.m. TNT
May 5 *at Indiana TBA
New York defeats Cleveland 3-0
April 25 New York 106, Cleveland 83
April 27 New York 84, Cleveland 80
May 1 New York 81, Cleveland 76
Western Conference
Seattle leads Sacramento 2-1
April 26 Seattle 97, Sacramento 85
April 28 Sacramento 90, Seattle 81
April 30 Seattle 96, Sacramento 89
May 2 at Sacramento 10:30 p.m. TBS
May 4 *at Seattle TBA
San Antonio leads Phoenix 2-1
April 26 San Antonio 120, Phoenix 98
April 28 San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105
May 1 Phoenix 94, San Antonio 93
May 3 at Phoenix 9 p.m. TNT
May 5 *at San Antonio TBA
Utah, Portland tied 2-2
April 25 Utah 110, Portland 102
April 27 Utah 105, Portland 90
April 29 Portland 94, Utah 91 (OT)
May 1 Portland 98, Utah 90
May 5 at Utah TBA
Houston leads L.A. Lakers 2-1
April 25 Houston 87, L.A. Lakers 83
April 27 L.A Lakers 104, Houston 94
April 30 Houston 104, L.A. Lakers 98
May 2 at Houston 9:30 p.m. TNT
May 4 *at L.A Lakers TBA
nba.759vpoznanovic,
BY GHEORGHE, MURESAN WINS NBA'S MOST IMPROVED
LANDOVER, Md. -- Washington Bullets center Gheorghe Muresan received
the NBA's Most Improved Player Award after receiving 50 of a possible
113 votes from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik presented Muresan with the award
during a Thursday ceremony on Capitol Hill.
"When I came to the NBA, I knew there were very good players here,"
said Muresan, a three-year NBA veteran. "But I knew if I worked hard I
would get better. This is very nice."
Muresan, the NBA leader in shooting percentage at .584, also averaged
career-highs in points (14.5), rebounds (9.6), blocked shots (2.26),
assists (0.7) and steals (0.68). Muresan was eighth in the league in
blocked shots.
His scoring average went up 4.5 points per game in 1995-96, his
rebounding average improved by 2.9 per game and the Bullets improved
their win total by 18 and narrowly missed the playoffs.
BIG GHEORGHE
Gheorghe Muresan's statistics during his first three NBA seasons:
PTS. REB. BLK. FG pct.
1993-94 5.6 3.6 0.9 .545
1994-95 10.0 6.7 1.7 .560
1995-96 14.5 9.6 2.3 .584*
* led NBA "I wasn't sure when we drafted him that he would be in a
Bullets uniform at this time. I thought he'd stay in Europe for at
least three seasons," John Nash, Washington's former general manager,
said of Muresan last month. "He's made progress well beyond what I
could have envisioned."
The 7-foot-7 center from Romania started the first 76 games for the
Bullets this past season before a right knee injury sidelined him. He
shot better than .500 from the field in 58 games and blocked two or
more shots 43 times.
George McCloud of Dallas was second in the balloting with 23 votes and
Cleveland teammates Danny Ferry and Terrell Brandon shared third place
with six votes each.
Eighteen players received votes. They were Terry Murray of Toronto
(4), Brian Williams of the Los Angeles Clippers (4), Elden Campbell of
the Los Angeles Lakers (3), Shawn Bradley and Chris Childs of New
Jersey (2), Allen Houston of Detroit (2), Bobby Phills of Cleveland
(2), Dennis Scott of Orlando (2), David Wesley of Boston (2), Greg
Anthony of Vancouver (1), Vinny Del Negro of San Antonio (1), Matt
Geiger of Charlotte (1), Juwan Howard of Washington (1) and Jayson
Williams of New Jersey (1).
nba.760vpoznanovic,
NETS' EDWARDS HAS SCAR TISSUE REMOVED FROM KNEE
CLEVELAND -- The New Jersey Nets announced Thursday that guard Kevin
Edwards underwent surgery on his right knee in Cleveland.
Edwards had tendinitis scar tissue and calcification removed from his
quadriceps tendon, located above the knee cap. He will begin a
rehabilitation program that will last approximately 10 to 12 weeks,
but is expected to ready for training camp in October.
Edwards, 30, appeared in 34 games this past season and averaged 11.6
points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He missed 48 games
because of the injury and was placed on the injured list Jan. 15.
nba.761vpoznanovic,
Indiana (83) At Atlanta (75)
Indiana
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Mckey F 35 5-12 3-3 0 6 6 2 3 0 2 14
D Davis F 42 1-2 1-4 2 7 9 1 4 2 2 3
Smits C 26 8-12 1-1 2 7 9 0 6 0 4 17
Pierce G 25 5-11 2-4 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 12
Jackson G 37 5-15 1-2 0 7 7 5 1 4 3 12
A Davis 26 2-5 2-2 4 2 6 1 3 0 3 6
Workman 11 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 3
Ferrell 14 3-5 1-3 2 0 2 0 3 1 0 7
Best 24 2-5 5-6 1 4 5 3 1 1 1 9
Caldwell Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Johnson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Miller Dnp - Eye Injury
Totals 240 32-69 16-25 11 34 45 14 25 10 17 83
(.464) (.640) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 18(12 Pts)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 29 2-7 4-4 1 3 4 1 3 1 1 8
Long F 40 4-12 0-2 6 6 12 2 3 1 2 9
Laettner C 33 3-9 3-6 3 5 8 1 5 1 3 9
Smith G 45 6-18 6-7 0 5 5 2 2 1 2 19
Blaylock G 43 7-18 0-0 2 4 6 5 2 2 4 17
Ehlo 22 2-6 1-1 0 2 2 0 1 1 2 6
Henderson 10 1-3 0-0 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 2
Jordan 5 1-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 3
Rooks 13 1-3 0-3 3 0 3 0 4 0 2 2
Boyce Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Bullard Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 27-77 15-25 17 26 43 11 22 9 17 75
(.351) (.600) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 17(18 Pts)
Indiana 25 25 18 15 - 83
Atlanta 22 19 23 11 - 75
Blocked Shots: Indiana - D Davis, Smits, A Davis. Atlanta - Smith 3,
Laettner, Long, Blaylock, Rooks.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Indiana 3-10 (.300), Mckey 1-3, Jackson 1-4, Workman
1-2, Best 0-1. Atlanta 6-20 (.300), Long 1-3, Smith 1-4, Blaylock 3-10,
Ehlo 1-3.
Technicals: Indiana - Smits.
Officials: Hue Hollins, Bill Oakes, Don Vaden.
A - 15,482. T - 2:13.
nba.762vpoznanovic,
PACERS FORCE GAME 5; WILL REGGIE RETURN?
ATLANTA -- What the playoffs be without some drama? Heck, what would
the playoffs be without Reggie Miller?
Indiana used a stifling defense to hold Atlanta scoreless for more
than seven minutes in the fourth quarter Thursday night, as the Pacers
defeated the Hawks 83-75 to force a decisive fifth game in their
first-round playoff series.
"I can't remember better defense than that in a key game," Pacers
coach Larry Brown said.
Here's where the plot thickens: Miller, Indiana's All-Star guard,
might return Sunday for Game 5. He missed the final 4Ż games of the
regular season and the first four games of the playoffs while
recovering from surgery to repair a fractured eye socket.
"Sunday, I'm going to say some prayers," Brown said Thursday. "He shot
today and he looked pretty damn good, but I don't expect him to be
back."
The Indiana players aren't counting on Miller's return, either.
"We're tired of talking about Reggie. We haven't had him for nine
games," power forward Dale Davis told reporters who only wanted to
talk about one person -- Miller.
After the game, Miller said he didn't expect to play unless Indiana
made it to the second round against Orlando.
Rik Smits had 17 points and nine rebounds in Game 4 and Derrick McKey
scored 14 points. McKey converted a crucial three-point play with 2:54
to go as the Pacers used an 8-0 run to extend a two-point lead into an
81-71 advantage with 75 seconds to go.
The Hawks hit just five of 23 shots (22 percent) in the fourth quarter
and were held to a franchise playoff-low 11 points in the period. The
75 points scored by the Hawks was their second lowest output in
postseason history.
"We missed shots, they made shots," Atlanta guard Steve Smith said.
"We had opportunities.
"We need a win, and we need to play hard with a lot of emotion and
have fun. Basketball is still a fun game. It's a one-game series now."
A first-round loss would be quite a turn of events for an Indiana team
that reached the Eastern Conference finals the previous two seasons.
"I think the difference was we set the tone today," Smits said. "It
comes down to our character and effort. You don't go to the Eastern
finals without any character. Everybody stepped up and made big
plays."
Smith scored 19 points and Mookie Blaylock added 17 for the Hawks, who
missed 13 consecutive shots in the final quarter.
"We started to stand around a little bit and then we didn't get
Christian Laettner involved enough," Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens said.
"You have to have ball movement and you have to defend. This game was
a missed opportunity.
"We have to do a better job next game. We've won in Indiana and the
players know that."
Smits was eight for 12 from the field and scored 15 of his points in
the first half as the Pacers built a 50-41 lead. Indiana seized a
25-22 first-quarter lead behind eight points from Mark Jackson and six
from Smits.
"We had our backs up against the wall. They were up 2-1 and at home
and there definitely was a sense of urgency," Jackson said. "We're a
good team with a lot of character and we responded. Our biggest weapon
is our defense and our intensity. That's how we win games.
"We could've folded, but that's not the makeup of our team."
Dale Davis grabbed nine rebounds and Jackson finished with 12 points,
seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Travis Best, who hit a
jumper during the pivotal fourth-quarter spurt, contributed nine
points, including five-for-six shooting from the foul line.
Atlanta forwards Stacey Augmon and Grant Long combined to shoot six
for 19 from the field, scoring just 17 points in 69 minutes. Long led
all players with 12 rebounds.
The Hawks had seven blocked shots, including three by Smith.
nba.763vpoznanovic,
LA Lakers (94) At Houston (102)
LA Lakers
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Ceballos F 38 10-19 4-5 4 8 12 3 4 3 3 25
Campbell F 41 5-13 5-7 1 6 7 2 3 0 2 15
Divac C 22 4-9 1-2 2 4 6 0 1 0 0 9
Jones G 37 4-7 3-4 0 2 2 2 5 5 2 14
Van Exel G 38 5-13 3-3 0 1 1 11 2 1 5 15
Johnson 30 2-8 4-4 2 3 5 5 1 0 4 8
Threatt 10 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 1 2 0 1 0
Peeler 24 3-6 0-0 0 3 3 0 2 2 1 8
Blount Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Lynch Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Roberts Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Strong Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 33-77 20-25 10 27 37 24 20 11 18 94
(.429) (.800) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 18(17 Pts)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Horry F 40 7-13 0-2 1 5 6 4 4 4 1 17
Brown F 29 6-7 4-4 0 2 2 1 4 0 2 16
Olajuwon C 42 12-22 1-2 4 7 11 7 4 4 5 25
Drexler G 36 2-11 2-2 0 6 6 7 2 3 4 6
Smith G 24 6-6 1-1 0 2 2 6 1 1 2 17
Elie 30 4-8 1-1 1 2 3 2 1 0 0 9
Bryant 8 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2
Cassell 24 1-6 8-9 0 2 2 2 3 0 2 10
Mack 6 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0
Jones 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chilcutt Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Recasner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 39-75 17-21 6 28 34 29 21 12 18 102
(.520) (.810) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 19(13 Pts)
LA Lakers 29 22 25 18 - 94
Houston 35 23 25 19 - 102
Blocked Shots: LA Lakers - Campbell 3, Jones. Houston - Olajuwon 2,
Drexler 2.
3-Pt. Field Goals: LA Lakers 8-21 (.381), Ceballos 1-5, Campbell 0-1,
Divac 0-1, Jones 3-3, Van Exel 2-5, Johnson 0-2, Threatt 0-1, Peeler 2-3.
Houston 7-18 (.389), Horry 3-8, Drexler 0-2, Smith 4-4, Elie 0-2, Cassell
0-1, Mack 0-1.
Technicals: LA Lakers - Ceballos, Illegal Defense, Houston - Brown,
Illegal Defense.
Officials: Jess Kersey, Ed Middleton, Jim Clark.
A - 16,285. T - 2:22.
nba.764vpoznanovic,
HAIL TO THE CHAMPS: ROCKETS OUST LAKERS
HOUSTON -- Life was easier when Magic Johnson was lining up next to
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar instead of lining up against Hakeem Abdul
Olajuwon.
Olajuwon scored 25 points, including a pair of key baskets down the
stretch, as the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets advanced
to the Western Conference semifinals with a 102-94 victory over the
Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
"Houston beat us by putting it all out on the line," said Johnson, a
five-time NBA champion who returned to the Lakers this season after a
4&3189;-year retirement. "They came in as a unit and shut us down for
four or five minutes."
Houston won the best-of-five series 3-1 and advanced to face the
Seattle SuperSonics, the top seed in the West. Game 1 of the
best-of-seven semifinals will be Saturday afternoon in Seattle.
Olajuwon hit a one-handed jumper Thursday night to give Houston a
91-81 advantage with 6:05 to go, the Rockets' largest lead of the
fourth quarter. When the Lakers drew within five points with 4:28 to
play, Olajuwon hit a fadaway baseline jumper to push the lead to
93-86.
He then blocked Elden Campbell's shot on Los Angeles' next possession.
"The last two games defense was key, especially in the fourth
quarter," said Olajuwon, who finished with 11 rebounds, seven assists,
four steals and a pair of blocks. "Robert Horry was fantastic tonight.
He stepped up on offense, played great defense and had so many key
baskets."
Horry and Kenny Smith added 17 points apiece for Houston. Smith hit
all six of his shots, including four from 3-point range.
The Lakers, who lost both games in Houston, fell apart down the
stretch with questionable shot selection, erratic passing and poor
clock management. Los Angeles coach Del Harris sat Magic Johnson most
of the final six minutes as the Lakers failed to overcome a five-point
deficit.
"He was obviously struggling tonight," Harris said of Johnson. "We
needed a push and it's easier to do with young legs."
"I think he felt that that unit was playing well and that was fine
with me," said Johnson, who had eight points, five assists and five
rebounds in 30 minutes. "They were doing a good job and I didn't want
to rock the boat."
Johnson, 36, said he plans to play next year, hopefully as the Lakers'
point guard.
"I want to come back," he said. "If I feel that there's something
different, then I won't come back. Right now I feel like I want to
come back. I hope to be back."
Trailing 91-81, the Lakers cut the deficit to five points with 4:22 to
go. Anthony Peeler scored all five points on a 3-pointer and a jumper
from the top of the key, but Los Angeles committed a series of miscues
and never were able to overcome the deficit.
The Lakers were able to draw no closer than 98-94 with 16.8 seconds
remaining but Sam Cassell hit a pair of free throws and Clyde Drexler
capped the game with a steal and fast-break dunk.
"I think there were a lot of key possessions, especially in the third
and fourth period and everything seemed to go our way," said Drexler,
who shot just two for 11 from the field. "But the key was just
continuing to hustle."
Los Angeles shot just seven for 20 in the final period and committed
six turnovers.
"First of all, let me say how much I respect the Los Angeles Lakers,"
Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "I have a long relationship with Del
Harris and I think they have great players.
"Basic team defense is always there for us," Tomjanovich said of his
own team. "The Houston Rockets aren't ever going to win by being an
offensive team."
Ceballos led Los Angeles with 25 points and a playoff career-high 12
rebounds. Campbell and Van Exel added 15 points apiece.
Smith and Chucky Brown scored 10 points apiece as the Rockets seized a
35-29 lead first-quarter lead. Brown and Smith were held scoreless in
the second quarter, but Olajuwon led a charge that pushed Houston's
lead to 58-51.
Ceballos had 11 points and Jones added five in the third quarter but
the Lakers still trailed by seven after three quarters.
The Lakers were eliminated in the first round for the third time in
their last four playoff appearances.
nba.765vpoznanovic,
Seattle (101) At Sacramento (87)
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
D Schrempf F 33 5-13 2-3 3 7 10 9 2 1 3 13
Kemp F 33 9-15 5-9 3 5 8 1 4 6 4 23
Johnson C 15 1-5 1-1 0 4 4 0 3 0 1 3
Hawkins G 23 6-10 2-2 3 1 4 2 4 1 2 17
Payton G 41 10-18 5-8 1 5 6 5 3 2 3 29
Perkins 27 2-10 2-2 0 3 3 1 1 0 0 6
Askew 22 1-6 0-0 1 3 4 0 2 0 1 2
Mcmillan 28 1-1 1-2 1 4 5 3 1 3 1 4
Brickowski 13 2-4 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 4
Snow 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Wingate 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S Scheffler 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0
Totals 240 37-82 18-27 12 33 45 21 23 13 20 101
(.451) (.667) Team Rebs: 14 Total To: 20(14 Pts)
Sacramento
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot Ast Pf St To Pts
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Owens F 25 2-7 0-0 0 3 3 2 6 1 2 4
Grant F 26 6-12 1-2 1 1 2 0 2 1 4 13
Polynice C 36 3-8 4-4 1 8 9 2 3 0 0 10
Richmond G 11 1-2 3-3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5
Edney G 37 4-10 5-6 0 3 3 2 1 3 4 14
Simmons 35 9-20 4-5 3 3 6 3 3 2 2 24
Smith 22 2-5 3-6 3 6 9 1 3 1 1 7
Marciulionis 29 2-7 3-4 0 2 2 2 2 3 4 7
Causwell 13 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 1 2 0 2 2
C Williamson 2 0-1 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Hurley 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gamble 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 240 30-74 24-31 8 29 37 15 22 11 19 87
(.405) (.774) Team Rebs: 9 Total To: 19(24 Pts)
Seattle 25 25 27 24 - 101
Sacramento 22 26 21 18 - 87
Blocked Shots: Seattle - Kemp 3, D Schrempf, Johnson, Askew, Mcmillan.
Sacramento - Polynice 3, Smith 2, Simmons, Grant.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Seattle 9-23 (.391), D Schrempf 1-4, Hawkins 3-4,
Payton 4-5, Perkins 0-5, Askew 0-2, Mcmillan 1-1, Brickowski 0-2.
Sacramento 3-12 (.250), Richmond 0-1, Edney 1-2, Simmons 2-4, Marciulionis
0-4, Causwell 0-1.
Technicals: Seattle - Kemp, Sacramento - .
Officials: Ed F Rush, Ron Garretson, Steve Javie.
A - 17,317. T - 2:18.
nba.766vpoznanovic,
SONICS LOWER THE BOOM ON FIRST-ROUND JINX
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- It isn't customary for a top seed to revel in a
first-round victory. But for the long-suffering Seattle SuperSonics,
it's understandable.
"I am so thrilled that we've gotten past the first round. It's relief
and elation combined," Seattle forward Sam Perkins said Thursday night
after the Sonics registered a 101-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings
and won the best-of-five series 3-1.
Seattle has been a Western Conference power the past three regular
seasons, but lost in the first round each of the previous two
postseasons.
"It took two years to climb over this," Perkins said. "Now that we're
near the top, we can see some daylight."
Gary Payton scored 10 of his 29 points in the third quarter and Shawn
Kemp added 23 points and eight rebounds for Seattle.
"It's more of a sense of relief," Kemp said of winning the series.
"Now we can relax and play our style of basketball. We don't have to
worry about the first-round exit."
Thursday night is all the time Seattle will have to enjoy the
first-round victory. Up next are the two-time defending Houston
Rockets when the second round begins Saturday in Seattle.
"Sacramento did something for us that we will be very thankful for if
we have some success in the playoffs," Sonics coach George Karl said.
"They made us work in a playoff series and we got some intensity,
emotion, and focus in our team that we hadn't had in the last couple
of years.
"It is a great relief to get that monkey off our back that has been
there for the last couple of years."
Payton hit four of five from 3-point range, grabbed six rebounds and
handed out five assists. Detlef Schrempf came within one assist of a
triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the
Sonics.
"We got that monkey off our back finally," Schrempf said. "I hope we
play with more consistency, work on our free throws, and take each
possession seriously against Houston."
Hersey Hawkins had 17 points for Seattle, which shot 45 percent (37
for 82) from the field and 39 percent (nine for 23) from 3-point
range.
Lionel Simmons scored 24 points, Tyus Edney had 14 and Brian Grant 13
for the Kings, who remained winless at home in the playoffs since
April 22, 1981 -- when home was in Kansas City.
"The series was a learning experience," All-Star guard Mitch Richmond
said. "I think it shows what we can do if we go out and play like that
throughout the season."
Sacramento played the entire second half without Richmond, who
sustained a sprained right ankle with 5:29 left in the second quarter
and did not return. He finished with five points.
"I couldn't run on it, I couldn't push off on it, and I couldn't move
laterally on it, so we waited a little while and nothing happened,"
Richmond said.
The Sonics used a 15-2 run to take a 71-57 lead with 5:58 left in the
third quarter. Sacramento got no closer than eight points the rest of
the way.
"I can't tell you how proud I am to coach this team," Kings coach
Garry St. Jean said. "I don't want to sound clichÚ-ish, but life is
about doing the best you can. Our guys gave us every ounce that they
had and that's what life is all about."
Edney's 3-pointer with 9:28 to go in the third got the Kings within
56-55, but Payton answered with a 3-pointer of his own and hit a short
jumper with 8:43 left to give Seattle a 61-55 edge.
"We were able to stay in the game for a while because we were all
playing so hard. We were being aggressive and going right at them,"
Edney said. "Everybody was trying to pick up the slack. It may have
looked like it was 'Mission Impossible' without Mitch, but we weren't
thinking like that."
Hawkins converted a three-point play, and after Olden Polynice sank a
pair of free throws, Sam Perkins hit a jumper to make it 66-57 with
7:12 remaining. Hawkins added a 3-pointer and Perkins made a hook shot
to cap the burst with 5:58 to play in the third quarter.
Michael Smith's one-handed shot in the lane pulled Sacramento within
85-77 with 7:06 left, but Kemp converted a three-point play and Nate
McMillan and Payton each made a foul shot to give Seattle a 90-77
advantage with 5:57 remaining.
"Shawn Kemp played exceptionally well tonight," Schrempf said. "He is
an instrumental part of our team."
The Kings held their final lead of the game, 40-39 with 3:44 left in
the first half before Schrempf's 3-pointer put the Sonics ahead,
42-40, with 3:13 to play.
Kemp and Payton each had 12 points in the first half as Seattle took a
50-48 lead at the intermission.
nba.767vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
First round (best-of-five; all times Eastern)
*if necessary
Eastern Conference
Chicago defeats Miami 3-0
April 26 Chicago 102, Miami 85
April 28 Chicago 106, Miami 75
May 1 Chicago 112, Miami 91
Orlando defeats Detroit 3-0
April 26 Orlando 112, Detroit 92
April 28 Orlando 92, Detroit 77
April 30 Orlando 101, Detroit 98
Atlanta, Indiana tied 2-2
April 25 Atlanta 92, Indiana 80
April 27 Indiana 102, Atlanta 94 (OT)
April 29 Atlanta 90, Indiana 83
May 2 Indiana 83, Atlanta 75
May 5 at Indiana TBA
New York defeats Cleveland 3-0
April 25 New York 106, Cleveland 83
April 27 New York 84, Cleveland 80
May 1 New York 81, Cleveland 76
Western Conference
Seattle defeats Sacramento 3-1
April 26 Seattle 97, Sacramento 85
April 28 Sacramento 90, Seattle 81
April 30 Seattle 96, Sacramento 89
May 2 Seattle 101, Sacramento 87
San Antonio leads Phoenix 2-1
April 26 San Antonio 120, Phoenix 98
April 28 San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105
May 1 Phoenix 94, San Antonio 93
May 3 at Phoenix 9 p.m. TNT
May 5 *at San Antonio TBA
Utah, Portland tied 2-2
April 25 Utah 110, Portland 102
April 27 Utah 105, Portland 90
April 29 Portland 94, Utah 91 (OT)
May 1 Portland 98, Utah 90
May 5 at Utah TBA
Houston defeats L.A. Lakers 3-1
April 25 Houston 87, L.A. Lakers 83
April 27 L.A Lakers 104, Houston 94
April 30 Houston 104, L.A. Lakers 98
May 2 Houston 102, L.A. Lakers 94
nba.768kum.djole,
Što ne pričaju o povredi leđa kad odigra fenomenalno..?
Svašta..
nba.769schef,
-> #764, vpoznanovic=- HAIL TO THE CHAMPS: ROCKETS OUST LAKERS
A šta sam ja pričao (pisao)? Tačno sam bre znao... :(
Srleř
nba.770vpoznanovic,
Evo i prvih playoff statistika...
National Basketball Association Leaders Through Thursday, May 2
SCORING
(MINIMUM OF 1 GAMES PLAYED OR 56 POINTS SCORED)
PLAYER GP PTS AVG
------ -- --- ---
Michael Jordan, CHI 3 90 30.0
David Robinson, SAS 3 90 30.0
Karl Malone, UTH 4 113 28.3
Charles Barkley, PHO 3 81 27.0
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 4 106 26.5
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 4 104 26.0
Allan Houston, DET 3 75 25.0
Steve Smith, ATL 4 97 24.3
Rod Strickland, POR 4 93 23.3
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 4 87 21.8
Mitch Richmond, SAC 4 84 21.0
Shaquille Oneal, ORL 3 63 21.0
Gary Payton, SEA 4 83 20.8
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 59 19.7
John Starks, NYK 3 59 19.7
Rik Smits, IND 4 78 19.5
Terrell Brandon, CLE 3 58 19.3
Cedric Ceballos, LAL 4 76 19.0
Penny Hardaway, ORL 3 57 19.0
Grant Hill, DET 3 57 19.0
Sean Elliott, SAS 3 55 18.3
Patrick Ewing, NYK 3 55 18.3
Dennis Scott, ORL 3 55 18.3
Alonzo Mourning, MIA 3 54 18.0
Tim Hardaway, MIA 3 53 17.7
Kevin Johnson, PHO 3 53 17.7
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 69 17.3
Shawn Kemp, SEA 3 51 17.0
Dan Majerle, CLE 3 50 16.7
Wesley Person, PHO 3 50 16.7
REBOUNDING
(MINIMUM OF 1 GAMES PLAYED OR 32 REBOUNDS)
PLAYER GP REB AVG
------ -- --- ---
Charles Barkley, PHO 3 45 15.0
Horace Grant, ORL 3 39 13.0
Olden Polynice, SAC 4 48 12.0
Otis Thorpe, DET 3 35 11.7
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 34 11.3
David Robinson, SAS 3 34 11.3
Dale Davis, IND 4 43 10.8
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 4 43 10.8
Karl Malone, UTH 4 39 9.8
Patrick Ewing, NYK 3 29 9.7
Michael Cage, CLE 3 28 9.3
Anthony Mason, NYK 3 28 9.3
Grant Long, ATL 4 37 9.3
Will Perdue, SAS 3 26 8.7
Magic Johnson, LAL 4 34 8.5
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 4 34 8.5
Shawn Kemp, SEA 3 25 8.3
Cedric Ceballos, LAL 4 33 8.3
Elden Campbell, LAL 4 32 8.0
Chris Gatling, MIA 3 24 8.0
ASSISTS
(MINIMUM OF 1 GAMES PLAYED OR 16 ASSISTS)
PLAYER GP AST AVG
------ -- --- ---
John Stockton, UTH 4 61 15.3
Avery Johnson, SAS 3 39 13.0
Kevin Johnson, PHO 3 35 11.7
Rod Strickland, POR 4 34 8.5
Terrell Brandon, CLE 3 24 8.0
Penny Hardaway, ORL 3 22 7.3
Mookie Blaylock, ATL 4 28 7.0
Gary Payton, SEA 4 28 7.0
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 21 7.0
Nick Van Exel, LAL 4 27 6.8
Clyde Drexler, HOU 4 26 6.5
Magic Johnson, LAL 4 26 6.5
Brian Shaw, ORL 3 18 6.0
John Starks, NYK 3 18 6.0
Tim Hardaway, MIA 3 17 5.7
Mark Jackson, IND 4 22 5.5
Anthony Mason, NYK 3 16 5.3
Shaquille Oneal, ORL 3 16 5.3
Detlef Schrempf, SEA 4 20 5.0
Vinny Del Negro, SAS 3 15 5.0
Derek Harper, NYK 3 15 5.0
FIELD GOAL PCT
(MINIMUM OF 12 FIELD GOALS MADE)
PLAYER GP FGM FGA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Will Perdue, SAS 3 13 16 .813
Ron Harper, CHI 3 13 19 .684
Mark Bryant, HOU 4 13 20 .650
Greg Ostertag, UTH 4 12 19 .632
Chucky Brown, HOU 4 13 21 .619
Horace Grant, ORL 3 21 35 .600
Kenny Smith, HOU 4 12 20 .600
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 4 31 52 .596
Dennis Scott, ORL 3 20 34 .588
Rik Smits, IND 4 34 60 .567
Grant Hill, DET 3 22 39 .564
John Starks, NYK 3 19 34 .559
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 20 36 .556
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 27 49 .551
David Robinson, SAS 3 33 60 .550
FREE THROW PCT
(MINIMUM OF 5 FREE THROWS MADE)
PLAYER GP FTM FTA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Chucky Brown, HOU 4 8 8 1.000
Steve Kerr, CHI 3 13 14 .929
Cedric Ceballos, LAL 4 11 12 .917
Allan Houston, DET 3 18 20 .900
John Stockton, UTH 4 25 28 .893
Dan Majerle, CLE 3 8 9 .889
Ac Green, PHO 3 7 8 .875
Terrell Brandon, CLE 3 13 15 .867
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 4 13 15 .867
Grant Hill, DET 3 12 14 .857
Travis Best, IND 4 6 7 .857
Mark Bryant, HOU 4 6 7 .857
Ricky Pierce, IND 4 17 20 .850
Magic Johnson, LAL 4 28 33 .848
Antonio Davis, IND 4 11 13 .846
Derrick Mckey, IND 4 11 13 .846
THREE POINT PCT
(MINIMUM OF 3 THREE POINT FIELD GOALS MADE)
PLAYER GP 3FG 3FA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 4 12 15 .800
Nate Mcmillan, SEA 4 7 9 .778
Hubert Davis, NYK 3 8 11 .727
Chuck Person, SAS 3 10 15 .667
John Starks, NYK 3 14 22 .636
Haywoode Workman, IND 4 3 5 .600
Dennis Scott, ORL 3 11 19 .579
Steve Smith, ATL 4 13 23 .565
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 4 5 9 .556
Rod Strickland, POR 4 6 11 .545
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 10 19 .526
David Benoit, UTH 4 7 14 .500
Hersey Hawkins, SEA 4 6 12 .500
Michael Jordan, CHI 3 5 10 .500
Kenny Smith, HOU 4 4 8 .500
Dontonio Wingfield, POR 4 4 8 .500
Jud Buechler, CHI 3 3 6 .500
STEALS
(MINIMUM OF 1 GAMES PLAYED OR 5 STEALS)
PLAYER GP STL AVG
------ -- --- ---
Mookie Blaylock, ATL 4 15 3.8
Clyde Drexler, HOU 4 12 3.0
Robert Horry, HOU 4 12 3.0
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 9 3.0
Shawn Kemp, SEA 3 8 2.7
Karl Malone, UTH 4 10 2.5
Sarunas Marciulionis, SAC 4 10 2.5
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 4 10 2.5
Ron Harper, CHI 3 7 2.3
Gary Payton, SEA 4 9 2.3
Tyus Edney, SAC 4 8 2.0
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 8 2.0
Ricky Pierce, IND 4 8 2.0
Penny Hardaway, ORL 3 6 2.0
Anthony Peeler, LAL 3 6 2.0
Derrick Mckey, IND 4 7 1.8
John Stockton, UTH 4 7 1.8
Vinny Del Negro, SAS 3 5 1.7
Derek Harper, NYK 3 5 1.7
Michael Jordan, CHI 3 5 1.7
David Robinson, SAS 3 5 1.7
BLOCKED SHOTS
(MINIMUM OF 1 GAMES PLAYED OR 4 BLOCKED SHOTS)
PLAYER GP BLK AVG
------ -- --- ---
Patrick Ewing, NYK 3 11 3.7
Shawn Kemp, SEA 3 10 3.3
David Robinson, SAS 3 9 3.0
Elden Campbell, LAL 4 9 2.3
Robert Horry, HOU 4 9 2.3
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 4 9 2.3
Steve Smith, ATL 4 9 2.3
Greg Ostertag, UTH 4 8 2.0
Brian Grant, SAC 4 7 1.8
Olden Polynice, SAC 4 7 1.8
Michael Cage, CLE 3 5 1.7
Scottie Pippen, CHI 3 5 1.7
Antoine Carr, UTH 4 6 1.5
Dale Davis, IND 4 6 1.5
Christian Laettner, ATL 4 6 1.5
Horace Grant, ORL 3 4 1.3
Antonio Davis, IND 4 5 1.3
Vlade Divac, LAL 4 5 1.3
Ervin Johnson, SEA 4 5 1.3
Clyde Drexler, HOU 4 4 1.0
Gary Payton, SEA 4 4 1.0
Buck Williams, POR 4 4 1.0
Charles Barkley, PHO 3 3 1.0
Penny Hardaway, ORL 3 3 1.0
Alonzo Mourning, MIA 3 3 1.0
Shaquille Oneal, ORL 3 3 1.0
Charles Smith, SAS 3 3 1.0
John Williams, PHO 3 3 1.0
Greg Anderson, SAS 1 1 1.0
James Robinson, POR 1 1 1.0
nba.771vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics (Through Thursday, May 2)
OFFENSE
TEAM G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT AVG
==== == ========= === ======= === ========= === ===
San Antonio 3 125-244 .512 16-34 .471 57-73 .781 107.7
Chicago 3 116-227 .511 18-58 .310 70-102 .686 106.7
Orlando 3 114-220 .518 24-53 .453 53-83 .639 101.7
Phoenix 3 111-258 .430 11-39 .282 64-83 .771 99.0
Utah 4 139-297 .468 21-40 .525 97-137 .708 99.0
Houston 4 153-324 .472 18-65 .277 63-88 .716 96.8
Portland 4 125-305 .410 29-75 .387 105-160 .656 96.0
LA Lakers 4 138-329 .419 32-92 .348 71-94 .755 94.8
Seattle 4 128-289 .443 31-78 .397 88-128 .688 93.8
New York 3 100-201 .498 30-51 .588 41-66 .621 90.3
Detroit 3 98-216 .454 15-50 .300 56-74 .757 89.0
Atlanta 4 129-302 .427 30-79 .380 63-90 .700 87.8
Sacramento 4 128-296 .432 18-64 .281 77-114 .675 87.8
Indiana 4 132-292 .452 12-41 .293 72-97 .742 87.0
Miami 3 91-216 .421 22-70 .314 47-67 .701 83.7
Cleveland 3 94-222 .423 16-63 .254 35-45 .778 79.7
- REBOUNDS -
OFF-DEF TRB AST STL TO BLKS
======= === === === == ====
San Antonio 30-94 124 82 23 33 18
Chicago 41-89 130 75 31 48 10
Orlando 34-78 112 77 17 34 14
Phoenix 48-88 136 61 13 37 12
Utah 43-111 154 94 26 46 23
Houston 27-124 151 94 43 46 26
Portland 61-114 175 70 22 56 16
LA Lakers 49-134 183 88 23 64 16
Seattle 36-106 142 81 39 68 26
New York 24-84 108 76 17 44 15
Detroit 36-71 107 43 8 40 5
Atlanta 57-91 148 69 40 62 27
Sacramento 49-120 169 75 35 78 19
Indiana 53-111 164 66 38 72 15
Miami 34-74 108 51 21 63 5
Cleveland 35-76 111 59 19 40 14
DEFENSE
TEAM G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT AVG
==== == ========= === ======= === ========= === ===
New York 3 94-222 .423 16-63 .254 35-45 .778 79.7
Chicago 3 91-216 .421 22-70 .314 47-67 .701 83.7
Atlanta 4 132-292 .452 12-41 .293 72-97 .742 87.0
Indiana 4 129-302 .427 30-79 .380 63-90 .700 87.8
Seattle 4 128-296 .432 18-64 .281 77-114 .675 87.8
Orlando 3 98-216 .454 15-50 .300 56-74 .757 89.0
Cleveland 3 100-201 .498 30-51 .588 41-66 .621 90.3
Sacramento 4 128-289 .443 31-78 .397 88-128 .688 93.8
Houston 4 138-329 .419 32-92 .348 71-94 .755 94.8
Utah 4 125-305 .410 29-75 .387 105-160 .656 96.0
LA Lakers 4 153-324 .472 18-65 .277 63-88 .716 96.8
Portland 4 139-297 .468 21-40 .525 97-137 .708 99.0
San Antonio 3 111-258 .430 11-39 .282 64-83 .771 99.0
Detroit 3 114-220 .518 24-53 .453 53-83 .639 101.7
Miami 3 116-227 .511 18-58 .310 70-102 .686 106.7
Phoenix 3 125-244 .512 16-34 .471 57-73 .781 107.7
- REBOUNDS -
OFF-DEF TRB AST STL TO BLKS
======= === === === == ====
New York 35-76 111 59 19 40 14
Chicago 34-74 108 51 21 63 5
Atlanta 53-111 164 66 38 72 15
Indiana 57-91 148 69 40 62 27
Seattle 49-120 169 75 35 78 19
Orlando 36-71 107 43 8 40 5
Cleveland 24-84 108 76 17 44 15
Sacramento 36-106 142 81 39 68 26
Houston 49-134 183 88 23 64 16
Utah 61-114 175 70 22 56 16
LA Lakers 27-124 151 94 43 46 26
Portland 43-111 154 94 26 46 23
San Antonio 48-88 136 61 13 37 12
Detroit 34-78 112 77 17 34 14
Miami 41-89 130 75 31 48 10
Phoenix 30-94 124 82 23 33 18
(NOTE: DEFENSIVE STATISTICS REFLECT CUMULATIVE TOTALS OF A
TEAM'S OPPONENTS)
nba.772vpoznanovic,
Free agent Ellis eying return to Nuggets
DENVER (May 3, 1996 - 11:35 EST) -- Dale Ellis, a starter for most of
the 1995-96 season with the Denver Nuggets, has exercised an opt-out
clause in his contract, making the 35-year-old guard a free agent.
Ellis' attorney, Jerome Stanley, said said he anticipates his client
will re-sign with the Nuggets. Denver wants him to stay and has
offered him more than $1.6 million for next season.
"This is more a formality because of the structure of the salary cap,"
Stanley said. "Dale has every intention and hope of being with the
Denver Nuggets next season."
Todd Eley, Denver's general manager, said the club anticipated Ellis'
move and would like to re-sign him.
"Any time a player has an opportunity to terminate a contract, you
have to be prepared for that," Eley said. "Our intention is for Dale
Ellis to be a member of the Denver Nuggets next year."
Ellis is the NBA's career 3-point leader with 1,119 in his 13-year
career with Dallas, Seattle, Milwaukee, San Antonio and Denver. He
averaged 14.9 points last season.
nba.773vpoznanovic,
Magic Johnson: 'I want to come back'
HOUSTON (May 3, 1996 - 11:41 EST) -- As the clock wound down on the
Los Angeles Lakers' season, Magic Johnson watched helplessly from the
bench. When he got into the game in the final minute, all the plays
went through his teammates.
And after the Houston Rockets bounced his team from the first round of
the NBA playoffs with a 102-94 victory Thursday night, Johnson was
noncommittal about returning for one more shot at another title.
"I want to come back," Johnson said. "If I feel that there's something
different, then I won't come back. Right now I feel like I want to
come back. I hope to be back."
The Lakers hoped Johnson's return from a 4 1/2-year retirement in
January would mean a return to playoff glory.
Johnson, who scored only eight points Thursday, said he was
disappointed by his team's lack of cohesion and its finger-pointing in
the series.
The Rockets beat Los Angeles with teamwork, not talent, he said.
"It's just the trust in one another," he said. "They trust in one
another. We don't have that trust.
"We just had a lot of little things going on that couldn't bring us
all together in the end to win games. I hope that taught us all a
lesson and our young players can look at Houston and say, 'This is the
way we should be.' "
He also hinted that his teammates could determine whether or not he
returns for another year.
"My main thing is I want to win," he said. "I like to win and so we're
going to have to address the situation in Los Angeles and quit blaming
different people.
"That's the difference between a Laker team and a world champion."
Johnson left basketball just before the start of the 1991-92 season
after learning he tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS. He
returned the following year, only to retire again after a few
exhibition games.
He also coached the Lakers for 16 games in 1994.
Johnson returned as a player on Jan. 29, saying "it's now or never."
He now plays power forward, not the point guard spot he dominated for
more than a decade.
"I'm 36. If this is the last hurrah, so be it," he said. "If it's next
year, we'll see."
Johnson, who signed a contract for the remainder of this season,
reported back to the Lakers 27 pounds heavier than he was in 1991, and
he acknowledged being five steps slower.
He also was joining a much different Lakers team than he left.
Johnson's last game that counted was a loss in the fifth and final
game of the 1991 NBA Finals against Chicago.
The Lakers haven't been close to the Finals since, but Johnson's
return sparked hope he could lead his young teammates to the top. The
early results indicated that hope was not misplaced.
In his first game, Jan. 30 against Golden State, Johnson had 19
points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while showing all the moves that
make him a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.
He averaged 14.6 points in 32 regular-season games, and the Lakers won
22 of them en route to a fourth-place finish in the Western
Conference.
But even Johnson's vast playoff experience wasn't enough to get Los
Angeles past the two-time defending champions.
Johnson had 20 points and 13 rebounds in a Game 1 defeat and 26 points
in a Game 2 victory. In Game 3, he scored seven points as Houston took
a 2-1 series advantage.
With the Lakers facing elimination Thursday night, Johnson displayed
only a glimmer of his former playoff magic. He missed a layup, and
quicker players stole his passes. He shot just 2-of-8 from the field.
"I didn't shoot the ball well once I did get it," he said. "I didn't
like my performance in the last two games."
nba.774vpoznanovic,
S.C. prep star O'Neal enters NBA draft
COLUMBIA, S.C. (May 3, 1996 - 11:41 EST) -- Jermaine O'Neal, perhaps
the best prep prospect ever to come from South Carolina, said Friday
he will make himself available for the NBA draft.
However, the 6-foot-11 O'Neal also left open the prospect of attending
college and said if he does withdraw from the draft he will chose from
among Kentucky, Clemson and South Carolina.
"I thought this would be the best decision as of right now so I won't
be left out in the cold come June or July," the 17-year-old O'Neal
said.
But the Eau Claire High School star also plans to retake the college
entrance examination Saturday to try to raise his SAT score about 100
points and qualify for admission.
"If I qualify in the next month or two, I'll probably withdraw from
the draft and choose my school," he said.
O'Neal averaged 18.2 points and 12.3 rebounds a game last season and
led Eau Claire to three straight AAA state championships.
His mother, Angela Ocean, said her son has talked of applying for the
NBA draft since the start of his senior season in November.
"At this moment, I'm happy, I'm pleased with my son, and whatever his
decision is, I'm just there to back him up 100 percent," she said.
NBA scouts say O'Neal could be picked late in the first round, but his
slender 225-pound body might have trouble going against post players
like Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Alonzo Mourning.
O'Neal said a few NBA scouts had watched him play, but it was while he
was hurt.
"They didn't really get to see me actually play 100 percent," he said.
O'Neal said he would use that as a personal challenge "and just try to
work hard, just to prove them wrong."
George Glymph, Eau Claire's coach, wants O'Neal in school. But he
understands the NBA's lure and says O'Neal has a chance to progress to
the top.
Just watching O'Neal move from a gangly freshman to a polished star
gives Glymph hope.
"If he keeps working with the same zeal and aggressiveness he's shown
here, he can be All-Pro," Glymph said.
The only players to jump to the NBA without having played in college
are Kevin Garnett, Moses Malone, Shawn Kemp, Darryl Dawkins and Bill
Willoughby.
O'Neal's draft position is likely to be pushed down by college
underclassmen coming out, like junior Ray Allen of Connecticut,
sophomore Marcus Camby of UMass and freshman Stephon Marbury of
Georgia Tech.
Allen's father, Walter, says pressures on prep stars like O'Neal force
poor decisions.
"They shouldn't do it because physically, they're not ready and going
against guys like Mourning would be hard," he said.
Even if O'Neal decided to go to college, the NCAA considers his draft
entry an intent of professionalism. A school would have to appeal to
the NCAA to regain his eligibility.
O'Neal isn't worried about that now. He said Thursday that now that
his decision has been made, he will concentrate on next month's
graduation.
"No one really understands what you have to go through," he said.
nba.775vpoznanovic,
Flow of talent to NBA draft thrills Raptors
TORONTO (May 3, 1996 - 10:11 EST) -- As undergraduates keep on
declaring themselves available for the National Basketball Association
draft, the pool of talent around the Toronto Raptor draft table keeps
getting deeper. When the lottery for draft picks takes place May 19,
the Raptors won't mind if that talent has grown from a pool to an
ocean.
"From a franchise selfish perspective, we're pleased to see them
coming out for the draft. We could pick anywhere between No. 2 and No.
6, so the more there are, the more likely we are to have a better
player," Raptor vice-president Glen Grunwald said.
Wednesday, all-America sophomore Allen Iverson of Georgetown became
the 10th man to put his name up for the draft before graduation,
joining Massachusetts junior center Marcus Camby and Pennsylvania
high-school star Kobe Bryant on the draft-eligible list, and there may
be more declaring themselves by the May 12 deadline. The draft is set
for June 26.
The fact that there's a rookie salary cap may have slowed the flow of
underclassmen, but it hasn't taken away the appeal of playing in the
big time. Iverson is the first player under coach John Thompson to
leave Georgetown early for the NBA.
"After carefully weighing my options with coach Thompson and my
family, I've decided to enter the NBA draft," said Iverson, who had
recently been seen driving a flashy Mercedes, a tip-off that he was
not about to return to the college ranks.
Technically, he is pleading hardship in order to be drafted early. "My
family needs to be addressed right now."
Iverson, who announced for the first time that he is a father of a
one-year-old girl, said he wants to get a specialist for his younger
sister, who he said was suffering from seizures. In 24 years under
Thompson, 72 of 74 players, including Patrick Ewing and Alonzo
Mourning, who have stayed four years have received their degrees.
Iverson played an up-tempo game last season. Perhaps the quickest
player in the NCAA, he averaged 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists
and 3.5 steals. He was the Big East defensive player of the year for
the second time.
It is generally accepted that Camby, Georgia Tech freshman guard
Stephon Marbury, Connecticut junior forward Ray Allen, Villanova
forward Kerry Kittles and Iverson are the most attractive players
available in the draft.
Still undecided about staying in school is Wake Forest junior center
Tim Duncan, who will rate among the top five picks should he leave
school early. That gives the expansion Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies
a chance to add another franchise cornerstone.
"We want the best player available to us in our position, but it also
depends what happens with Oliver Miller and Tracy Murray," Grunwald
said.
Murray's $250,000 contract has expired and Miller, at the urging of
his new agent, has exercised an option to get out of the last two
years of his three-year deal that paid him $2 million last season.
Both are considered free agents.
Miller's free agency doesn't necessarily mean there's a lot of room
under the salary cap to sign Murray. That is the case under the highly
complex salary cap rules only if the Raptors want to renounce him --
declare they do not want to sign Miller again, Grunwald said.
If they are in the bidding game, however, Miller's salary is entered
under the cap at 200 percent of his previous year's pay or $4 million
until Miller signs somewhere. And, to make things fuzzier, if Miller
is renounced and doesn't get a contract elsewhere, the Raptors can't
re-sign him until the 66th day of the season.
nba.776vpoznanovic,
Raging Starks carries Knicks
NEW YORK (May 3, 1996 - 09:41 EST) -- It should have been nothing,
really, a highlight to be teased on an overnight edition of
SportsCenter, a stolen fragment of serendipity from an evening that
surely looked to be more coronation that celebration. John Starks was
dribbling as he always dribbles, head down, legs pumping, destination
unknown.
At midcourt, he let fly a wild, double-dipped heave, and as this was
clearly the New York Knicks' night, it splashed cleanly through the
basket at east end of Madison Square Garden. Nineteen thousand
spectators, bored by Knick dominance and Cleveland Cavalier
ineptitude, roared their approval.
So few of these Garden evenings ever end in blowouts, and the Knicks'
fans had little idea how to react to one. The score was now 50-32 at
the half and the Cavaliers seemed freshly embalmed. Starks' bomb
signalled that a fine party was now under way.
Little did they know. Little could they know. But by the deepest
pocket of the fourth quarter, it would turn out that Starks' little
miracle was all that was keeping the Knicks above sea level, all that
kept them in a 70-70 tie, late. The Garden was in a panic, the Knicks
were limping through a purple funk of a second half.
The out-of-town scoreboard sneered at the Knicks with just as much
sinister glee as the one over their heads, the one that now informed
the Knicks they were in for an unexpected -- and unwanted --
cockfight. The Chicago Bulls' lead over the Miami Heat in Game 3 of
their playoff series seemed to grow in multiples of five every time
the updates were posted. They were coasting, taking care of their end
of the deal.
Now it was the Knicks' turn. Now, one last time in a series he has
owned, it was John Starks' turn.
"When the ball comes to you and you're open," Starks said, "you have
to take the shot. And you have to have the confidence that you'll make
it."
First, Anthony Mason would attempt two free throws, make one. Then
Patrick Ewing would attempt two free throws, make one. This
newly-installed point-per-minute attack proved effective as a stopgap
measure only because the Cavaliers often treat the offensive end of a
basketball floor as if they are constantly on the lookout for trap
doors.
But the Knicks needed more.
And so Starks called for the basketball, wide open along the baseline,
right in front of the Cavaliers' bench. The lead was 72-70, the ball
trickled around the perimeter and now it was in Starks' hands. The
Garden, which has loved Starks from the moment he stepped out of the
CBA, out of some Walter Middy daydream, began to buzz as Starks teed
up, squared his feet.
And nailed the jumper. Knicks by five, 75-70.
There would be no need for a Game 4 of this sweaty series. The Knicks
would close out the Cavs, 81-76, sweep this best-of-five series, set
themselves up for the always-enjoyable task of matching up with the
Chicago Bulls for a few friendly get-togethers across the next week or
two.
"Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!" the fans yelped, giddy at having something to
embrace at the home stretch of a most unpredictable basketball season.
The Knicks seemed to fill the Garden with an airy sigh of relief,
grateful to be done with the Cavaliers, ready now for a shot at the
varsity.
And they have Starks to thank for that more than anyone. From the
moment he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in prologue of Game 1,
Starks was the point man on the Knick attack, the safety valve when
the Cavaliers shrouded the Knicks' post players. He took smart shots
all series, made a healthy pile of them, and as always was a raging
emotional waterfall, beating on his chest, kicking teammates, winking
at his coach, Jeff Van Gundy, before connecting on two big free throws
late in Game 2.
"When John is playing well," Derek Harper said, "he's a pleasure to
watch. And a pleasure to play alongside."
This has been such a cyclone of a year for Starks, who never hit it
off with Don Nelson, who missed the paternal tutelage of Pat Riley,
who popped off at a reporter at midseason and endured his usual
assortments of slumps and slanders.
It is possible he may not be back next year, not if the Knicks can
draw a big-money shooting guard like Reggie Miller to New York. But it
is certain that next year would already be here had the Knicks not had
him these last six days.
"Whatever it takes to win," Starks said, "I'm there."
He will have to be, once the Knicks begin to tangle with their old
friends from Midway. There will be plenty of time to worry about that,
though. For one night, he was everything he has always been for these
Knicks. And everything they needed him to be.
nba.777vpoznanovic,
Former Bulls cheerleader wins $317,000 from unwanted Chicken dance
CHICAGO (May 2, 1996 - 21:48 EST) -- A former Chicago Bulls
cheerleader injured in an unwanted dance with the Famous Chicken was
awarded more than $317,000 Thursday.
The Famous Chicken, also known as Ted Giannoulas, has been performing
at sporting events around the country for over 20 years.
Kimberly Smith, once a member of the LuvaBulls, was performing at
halftime during a Jan. 11, 1991 Bulls game when the Chicken grabbed
her, forced her into a quick dance and then rolled her on the floor.
Smith claimed she severely hurt her elbow and jaw while tumbling
against the hardwood floor and was forced to give up cheerleading.
It took a Cook County jury six hours to return with the award.
"This is more than I ever expected to receive," Smith said. However,
she said an apology from Giannoulas would make her feel better.
Giannoulas, 42, was not in court Thursday when the jury announced the
award but later said he would appeal.
The award is "as absurd as it looks," he said in a telephone
interview. "This will not stand."
His lawyer, Brian Bell, noted that seven months after the stunt, Smith
was healthy enough to perform a backflip and a cartwheel in a tavern
dance contest that she won.
One juror said Smith should have told them about the dance contest
herself, but said she did not damage her credibility by failing to do
so. The juror also noted that the LuvaBulls choreographer, familiar
with the Chicken's tumbling stunt, warned Giannoulas not to perform it
at this game but was ignored.
nba.778vpoznanovic,
San Antonio (116) At Phoenix (98)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 45 4-7 5-6 4 4 8 1 0 1 3 15
Smith F 25 6-13 0-4 2 4 6 2 2 1 1 12
Robinson C 36 12-21 6-7 5 8 13 6 6 0 5 30
Del Negro G 43 10-15 0-0 0 2 2 6 2 1 1 25
Johnson G 45 7-15 1-2 1 2 3 13 2 1 1 15
C Person 25 5-8 0-0 2 4 6 1 4 0 1 13
Alexander 3 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 2
Williams 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
W Perdue 17 2-2 0-0 0 7 7 1 3 0 0 4
Anderson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Herrera Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Rivers Dnp - Back Spasms
Totals 240 47-82 12-19 15 32 47 30 21 4 12 116
(.573) (.632) Team Rebs: 6 Total To: 12(13 PTS)
Phoenix
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Green F 17 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 2
Barkley F 41 6-15 8-11 3 6 9 5 4 2 0 21
Williams C 34 6-13 3-5 3 2 5 0 3 0 2 15
W Person G 45 3-10 0-0 2 3 5 0 0 2 1 7
Johnson G 26 7-14 2-2 0 2 2 8 3 1 0 16
Perry 23 4-7 0-1 0 1 1 6 1 0 0 8
Manning 20 4-9 0-0 0 2 2 3 4 1 1 8
Carr 20 6-9 3-3 1 3 4 3 3 0 3 17
Tisdale 8 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Bennett 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Kleine 3 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Finley Dnp - Sprained Left Ankle
Totals 240 39-86 16-22 10 20 30 26 19 7 7 98
(.453) (.727) Team Rebs: 12 Total To: 7(7 PTS)
San Antonio 28 24 33 31 - 116
Phoenix 26 25 18 29 - 98
Blocked Shots: San Antonio - Smith 2, Elliott, Robinson, Del Negro,
Johnson. Phoenix - Williams 4, Barkley.
3-Pt. Field Goals: San Antonio 10-16 (.625), Elliott 2-3, Del Negro 5-7, C
Person 3-6. Phoenix 4-13 (.308), Green 0-1, Barkley 1-3, W Person 1-5,
Johnson 0-1, Carr 2-3.
Technicals: San Antonio - Illegal Defense, Smith, Phoenix - Barkley.
Officials: Bernie Fryer, Bennett Salvatore, Hugh Evans.
A - 19,023. T - 2:11.
nba.779vpoznanovic,
ADMIRAL, SPURS PUT SUNS IN DRY DOCK
PHOENIX -- David Robinson scored 30 points and Vinny Del Negro had 25
as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Phoenix Suns 116-98 on Friday
and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.
The Spurs won the best-of-five series 3-1 and await the winner of the
series between the Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers, who play
Game 5 on Sunday.
"It's just the first round, but it gives us a chance to get home, get
rested and watch Game 5 of the other series," Spurs coach Bob Hill
said. "So this was really big. Our defense was great."
Phoenix's Charles Barkley scored 21 points and would not answer
questions about retirement following the game. The Suns were
eliminated in the first round for the first time since 1991.
"It's no fun to lose in the first round," Barkley said. "It's no fun
to play on a .500 team. Our organization isn't used to this."
Robinson made 12 of 21 shots and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Spurs
outrebounded the Suns 47-30. San Antonio made 47 of 82 shots (57
percent) and were 10 for 16 from 3-point range.
Avery Johnson added 15 points and 13 assists for the Spurs, who used a
13-3 run in the third quarter to break open a tight game.
"The effort was fantastic," Robinson said. "Last year we started
strong and kind of eased off. Tonight we maintained that intensity. I
saw great focus. When we're playing this way we are at our best."
San Antonio, which is the highest-scoring team in the playoffs,
outscored the Suns 64-47 in the second half and won for the first time
in seven playoff games at Phoenix.
The Spurs led 54-53 with 10:25 left in the third quarter, but went on
a 13-3 burst to open an 11-point lead with 6:48 left. Johnson had four
points and Del Negro added three.
The Suns drew within six points with 6:01 left in the quarter, but San
Antonio closed the period with an 18-8 run. Del Negro hit a pair of
3-pointers to key the spurt.
Charles Smith had eight of his 12 points during the third quarter,
which saw San Antonio convert 14 of 21 field-goal attempts. The Suns
made just seven of 20 shots in the period.
Robinson scored 14 points in the first quarter as the Spurs seized a
28-26 lead.
Phoenix knotted the score at 35-35 with 7:37 left in the first half,
but the Spurs were able to grab a 52-51 halftime lead. Barkley had 18
points and rookie Chris Carr added 13 by the intermission.
Carr finished with a career-high 17 points and was six for nine from
the field. Kevin Johnson added 16 points and eight assists for the
Suns.
nba.780vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7 games; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago vs. New York
Sunday May 5 at Chicago 5:30 p.m. NBC
Tuesday May 7 at Chicago TBA TNT
Saturday May 11 at New York 1 p.m. NBC
Sunday May 12 at New York 5:30 p.m. NBC
(Rest of schedule TBA)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle vs. Houston
Saturday May 4 at Seattle 3:30 p.m. NBC
Monday May 6 at Seattle 9 p.m. TNT
Friday May 10 at Houston TBA TNT
Sunday May 12 at Houston TBA TNT
(Rest of schedule TBA)
First round
(Best-of-5 games; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago defeats Miami 3-0
April 26 Chicago 102, Miami 85
April 28 Chicago 106, Miami 75
May 1 Chicago 112, Miami 91
Orlando defeats Detroit 3-0
April 26 Orlando 112, Detroit 92
April 28 Orlando 92, Detroit 77
April 30 Orlando 101, Detroit 98
Atlanta, Indiana tied 2-2
April 25 Atlanta 92, Indiana 80
April 27 Indiana 102, Atlanta 94 (OT)
April 29 Atlanta 90, Indiana 83
May 2 Indiana 83, Atlanta 75
May 5 at Indiana 1 or 8:30 p.m.
New York defeats Cleveland 3-0
April 25 New York 106, Cleveland 83
April 27 New York 84, Cleveland 80
May 1 New York 81, Cleveland 76
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle defeats Sacramento 3-1
April 26 Seattle 97, Sacramento 85
April 28 Sacramento 90, Seattle 81
April 30 Seattle 96, Sacramento 89
May 2 Seattle 101, Sacramento 87
San Antonio defeats Phoenix 3-1
April 26 San Antonio 120, Phoenix 98
April 28 San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105
May 1 Phoenix 94, San Antonio 93
May 3 San Antonio 116, Phoenix 98
Utah, Portland tied 2-2
April 25 Utah 110, Portland 102
April 27 Utah 105, Portland 90
April 29 Portland 94, Utah 91 (OT)
May 1 Portland 98, Utah 90
May 5 at Utah 3 p.m.
Houston defeats L.A. Lakers 3-1
April 25 Houston 87, L.A. Lakers 83
April 27 L.A Lakers 104, Houston 94
April 30 Houston 104, L.A. Lakers 98
May 2 Houston 102, L.A. Lakers 94
nba.781basrak,
-> #768, kum.djole> Što ne pričaju o povredi leđa kad odigra fenomenalno..?
> Svašta..
I bolje je ovako. Bar će da se odmori, zaleči povredu ako je ima i da dođe na
vreme na pripreme reprezentacije.
nba.782basrak,
-> #774, vpoznanovic> the best prep prospect ever to come from South Carolina
^^^^
Šta mu dođe ovo?
nba.783vitez.koja,
-> #768, kum.djole#=> Što ne pričaju o povredi leđa kad odigra fenomenalno..?
#=> Svašta..
Ipak da igra samo 22 min. u četvrtoj utakmici nije baš
najnormalnije, a nije bilo problema sa greškama niti bilo šta drugo?
sk
nba.784vpoznanovic,
PACERS' MILLER WORKS OUT; NOT RULED OUT OF PLAYOFFS
Indiana Pacers All-Star guard Reggie Miller worked out today for the
first time since undergoing surgery to his right eye socket and may
return if the club advances past the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Pacers will host the Atlanta Hawks in the fifth and decisive game
of their opening round playoff series Sunday afternoon.
Miller underwent surgery April 14th for a severe fracture of the orbit
bone of his right eye socket.
Miller will not play Sunday, but the Pacers have not ruled out the
possibility he may be able to return if the club advances in the
playoffs.
Miller suffered the injury and sustained a concussion when he collided
with Detroit forward Otis Thorpe in an April 17th game against
Detroit. Thorpe's knee struck Miller above his right eye and the
impact snapped Miller's head backward.
Miller, a member of the 1996 Olympic team, averaged 21.1 points for
the Pacers this season.
nba.785vpoznanovic,
BULLS' JORDAN EXPECTED TO BE READY FOR SUNDAY'S PLAYOFF GAME
Chicago Bulls superstar guard Michael Jordan is expected to be ready
for Sunday's playoff series opener against the New York Knicks despite
a sore lower back.
Jordan was bothered by back spasms throughout Chicago's first round
three-game sweep of the Miami Heat, but still averaged 30 points in
the series.
Jordan scored 26 points in 33 minutes in Chicago's series-clinching
112-91 win at Miami Wednesday night. When Jordan was not in the game,
he stretched out on the sidelines instead of sitting on the bench in
order to prevent his back from stiffening.
"I think he'll be able to play effectively, at least as effectively as
Game Three in Miami," said Bulls trainer Chip Schaefer. "Hopefully
he'll be close to 100 per cent by Sunday."
Jordan, playing in his first full season in three years, averaged 30.4
points in 82 games to win his record eighth career scoring title.
Jordan won seven consecutive scoring titles from 1986-87 to 1992-93
before retiring from the NBA. He ended his retirement late in the
1994-95 season.
nba.786vpoznanovic,
BOOK WORM
In his new autobiography, "Bad As I Want To Be," Dennis Rodman lets
us in on a few thoughts that, surprisingly, we were better off not
knowing.
But we're not about to withhold valuable information that will lend
insight into Rodman's psyche.
So here are some of the revelations from Rodman's book:
On nude basketball: "After my last game ... I'll walk off the
court and take off one piece of clothing with every step. Then I'll
be at about midcourt, and I'll walk the rest of the way into the
locker room nude. Nobody's ever done that before, and it can be my
parting shot to the NBA."
On occasionally cross-dressing: "I like bringing out the feminine
side of Dennis Rodman."
On Madonna: Rodman claims that Madonna wanted to have his baby. He
adds, "In the end, (the relationship) didn't work because I didn't
want to be known as Madonna's boy toy. But there were so many strong
feelings there; it could happen where we get back together. If I
wanted Madonna right now ... she would respond."
On the superiority of black basketball players: "The whole thing
is simple: A black player knows he can go out on the court and kick
a white player's (butt)."
On the San Antonio Spurs, his former team: "They might as well
have put 'BIG DISTRACTION' above my locker in San Antonio. You can
blame me ... but they might be more of a basketball team if David
Robinson didn't freeze up every time they play a big game. I got
sold out by the players, the coaches, the management."
On suicide: "I'll know when my life is complete. Then I'll take
out a gun and shoot myself in the head. That's how it will end."
The book, which features a picture of a nude Rodman holding a
strategically placed basketball on the front cover and an uncovered
photo from behind on the back cover, was released to bookstores
Wednesday.
nba.787vpoznanovic,
NO. 1 SONICS VS. NO. 5 KNICKS
Guards: Seattle has an advantage at the point guard matchup with
Gary Payton over either Sam Cassell or Kenny Smith. Seattle is going
to enjoy that matchup because Payton is such a versatile player. He's
a good perimeter player, can play in the open floor and he can post
you up or drive to the basket.
At the two-guard position, though, the overwhelming advantage goes to
Houston's Clyde Drexler over Hersey Hawkins.
Forwards: At one position, of course, Shawn Kemp has a tremendous
advantage over all of Houston's forwards because of his ability to
rebound, score, defend, run the floor, post up and shoot a jumpshot.
Detlef Schrempf also enjoys that advantage too over all of Houston's
forwards. He's a multipurpose player as well. That advantage is
extremely large.
Centers: All of a sudden the advantages at the forward positions are
negated by Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem's ability to block shots, rebound
and score requires so much attention.
Bench/depth: With either Mario Elie or Sam Cassell coming off the
bench -- depending on who starts -- the Houston bench goes a little
deeper. Elie can raise the game to another level. No one on the
Seattle bench has that ability.
There's also Robert Horry for the Rockets. The starting forward adds
depth to the Houston offense, and he is Mr. Playoff -- you have to
guard him and that will give Hakeem even more room to operate.
3-point shooting: Seattle has Hawkins, Schrempf, Payton and Sam
Perkins. Houston has Cassell, Horry, Elie, Smith and Drexler -- a
slight edge goes to Houston.
Playoff experience: Seattle's playoff experience had been not
getting past the first round. It also would have been very easy to
just dismantle Sacramento and send them to the golf course early --
but the Sonics didn't do that.
Coaching: Houston's Rudy Tomjanovich gets the edge. He's done an
outstanding job. George Karl is still under the gun because he has not
gotten his team to the level they should be at.
Overall: The word around the league is that Seattle is not a very
good halfcourt team. When you're not a good half-court team, it means
that either you are not disciplined offensively or the offensive
scheme isn't very good. It spells a "D" grade for Seattle in the
halfcourt.
In the open floor, you have a heck of a Sonics team. The Rockets have
to keep the score between 85 and 95 to keep the Sonics in the
halfcourt. If they do that, I like Houston in five games.
nba.788vpoznanovic,
NO. 1 SONICS VS. NO. 5 ROCKETS
Second-round statistical comparisons between the Sonics and Rockets:
Seattle Sonics Houston Rockets
Overall Record 3-1 3-1
PPG 93.8 96.8
PPG allowed 87.8 94.8
FG pct. 44.3 47.2
FG pct. defense 43.2 41.9
Rebounds per game 35.5 37.8
Rebound margin -6.8 -8.0
Turnovers per game 17.0 11.5
3-pt. FG pct. 39.7 27.7
Regular-season series: Sonics, 4-0. Seattle has won the past nine
meetings. George Karl's team beat Houston twice in April (118-103 at
home on April 3 and 112-106 at the Summit on April 15). Seattle shot a
team-record 64.9 percent from the floor in the April 3 game.
Seattle was the only team to win twice at Houston this season.
Gary Payton dominated against the Rockets, averaging 28.8 points per
game and shooting 59.2 percent from the floor (including 55 percent
from 3-point range) in the four meetings this season. Shawn Kemp
contributed 22.3 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, shooting a torrid
61.2 percent. Hersey Hawkins added 16.8 ppg.
Hakeem Olajuwon netted 27.3 points per game in playing three times vs.
the Sonics (he sat out the April 3 game because of tendinitis in both
knees). Houston averaged 13 offensive rebounds per game against the
Sonics. Seattle shot 51.6 percent from the floor compared to Houston's
42.6 in the four matchups.
Past playoff series history: Sonics, 4-0. The last time these teams
met was 1993, and the series was decided in overtime of Game 7.
Seattle prevailed 103-100 as the home team captured every contest.
That was the last time the two-time defending champions lost a playoff
series.
The Sonics also eliminated the Rockets in 1982 (2-1), 1987 (4-2) and
1989 (3-1). That 1993 Seattle squad had several familiar faces:
Kemp, Payton, Sam Perkins, Nate McMillan and Vincent Askew.
How they got here: Both teams won in four games in their
opening-round series. Seattle knocked off the Sacramento Kings and
survived a first-round series for the first time since 1993. Payton
led the Sonics with a 20.8 points and seven assists per game during
the series. Kemp averaged 17 points and 8.3 rebounds. He also sat out
Game 1 of the series following a suspension for fighting in the
regular-season finale.
Two surprise keys were McMillan (seven of nine 3-pointers made) and
Frank Brickowski (eight of 12 from the field). Seattle held Sacramento
to 43.2 percent from the floor and forced almost 20 turnovers per
outing.
Houston got past the Lakers with the help of a few surprises sources
as well. Mark Bryant (65 percent), Chucky Brown (61.9 percent) and
Kenny Smith (60 percent) all shot well from the field, picking up the
slack for struggling Robert Horry (37.2 percent), Clyde Drexler (36.8
percent) and Sam Cassell (38.6 percent). Houston has to be concerned
with its overall 3-point shooting (18 for 65) against the Lakers.
Olajuwon averaged 26.5 points and 8.5 rebounds vs. the Lakers. No
surprise there.
Worth noting: Seattle was 13-1 at home vs. Midwest Division teams
during the regular season. ... The Sonics also went 29-2 when
shooting 50 percent or better from the field during the 1995-96
campaign. ... Seattle is the first team in NBA history to lead the
league in steals four seasons in a row. ... Chucky Brown was the
only Rockets player to appear in all 82 games this season. ... In
its past 10 regular season games, Houston allowed more than 50-percent
shooting just twice, both times against Seattle. ... The Rockets
were a .500 team (30-30) in the regular season when shooting less than
50 percent. ... Houston enters this series 10-4 in its past 14 road
games in the playoffs.
nba.789vpoznanovic,
NO. 1 BULLS VS. NO. 5 KNICKS
Guards: Trying to stop Michael Jordan defensively will put a
tremendous strain on John Starks' offense. When he can't stop Jordan,
John's offense is discouraged to a degree. That will make it easier
for Jordan to light him up even more -- which happens almost every
night with Jordan.
The matchup is not even close -- Chicago, hands down.
Rumor has it that the Knicks will try Anthony Mason on Michael. That's
wonderful: guards like big men trying to guard them because they
don't know how. They're easy to fool, they're easy to fake and they're
easy to get out of position. Michael could have a field day with that
-- take him outside, trick him, go between his legs, spin on him and
do anything he wants.
Forwards: As a whole, the forward position still goes Chicago
because the Bulls have three outstanding forwards in Scottie Pippen,
Dennis Rodman and Toni Kukoc.
Rodman and Pippen are both great defenders and rebounders, and Toni
also offers a mismatch because he can get in the lane and break down
the defense. It's a mismatch that New York has to find a way to stop.
If Mason is guarding Jordan, who's going to guard Toni?
Centers: No question the plus goes to Patrick Ewing. Chicago can
accept that -- the Bulls might not even double Ewing. The Bulls can
let Patrick take that turnaround jumper all day, which will take away
the 3-pointers from Starks, Derek Harper and Hubert Davis. Chicago
might make Patrick live off that jumper.
The edge goes to New York, but again, the Bulls can live with that.
Bench/depth: Because of the way Chicago runs its rotation, I still
give the edge to the Bulls. Pippen goes out, Kukoc goes in -- Phil
Jackson has a knack of keeping one or two of those guys on the floor
at the same time. Steve Kerr can come in and spread the floor because
he is a great 3-point shooter. I give the nod to Chicago's bench.
3-point shooting: You have Jordan, Pippen, Kukoc, Kerr, Jud Buechler
and they can all shoot it. The edge goes to Chicago.
Playoff experience: I'd say those teams are even. Both teams have
been there and done that. The Knicks have been to the NBA Finals --
they lost but they've been there. They're still playing under that Pat
Riley mystique; the Knicks have been ordained to play a certain
way,and they're playing out that ordainment.
Chicago has also been there and done that and they are led by two
pretty dog-gone good players in Pippen and Jordan.
Coaching: With all due respect to Jeff Van Gundy, he has not been
in a playoff situation where he has had to make in-game chess moves.
If the decisions Jeff makes are not sound, player confidence goes
down. He'll have to answer, "Coach, it's not working. What do we do?"
Phil Jackson has his team -- he has honed and sharpened them. The
Bulls have heard Phil for so long that they sometimes know what he'll
say before he says it. They become coaches on the floor to an extent,
and that's very important.
Overall: It's sack the quarterback time for the Knicks. If the
Knicks can get Michael out of the game, they can make it a five or six
game series. If they don't sack Michael, Chicago in four -- New York
just is not strong enough.
nba.790vpoznanovic,
Houston (75) At Seattle (108)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Brown F 25 2-4 1-2 0 3 3 2 2 1 0 5
Horry F 33 7-14 0-2 2 3 5 3 1 2 3 18
Olajuwon C 34 3-9 0-0 0 4 4 1 2 0 1 6
Drexler G 30 7-15 0-0 5 4 9 2 2 3 3 15
Smith G 16 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 5 1 0 1 0
Cassell 24 3-12 4-4 0 3 3 4 2 3 4 11
Elie 23 3-7 1-2 2 1 3 2 2 1 2 9
Bryant 13 0-3 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0
Mack 18 4-8 0-1 0 2 2 1 1 1 0 9
Chilcutt 10 1-4 0-2 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 2
Recasner 8 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0
Jones 6 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 240 30-83 6-13 11 25 36 23 13 11 16 75
(.361) (.462) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 17(18 PTS)
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Kemp F 30 7-11 3-3 2 10 12 1 3 0 3 17
D Schrempf F 33 6-13 1-2 3 4 7 3 2 0 0 13
Johnson C 20 6-9 0-0 1 5 6 1 4 1 0 12
Hawkins G 30 3-9 2-2 0 3 3 2 0 4 2 9
Payton G 40 11-22 1-1 1 3 4 7 1 2 4 28
Perkins 22 6-8 3-3 2 4 6 2 0 0 1 17
Mcmillan 23 2-5 0-0 0 7 7 5 1 4 2 6
Askew 23 2-3 0-0 1 2 3 3 0 2 2 4
Brickowski 7 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0
S Scheffler 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Snow 4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 0
Wingate 4 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2
Totals 240 44-85 10-11 10 42 52 28 15 15 16 108
(.518) (.909) Team Rebs: 6 Total To: 18(12 PTS)
Houston 28 16 15 16 - 75
Seattle 29 15 29 35 - 108
Blocked Shots: Houston - Olajuwon, Elie. Seattle - Kemp 3, Johnson.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Houston 9-30 (.300), Horry 4-10, Drexler 1-5, Smith
0-1, Cassell 1-4, Elie 2-3, Mack 1-5, Chilcutt 0-1, Recasner 0-1. Seattle
10-26 (.385), D Schrempf 0-2, Hawkins 1-3, Payton 5-12, Perkins 2-2,
Mcmillan 2-5, Askew 0-1, Snow 0-1.
Technicals: Seattle - Illegal Defense 2.
Officials: Mike Mathis, Ronnie Nunn, Terry Durham.
A - 17,072. T - 2:14.
nba.791vpoznanovic,
SONICS SABOTAGE ROCKETS WITH 108-75 ROUT
SEATTLE -- Saturday, in a nutshell: It was Seattle's most convincing
playoff victory in franchise history, and it marked a new low for
Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets.
Gary Payton scored 28 points and Sam Perkins keyed a second-half run
as the Seattle SuperSonics took a 108-75 victory over the two-time
defending champion Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their Western
Conference semifinal series.
Game 2 will be Monday night in Seattle.
"It's a great win for us, but we can't celebrate," Sonics coach George
Karl said. "All we've done, basically, is begun the chess match. With
a seven-game series, the first two games are the most difficult to
get.
"I think you're going to see on Monday night a championship basketball
team come after us with tremendous intensity, some better preparation,
and some adjustments."
Seattle's 33-point margin of victory was its largest ever in the
playoffs and it also was the worst postseason loss for Houston.
The Sonics held Olajuwon to a playoff-low six points on three-for-nine
shooting. His previous postseason low was 11 points against the Los
Angeles Lakers on April 29, 1990.
"Our plan is to double-team him, from everywhere, from everybody,"
Sonics guard Hersey Hawkins said of Olajuwon. "He has no idea who's
coming."
"They're determined to get the ball out of my hands," Olajuwon said.
"So we have to adjust our system. They're coming at me even before the
ball is thrown to the low post."
Shawn Kemp had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Sonics outrebounded
Houston 52-36.
"Hakeem is no dummy," Kemp said. "He's going to come out and change
his game plan around a little bit. Trust me, he probably won't have
six points Monday, but hopefully we'll have the same results."
Robert Horry had 18 points for the Rockets, who managed just 31 points
and shot 33 percent (13 for 40) in the second half.
Seattle, which made 25 of 45 shots in the second half, used a 23-4 run
to break open a five-point game in the third quarter.
"In the third quarter, we got a little impatient and a little sloppy,"
Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Let's just say the ball didn't
go in the basket. The fast-breaking game caved in. It was a just like
a dam breaking and we couldn't stop the water coming over us.
"We're going to have to regroup and understand what they're doing."
The Sonics began their decisive burst leading 60-55 with 3:26 to go in
the third quarter. Nate McMillan hit a 3-pointer and Perkins added a
basket. Kemp followed with a three-point play for a 68-55 lead.
Mario Elie hit a basket to snap the run, but Perkins followed with
another 3-pointer for a 71-57 lead with 40 seconds left in the
quarter. Clyde Drexler hit a 15-footer, but Payton ended the period
with a basket for a 73-59 lead.
Perkins and McMillan opened the final quarter with consecutive
3-pointers and Detlef Schrempf added consecutive baskets for an 83-59
advantage with 8:38 remaining.
The teams were knotted at 44-44 at the half as Payton led all scorers
with 19 points.
Payton scored 13 points in the first quarter as the SuperSonics seized
a 29-28 lead. Horry had 12 and Drexler seven in the period for the
Rockets.
nba.792vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7 games; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago vs. New York
Sunday May 5 at Chicago 5:30 p.m. NBC
Tuesday May 7 at Chicago TBA TNT
Saturday May 11 at New York 1 p.m. NBC
Sunday May 12 at New York 5:30 p.m. NBC
(Rest of schedule TBA)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle leads Houston 1-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 at Seattle 9 p.m. TNT
Friday May 10 at Houston TBA TNT
Sunday May 12 at Houston TBA TNT
(Rest of schedule TBA)
First round
(Best-of-5 games; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago defeats Miami 3-0
April 26 Chicago 102, Miami 85
April 28 Chicago 106, Miami 75
May 1 Chicago 112, Miami 91
Orlando defeats Detroit 3-0
April 26 Orlando 112, Detroit 92
April 28 Orlando 92, Detroit 77
April 30 Orlando 101, Detroit 98
Atlanta, Indiana tied 2-2
April 25 Atlanta 92, Indiana 80
April 27 Indiana 102, Atlanta 94 (OT)
April 29 Atlanta 90, Indiana 83
May 2 Indiana 83, Atlanta 75
May 5 at Indiana 1 p.m. NBC
New York defeats Cleveland 3-0
April 25 New York 106, Cleveland 83
April 27 New York 84, Cleveland 80
May 1 New York 81, Cleveland 76
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle defeats Sacramento 3-1
April 26 Seattle 97, Sacramento 85
April 28 Sacramento 90, Seattle 81
April 30 Seattle 96, Sacramento 89
May 2 Seattle 101, Sacramento 87
San Antonio defeats Phoenix 3-1
April 26 San Antonio 120, Phoenix 98
April 28 San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105
May 1 Phoenix 94, San Antonio 93
May 3 San Antonio 116, Phoenix 98
Utah, Portland tied 2-2
April 25 Utah 110, Portland 102
April 27 Utah 105, Portland 90
April 29 Portland 94, Utah 91 (OT)
May 1 Portland 98, Utah 90
May 5 at Utah 3 p.m. NBC
Houston defeats L.A. Lakers 3-1
April 25 Houston 87, L.A. Lakers 83
April 27 L.A Lakers 104, Houston 94
April 30 Houston 104, L.A. Lakers 98
May 2 Houston 102, L.A. Lakers 94
nba.793imangovski,
U prvoj utakmici polufinala play off-a nba lige Sonics-i su razbili
Rockets-e rezultatom 108:75 ( sto mi nesto zao ;)
nba.794lexus,
-> #787, vpoznanovic=> NO. 1 SONICS VS. NO. 5 KNICKS
Knicks, ha ;)
Ne znam zašto, ali čini mi se da Sonicsi igraju protiv Rocketsa :)))
nba.795vpoznanovic,
Atlanta (89) At Indiana (87)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 31 4-8 0-0 3 0 3 1 3 2 3 8
Long F 31 2-10 0-0 1 4 5 3 1 0 3 4
Laettner C 30 5-13 5-5 5 6 11 1 4 1 2 15
Smith G 35 6-11 3-4 3 2 5 3 5 3 2 17
Blaylock G 44 8-21 2-2 3 4 7 2 2 2 5 23
Ehlo 5 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Rooks 18 4-8 2-2 2 1 3 2 2 1 0 10
Bullard 25 2-5 2-4 0 3 3 0 4 0 1 8
Henderson 17 2-2 0-1 0 2 2 2 3 0 0 4
Jordan 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0
Boyce Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 33-79 14-18 17 23 40 17 25 9 16 89
(.418) (.778) Team Rebs: 3 Total To: 17(14 PTS)
Indiana
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Mckey F 35 3-12 0-0 4 2 6 3 3 0 3 8
D Davis F 36 5-7 0-0 6 7 13 1 2 0 2 10
Smits C 36 8-17 1-2 2 6 8 2 4 0 2 17
Miller G 31 7-17 13-15 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 29
Jackson G 36 1-6 4-4 1 6 7 8 2 0 4 7
Pierce 8 2-6 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 2 4
A Davis 21 2-6 2-2 1 6 7 0 1 0 3 6
Ferrell 18 0-2 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2
Best 11 1-1 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 2 3 2
Workman 8 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 2
Caldwell Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Johnson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 30-76 22-25 17 30 47 20 20 4 20 87
(.395) (.880) Team Rebs: 9 Total To: 21(30 PTS)
Atlanta 22 30 15 22 - 89
Indiana 25 22 16 24 - 87
Blocked Shots: Atlanta - Augmon 2, Bullard 2, Laettner, Smith, Ehlo,
Long. Indiana - A Davis.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Atlanta 9-20 (.450), Long 0-2, Smith 2-2, Blaylock
5-12, Ehlo 0-1, Bullard 2-3. Indiana 5-16 (.313), Mckey 2-5, Miller 2-6,
Jackson 1-4, Pierce 0-1.
Technicals: Indiana - Illegal Defense, Miller.
Officials: Jess Kersey, Dick Bavetta, Bob Delaney.
A - 16,731. T - 2:29.
nba.796vpoznanovic,
PACER-ERASER HAWKS REACH ROUND 2
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Atlanta Hawks didn't need kryptonite to win their
first-round playoff series. The second round, however, could be a
different story.
Mookie Blaylock scored 23 points Sunday, including a pivotal driving
layup with 43 seconds left, and Atlanta spoiled the surprising return
of Reggie Miller with an 89-87 victory over Indiana in the fifth and
deciding game of the series.
"I'm not no Superman, even though people perceive me to be that way,"
said Miller, Indiana's All-Star guard. "It wasn't guaranteed just
because I was in a uniform that we were going to win this game. In
truth, it probably was a lot harder."
Miller missed the first four games of the series after undergoing
surgery three weeks ago for a severe fracture of the orbit bone of his
right eye socket. He wore protective goggles Sunday and sparked the
Pacers with 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks advance to the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals,
where they will meet the Orlando Magic and Shaquille O'Neal -- the
7-foot-1, 305-pound center who sports a Superman tattoo on one of his
huge biceps.
Miller nearly rallied the Pacers from a five-point deficit in the
final half-minute Sunday.
After Blaylock's crucial layup, Miller was fouled by Stacey Augmon
while attempting a 3-pointer with 31.3 seconds remaining. Miller
converted all three free throws to pull Indiana within 89-87.
Blaylock committed a turnover on Atlanta's ensuing possession, giving
Indiana the ball with 11.3 seconds left.
Point guard Mark Jackson had trouble setting up a final play for the
Pacers, finally passing the ball to Miller in the closing seconds.
Miller, who was double-teamed behind the 3-point line, head-faked in
front of the defenders, stepped -- traveled, actually -- inside the
three-point line and hit the front of the rim on the Pacers' final
shot.
"We were trying to run Reggie off screens and if he wasn't open, to
look inside," Pacers coach Larry Brown said of the final play. "I'm
proud of Reggie. We came out thinking he's going to win the game for
us and he did everything he could to win the game."
Miller played 31 minutes and was seven for 17 from the field --
including two for six from 3-point range -- and 13 for 15 from the
foul line.
"I've been tinkering with coming back since the end of Game 4," Miller
said. "I didn't decide to play until I got to the arena this morning,
and I said I was good to go. I still have double vision when I look up
and my neck still hurts."
The game might have been Miller's last with Indiana. He becomes an
unrestricted free agent this summer and plans to explore his options.
"The Pacers definitely are in the catbird's seat," he said Sunday.
"All my roots are here."
Atlanta led by as many as nine points, 72-63, after a 3-pointer by
Matt Bullard early in the fourth quarter. Miller then took over,
scoring 13 points to spark a 21-11 run. He capped the spurt with a
long 3-pointer to give Indiana an 84-83 lead with 2:18 remaining.
But the Hawks proceeded to score the next six points on a tip-in by
Steve Smith, a rebound basket by Christian Laettner and Blaylock's
layup.
Smith had 17 points and Laettner added 15 points and 11 rebounds for
the Hawks.
"We knew we could come in here and win," Smith said. "It didn't matter
if Reggie played or not."
"It's a great feeling to come up here and get a win," Blaylock said.
"Our trademark is our defense and we stepped it up today."
The victory was especially sweet for Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens,
since the Hawks were eliminated from the playoffs the previous two
seasons by Indiana. The Pacers ousted Atlanta in the second round of
the 1994 playoffs and in the first round of the 1995 postseason.
"We knew it was going to be a most difficult game because they play
good at home," Wilkens said. "We played hard all game. All through the
series we prepared for Reggie, that he could come back. We are a good
team that works hard on the defensive end. It's a thrilling feeling
for this team."
The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals each of the
previous two years, losing to New York in 1994 and Orlando in 1995.
"This was very disappointing," Jackson said. "When you let a team stay
in the game and beat you, it's tough. We are a better basketball team
than we showed today.
"You have to give them credit. They made shots, they got second shots,
they outrebounded us and they took it from us. We just didn't get the
job done."
Rik Smits had 17 points and Dale Davis added 10 points and 13 rebounds
for the Pacers.
The Pacers raced to a 17-9 lead in the first seven minutes, but
Blaylock hit a pair of 3-pointers and the Hawks pulled within 25-22 at
the end of the quarter.
Smith hit a 3-pointer and a 14-foot jumper to spark a 14-4
second-quarter run which gave Atlanta a 46-42 lead. The Hawks held a
52-47 halftime advantage.
Indiana pulled within 54-51 early in the third quarter, but Laettner
converted a three-point play and added a pair of free throws as the
Hawks scored seven of the next nine points to open a 61-53 lead.
nba.797vpoznanovic,
Portland (64) At Utah (102)
Portland
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
C Robinson F 33 4-9 5-5 0 3 3 1 4 2 2 13
Grant F 29 2-8 0-0 1 6 7 0 4 0 1 4
Sabonis C 34 6-16 2-2 0 8 8 1 1 0 1 14
Strickland G 40 5-16 0-0 0 2 2 8 3 2 3 10
Mckie G 23 2-6 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 2 1 5
Wingfield 19 3-8 1-2 4 1 5 0 0 0 0 9
Dudley 9 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 0 5 0 1 2
Williams 30 1-6 0-0 2 2 4 0 4 0 1 2
R Robinson 8 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0
J Robinson 12 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 5
Trent 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Spencer 1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 240 26-79 8-11 8 25 33 14 27 8 13 64
(.329) (.727) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 14(13 PTS)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Malone F 31 11-21 3-10 1 9 10 1 2 1 2 25
Benoit F 19 1-2 0-0 0 4 4 0 1 0 0 2
Spencer C 12 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 3 0 1 2
Stockton G 37 7-11 5-5 0 4 4 11 1 2 4 21
Hornacek G 29 3-7 5-5 2 5 7 4 0 0 2 11
Ostertag 29 2-6 4-6 3 5 8 0 3 1 1 8
Eisley 11 0-3 4-4 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 4
Morris 19 3-7 0-0 1 4 5 2 0 0 0 8
Russell 29 4-8 1-1 4 4 8 2 4 4 0 10
Carr 14 2-6 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
Keefe 6 0-1 4-4 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 4
Foster 4 1-2 1-2 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 3
Totals 240 35-76 27-37 14 40 54 23 18 8 11 102
(.461) (.730) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 11(0 PTS)
Portland 12 12 14 26 - 64
Utah 18 28 24 32 - 102
Blocked Shots: Portland - C Robinson 2, Grant. Utah - Ostertag 5,
Spencer 2, Malone, Hornacek, Morris, Keefe, Foster.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Portland 4-11 (.364), C Robinson 0-3, Grant 0-1,
Strickland 0-1, Mckie 1-1, Wingfield 2-2, J Robinson 1-3. Utah 5-16
(.313), Benoit 0-1, Stockton 2-4, Hornacek 0-1, Eisley 0-1, Morris 2-5,
Russell 1-4.
Technicals: Portland - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Ed T Rush, Steve Javie, Ron Garretson.
A - 19,682. T - 2:17.
nba.798vpoznanovic,
UTAH SENDS PORTLAND OUT IN A BLAZE OF GORY SHOOTING
SALT LAKE CITY -- Did you hear the one about the Portland Trail
Blazers? Utah kept all its players on the bench, and it only took
Portland five minutes to score!
It wasn't that bad -- but it was darn close. Portland set two NBA
playoff records for futility Sunday afternoon as the Utah Jazz rolled
to a 102-64 rout in the fifth and decisive game of their first-round
Western Conference playoff series.
PLAYOFF LOWS
Since the 24-second shot clock was introduced in 1954-55:
64 points: Portland at Utah (102), May 5, 1996
68: New York at Indiana (88), May 28, 1994
69: Indiana at Atlanta (92), May 12, 1994
70: Golden State vs. L.A. Lakers (126), April 21, 1973
70: Seattle at Houston (91), April 23, 1982
71: Syracuse vs. Fort Wayne (74) at Indianapolis, April 7, 1955
71: Houston vs. Boston (94), May 9, 1981
"From tipoff to the buzzer, it was the best game we've played all
season," said Utah forward Karl Malone, now 32 years old. "It also was
a great game for us after all the things that are said about us
getting old."
"We had to have this game, and we went out and got it," said Utah
point guard John Stockton, 34. "We made adjustments on their game and
we executed the way we're supposed to offensively."
Portland's 64 total points and 24 first-half points are the worst in
the history of the postseason.
"Portland has 12 points in the first quarter, 12 in the second and 14
in the third," NBC's Greg Gumbel said at the beginning of the fourth
quarter.
"They're heating up," analyst Bill Walton deadpanned.
The New York Knicks held the previous low with 68 points in an 88-68
loss to Indiana on May 28, 1994, in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers held the previous record for fewest points in
the first half of a playoff game with 28 in an April 7, 1974 contest
at Milwaukee.
Fewest points in a second half is 27 by Philadelphia against Boston on
May 21, 1982, and Indiana against New York on May 9, 1995.
"The Jazz were that good, and we were that bad," Portland coach P.J.
Carlesimo said. "They ran out on us and controlled the game. They
jumped on us and didn't let us get back in the game."
Malone had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Stockton had 21 points and 11
assists for the Jazz, who will play the San Antonio Spurs in the
best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals.
"Our guys played well and with a lot of emotion defensively to start
the ball game," Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "We had to go back to square
one and play them as well as we could and hope that they miss some
shots. Fortunately for us, they missed some shots and we were able not
to give them second shots."
Arvydas Sabonis led Portland with 14 points and Clifford Robinson
added 13.
FEWEST POINTS IN ONE HALF
In an NBA playoff game:
24 points: Portland at Utah, May 5, 1996 (first half)
27: Philadelphia vs. Boston, May 21, 1982 (second)
28: L.A. Lakers at Milwaukee, April 7, 1974 (first)
28: San Antonio vs. Portland, May 7, 1993 (second)
The Blazers hit just 33 percent from the field for the game, hitting
26 for 79 shots, and were outrebounded 54-33.
"We just got really cleaned up on the boards, which is very unusual
for us," Carlesimo said of his team, which averaged 45.6 rebounds per
game in the regular season, second only to Dallas' 46.2.
"For most of the first four games we were able to take away the
transition game, but today -- particularly when we got down -- we were
a step slow. We got outplayed. They defended, rebounded very well,
took care of the ball and executed."
It marked the fourth consecutive year the Blazers have been eliminated
in the first round of the playoffs.
The Jazz started the second quarter with a 17-5 run to open a 35-17
lead. Chris Morris and Bryon Russell came off the bench and scored six
points apiece during the run.
Utah opened a 70-38 bulge after three quarters, already scoring enough
points to win the game. The Jazz led by as many as 40 points in the
fourth quarter.
"We were a little bit more live, a little bit quicker to the
basketball," Sloan said. "We got a few more loose balls and a couple
more hustle plays, and you have to have that if the crowd is going to
have an effect."
Jeff Hornacek scored 11 points in 29 minutes and Russell added 10 for
the Jazz.
Portland point guard Rod Strickland hit just five of 16 shots from the
field and finished with 10 points.
nba.799vpoznanovic,
New York (84) At Chicago (91)
New York
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Oakley F 43 4-9 6-7 6 7 13 2 4 0 3 14
Mason F 45 5-11 2-2 1 4 5 2 4 0 3 12
Ewing C 43 9-23 3-5 3 13 16 1 3 1 5 21
Starks G 39 0-9 4-4 2 0 2 2 4 0 1 4
Harper G 40 8-17 1-2 0 0 0 5 2 2 1 19
Ward 8 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 4
Davis 15 3-4 0-0 0 3 3 0 2 0 3 8
Reid 7 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 2
Anderson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grandison Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grant Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Williams Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 32-79 16-20 12 28 40 14 21 4 17 84
(.405) (.800) Team Rebs: 13 Total To: 17(20 PTS)
Chicago
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Pippen F 43 4-15 3-3 5 5 10 7 0 2 1 11
Rodman F 33 0-3 3-4 3 9 12 2 4 1 3 3
Longley C 35 4-10 0-0 5 3 8 2 5 2 1 8
Harper G 30 2-7 0-0 2 5 7 3 3 1 0 4
Jordan G 41 17-35 9-9 1 4 5 2 4 0 1 44
Kukoc 28 1-8 5-6 1 1 2 5 2 2 0 7
Kerr 15 3-6 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 8
Salley 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Edwards 7 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
Brown 2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Wennington 4 1-1 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 0 0 2
Buechler Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 33-87 22-24 18 30 48 21 23 8 8 91
(.379) (.917) Team Rebs: 6 Total To: 9(10 PTS)
New York 17 30 22 15 - 84
Chicago 25 29 19 18 - 91
Blocked Shots: New York - None. Chicago - Longley 2, Pippen, Harper.
3-Pt. Field Goals: New York 4-15 (.267), Starks 0-5, Harper 2-5, Ward 0-2,
Davis 2-3. Chicago 3-19 (.158), Pippen 0-4, Harper 0-2, Jordan 1-5, Kukoc
0-4, Kerr 2-4.
Technicals: New York - Harper, Mason, Oakley, Chicago - Jordan, Pippen.
Officials: Ed F Rush, Don Vaden, Joe Crawford.
A - 24,394. T - 2:24.
nba.800vpoznanovic,
ALL ABOARD! JORDAN EXPRESS ROLLS OVER KNICKS
CHICAGO -- "When you look at the stat sheet and see the way I shot and
Toni (Kukoc) shot, it's good to have Michael on the court," Chicago
Bulls forward Scottie Pippen said of teammate Michael Jordan. "We kind
of rode his back."
Pardon the pun.
Jordan overcame back problems to score 44 points Sunday as the Bulls
defeated the New York Knicks 91-84 in Game 1 of their Eastern
Conference second-round series.
Jordan scored six points in the final four minutes and Chicago held
New York without a field goal over the final five minutes.
"We feel fortunate to win this game," Jordan said. "They kept us out
of sync offensively. Luckily we played our usual good defensive game
and shut them down at the end."
Jordan made 17 of 35 shots and all nine of his free throws as he
eclipsed the 40-point plateau in a playoff game for the 29th time in
his career. He showed no effects of a back injury other than receiving
treatment on the sideline when he was not in the game.
Chicago's other top scorers had a rough time. Pippen missed 11 of his
15 shots and Kukoc missed seven of his eight field-goal attempts.
"We anticipated a game like this and we got it," Bulls coach Phil
Jackson said. "We played the game the Knicks wanted to. They set the
tempo and we got away from our game. Tuesday we will have to play our
type of game."
Fortunately for the Bulls, Knicks guard John Starks -- who was pivotal
in New York's first-round victory over Cleveland -- missed all nine of
his shots from the field, including five from three-point range.
"I had no rhythm," Starks said. "Tuesday is another game."
Patrick Ewing led New York with 21 points and 16 rebounds, but he hit
just nine of 23 shots and committed five turnovers. The Knicks shot 41
percent (32 for 79) from the field and were four for 15 from 3-point
range.
"We competed hard and put ourselves in a position to win in the fourth
quarter," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "I didn't do a good job
giving them the offense. I'm going to have to do a better job if we
are going to win."
"I thought we had them where we wanted them at the end," Ewing said.
"We just couldn't hit our shots in the critical stretch. It's
frustrating in a way because we feel we can beat this team. They just
got too many second shots and loose balls."
Dennis Rodman grabbed 12 rebounds as the Bulls held a 48-40 edge on
the boards, including an 18-12 advantage on offensive rebounds.
The Knicks trailed 54-47 at halftime and by 13 in the third quarter
before using a 13-0 run to tie the score. Chicago, which missed 11
consecutive shots at one point, regrouped and grabbed a 73-69 edge
entering the fourth quarter.
After Bill Wennington's jumper gave Chicago a 79-71 lead with 9:23
remaining, the Knicks began to chip away. Hubert Davis hit a 3-pointer
and Derek Harper made a driving layup to cut the deficit to 79-76 with
7:31 to go.
Jordan hit a pair of free throws as Chicago made its first 20 shots
from the foul line. But Ewing made a jumper and Harper sank a jumper
as New York got within a point with 5:15 to go.
However, that was New York's last basket. After Rodman and Starks
exchanged a pair of free throws, Jordan hit a fadeaway jumper with
Harper hanging on him to extend the lead to 85-82.
Starks missed a 3-pointer and Rodman hit a free throw to push the
advantage to four points. After Ewing traveled with 3:11 to go, Jordan
drove past Harper and over Ewing for a layup that gave Chicago an
88-82 lead.
Oakley hit a pair of free throws to get the Knicks within 88-84 with
2:47 remaining but those were the last points for New York. Jordan's
jumper and Kukoc's free throw capped the scoring.
The teams are meeting in the playoffs for the fifth time in six
seasons and the game featured the physical play that has typified past
showdowns. Double technicals were issued to Harper and Jordan in the
second and Oakley and Pippen in the fourth.
The Bulls led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter.
nba.801vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago leads New York 1-0
Sunday May 5 Chicago 91, New York 84
Tuesday May 7 at Chicago 9:30 p.m. TNT
Saturday May 11 at New York 1 p.m. NBC
Sunday May 12 at New York 5:30 p.m. NBC
Tuesday May 14 *at Chicago TBA
Thursday May 16 *at New York TBA
Sunday May 19 *at Chicago TBA
Orlando vs. Atlanta
Wednesday May 8 at Orlando 8 p.m. TNT
Friday May 10 at Orlando 7 p.m. TNT
Sunday May 12 at Atlanta 12:30 p.m. NBC
Monday May 13 at Atlanta 8 p.m. TNT
Wednesday May 15 *at Orlando 8 p.m. TNT
Friday May 17 *at Atlanta 8 p.m. TNT
Sunday May 19 *at Orlando TBA NBC
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle leads Houston 1-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 at Seattle 9 p.m. TNT
Friday May 10 at Houston 9:30 p.m TNT
Sunday May 12 at Houston 3 p.m. NBC
Tuesday May 14 *at Seattle TBA
Thursday May 16 *at Houston TBA
Saturday May 18 *at Seattle TBA NBC
San Antonio vs. Utah
Tuesday May 7 at San Antonio 7 p.m. TNT
Thursday May 9 at San Antonio 8 p.m. TNT
Saturday May 11 at Utah 3:30 NBC
Sunday May 12 at Utah 8:30 p.m. TNT
Tuesday May 14 *at San Antonio TBA
Thursday May 16 *at Utah TBA
Saturday May 18 *at San Antonio TBA NBC
First round
(Best-of-5)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago defeats Miami 3-0
April 26 Chicago 102, Miami 85
April 28 Chicago 106, Miami 75
May 1 Chicago 112, Miami 91
Orlando defeats Detroit 3-0
April 26 Orlando 112, Detroit 92
April 28 Orlando 92, Detroit 77
April 30 Orlando 101, Detroit 98
Atlanta defeats Indiana 3-2
April 25 Atlanta 92, Indiana 80
April 27 Indiana 102, Atlanta 94 (OT)
April 29 Atlanta 90, Indiana 83
May 2 Indiana 83, Atlanta 75
May 5 Atlanta 89, Indiana 87
New York defeats Cleveland 3-0
April 25 New York 106, Cleveland 83
April 27 New York 84, Cleveland 80
May 1 New York 81, Cleveland 76
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Seattle defeats Sacramento 3-1
April 26 Seattle 97, Sacramento 85
April 28 Sacramento 90, Seattle 81
April 30 Seattle 96, Sacramento 89
May 2 Seattle 101, Sacramento 87
San Antonio defeats Phoenix 3-1
April 26 San Antonio 120, Phoenix 98
April 28 San Antonio 110, Phoenix 105
May 1 Phoenix 94, San Antonio 93
May 3 San Antonio 116, Phoenix 98
Utah defeats Portland 3-2
April 25 Utah 110, Portland 102
April 27 Utah 105, Portland 90
April 29 Portland 94, Utah 91 (OT)
May 1 Portland 98, Utah 90
May 5 Utah 102, Portland 64
Houston defeats L.A. Lakers 3-1
April 25 Houston 87, L.A. Lakers 83
April 27 L.A Lakers 104, Houston 94
April 30 Houston 104, L.A. Lakers 98
May 2 Houston 102, L.A. Lakers 94
nba.802lexus,
-> #799, vpoznanovic=> Starks G 39 0-9 4-4 2 0 2 2 4
=> 0 1 4 ^^^
Ovaj Starks stvarno ne ume da šutira u važnim utakmicama...
nba.803schef,
-> #797, vpoznanovic=- Portland (64) At Utah (102)
^^ ^^^
Kuku... ;)
Srleř
nba.804vpoznanovic,
FITS LIKE A GLOVE: PAYTON IS NBA'S TOP DEFENDER
SEATTLE -- Seattle SuperSonics point guard Gary Payton, who led the
NBA in steals with 2.85 per game, was named Defensive Player of the
Year on Monday by a landslide vote.
Payton received 56 of a possible 113 votes from a panel of sports
writers and broadcasters. Chicago forward Scottie Pippen was second
with 15 votes and Denver center Dikembe Mutombo, last year's winner,
was third with 13 votes.
VOTING
Payton Sonics 56
Pippen Bulls 15
Mutombo Nuggets 11
Robinson Spurs 9
Olajuwon Rockets 8
Jordan Bulls 7
Rodman Bulls 4
Grant Magic 1
Outlaw Clippers 1
Sprewell Warriors 1
Payton, 27, is nicknamed "The Glove" because of the aggressive,
attacking style he uses to he cover opponents.
The 6-foot-4 Payton, a two-time NBA All-Defensive team selection,
helped Seattle lead the league in steals (10.7 per game) for the
fourth consecutive season. The SuperSonics also led the league in
turnovers forced with 18.5 per game.
"In high school, I was offensive minded," Payton said at a Monday news
conference in Seattle, where the Sonics were preparing to face Houston
in Game 2 of their second-round series.
"I liked George Gervin a lot and you know he didn't play no 'D.' He
didn't play 'D' at all."
During Payton's rookie year he met up with defensive ace Alvin
Robertson, currently a Toronto Raptors guard who was with Milwaukee at
the time.
"When I faced him for the first time in my pro career, I threw the
ball up the court and he jumped in the middle of the air and grabbed
it," Payton said. "I said, 'Hey, I'm going to be like him. I'm going
to imitate him a lot.' That's what I've been trying to do the last
couple of years."
Payton also said former Oregon State Ralph Miller and Sonics assistant
Tim Grgurich helped in Payton's development as a top-notch defender.
Payton, a three-time All-Star, will become a free agent after the
playoffs end. It has been speculated it will take a $50 million
contract for the Sonics to keep him.
nba.805vpoznanovic,
MOURNING UNDERGOES SURGERY ON RING FINGER
MIAMI -- Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning, who is eligible for free
agency in July, underwent outpatient surgery Monday to repair a
chronic dislocation problem on the ring finger of his left hand.
Mourning had a damaged ligament in the finger that caused it to
dislocate several times, most recently during a first round playoff
game against Chicago.
Heat team physician Doctor Harlan Selesnick said Mourning's finger
will be in a splint for approximately three weeks before he begins
rehabilitation.
Mourning, who was acquired from the Charlotte Hornets Nov. 3 in a
multi-player deal, averaged 23.2 points and 10.4 rebounds in 70 games
for the Heat this season.
nba.806vpoznanovic,
SIX PLAYERS ADDED TO HALL OF FAME
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Former college and pro stars George Gervin, Gail
Goodrich and David Thompson were among six former players inducted
into the Basketball Hall of Fame Monday.
The other inductees: former European star Kresimir Cosic, who passed
away last May at the age of 46; women's star Nancy Lieberman-Cline;
and early National Basketball Association star George Yardley.
The six were selected from a list of 20 candidates. An individual
needed 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for induction. Cosic
was nominated by the International Screening Committee and Yardley was
nominated by the Veterans Screening Committee.
Gervin, who played in both the American Basketball Association and the
NBA, was a 12-time All-Star and one of only three players in NBA
history to win four or more scoring titles. His career scoring average
of 26.2 points a game is the sixth highest in NBA history.
Gervin is one of only seven players in NBA history to score more than
2,000 points in six consecutive seasons and he is one of only four
players in league history to score in double figures in 400 or more
games. Gervin had a 63-point single-game performance in 1978 and is
one of only 15 players in NBA history to surpass 60 points in a
regular season game.
Goodrich helped UCLA to two NCAA championships and led his conference
in scoring (21.5 ppg.) as the Bruins compiled a 30-0 record in 1964.
He went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA, where he was selected to the
All-Star team five times and was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers'
1972 championship team.
Thompson was a three-time All-America at North Carolina State and was
named College Basketball Player of the Year twice. He was named the
Most Valuable Player of the 1974 NCAA Championship tournament and his
number 44 jersey is the only one ever retired at North Carolina State.
Thompson was the ABA Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in
the All-Star game, played in four NBA All-Star games and was named the
game's MVP in 1979, becoming the only player to win the award in both
leagues. Thompson averaged 22.1 points a game and his 73-point
performance against Detroit in April, 1978, is the third highest in
NBA history. His number 33 jersey also has been retired by the Denver
Nuggets.
Yardley played seven seasons in the NBA and in 1957-58 became the
first player to score 2,000 points in a season. He was named to the
NBA All-Star team six times and averaged 19.2 points for his career.
Cosic, who died last May from lymphoma, starred at Brigham Young but
made his reputation on the international scene. After leading BYU in
scoring in his final two years, he went on to play on four Olympic
teams for the former Yugoslavia. He was a member of the silver medal
team in 1968 and the gold medal team in 1980 and starred for two World
Championship gold medal teams.
Lieberman was a member of two Pan American gold medal winning teams
and played for the United States squad that won the silver medal at
the 1976 Olympics. Lieberman was a three-time All-America at Old
Dominion and led the school to back-to-back national championships in
1979 and 1980. Lieberman led Old Dominion to a 72-2 record over those
two seasons and was named College Player of the Year.
She became the first woman to play in a men's league when she signed
with the Springfield Fame of the United States Basketball League in
1986.
nba.807vpoznanovic,
KENTUCKY'S WALKER TO LEAP INTO NBA
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sophomore forward Antoine Walker, the second-leading
scorer on Kentucky's 1995-96 national championship team, says he will
not return to the Wildcats for his junior season and make himself
eligible for the NBA Draft.
Walker told a news conference Monday morning that he needed to do
something for his family and especially for his mother who had worked
hard to raise her family.
"Everyone knows how great a feeling it was to win a national
championship and I would love to come back and do it again, but my
family has been there for me throughout my whole life and it's time
for me to repay them," said Walker at the morning news conference at
the school. "They have worked my whole life and put me through school.
I feel like that I'm making a good decision and I'm helping my family
out and also fulfilling one of my dreams."
The 6-8 Walker averaged 15.2 points and a team-leading 8.4 rebounds in
36 games for the Wildcats this past season. Kentucky finished 34-2 and
won its first national championship since 1978. The Wildcats beat
Syracuse in the NCAA Championship game on April 1.
"Whatever he wants to do is great, it's not up to me to agree or
disagree, it's up to me to point out all the options so he can make an
intelligent decision," said coach Rick Pitino. "If I were an NBA team,
based on the potential of this young man, I can't say I'd draft him
one because that would be too biased. But if I had the second pick in
the draft, based on potential, this young man has all the potential
that you saw in an early Magic Johnson. Never would I compare anyone
to Magic Johnson, and apply that kind of pressure, but he has those
skills, that type of charisma, that leadership and I think he is
absolutely going to be a great pro."
Members of Kentucky's coaching staff talked to NBA scouts last week
and learned Walker would be a possible lottery pick if he entered the
draft. Walker would likely be selected anywhere from 8-13 in the June
draft.
Under NCAA rules, a player can return to college within 30 days of
being drafted provided he has not yet retained the services of an
agent.
The loss of Walker leaves Kentucky with only two returning starters --
guard Anthony Epps and forward Derek Anderson -- from the 1995-96
championship team. Guard Tony Delk and center Walter McCarty were
senior starters.
Walker played in all 33 games for Kentucky as a freshman, averaging
7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game under Pitino's
rotation system.
Walker's perimeter game is questionable, however. He sank only nine of
46 3-pointers.
He was the MVP of the Southeastern Conference Tournament as a freshman
and a consensus All-SEC selection this year.
Pitino said he presented options to Walker, but that Walker made the
decision to forego the rest of his college eligibility.
Pitino warned that something would have to be done to keep talented
underclassmen from leaving early before they are ready to handle the
jump emotionally to the NBA.
He suggested that if they don't want to go to college, they could play
in the CBA to get ready for the NBA.
nba.808vpoznanovic,
NO KIDDING! VAUGHN WON'T LEAVE KANSAS FOR NBA
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Jacque Vaughn, the Big Eight's player of the year,
says he will return to play his senior season with the University of
Kansas basketball team.
At a news conference at the university, Vaughn said Monday he had
chosen not to leave early to try a career in the NBA.
Experts had said Vaughn, a point guard, would benefit from another
year of seasoning and might win a bigger contract if he played his
final year of college basketball.
nba.809vpoznanovic,
INJURY-PLAGUED LIVINGSTON PRESUMES HE'LL ENTER NBA DRAFT
Injury-plagued point guard Randy Livingston of Louisiana State
announced on Monday that he will enter the NBA draft.
Livingston played parts of two seasons at LSU and dropped out of
school on Feb. 16 to devote himself full-time to rehabilitation work
following a season of nagging injuries that cut short his sophomore
season.
"I wish to thank everybody who supported me through these times,"
Livingston said. "I will enter the draft with every option open."
Under NCAA rules, a player can return to college within 30 days of
being drafted provided he has not yet retained the services of an
agent.
Livingston averaged 14 points, 9.4 assists and four rebounds in
1994-95, his redshirt season after sitting out a year recovering from
anterior cruciate surgery in his right leg. He played in 16 games
before suffering a fractured patella tendon on the same leg in a game
at Arkansas in January, 1995.
Livingston returned last December and averaged 6.1 points and 5.3
assists in 13 games before quitting to continue his rehab.
"Not having his spirits broken after three years of suffering
heartaches indicated this is a strong-willed person," LSU coach Dale
Brown said. "After visiting with Randy and his mom and discussing all
the options available, this is the best thing for Randy to do at this
time."
Livingston is the second LSU guard to apply for the draft, joining
junior Ronnie Henderson.
nba.810vpoznanovic,
Houston (101) At Seattle (105)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Brown F 23 5-10 1-2 1 1 2 1 1 0 0 11
Horry F 37 4-9 2-4 1 3 4 5 3 2 0 14
Olajuwon C 41 8-21 1-1 4 12 16 4 2 2 5 17
Drexler G 37 7-11 2-2 2 7 9 4 3 2 3 19
Smith G 27 3-11 2-2 2 1 3 7 3 0 1 11
Cassell 26 1-5 6-8 0 0 0 5 3 1 1 9
Bryant 17 5-7 2-3 0 2 2 1 3 0 1 12
Elie 25 2-6 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 1 1 5
Mack 6 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Jones 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chilcutt Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Recasner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 36-81 16-22 10 28 38 28 20 8 12 101
(.444) (.727) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 12(18 PTS)
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Kemp F 35 5-13 7-8 2 8 10 2 3 0 4 17
D Schrempf F 45 9-16 1-3 1 9 10 5 2 0 5 21
Johnson C 14 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 2
Hawkins G 32 3-6 2-2 0 4 4 4 3 1 2 11
Payton G 43 7-15 1-3 0 5 5 5 4 3 1 18
Mcmillan 24 5-6 0-0 0 4 4 3 1 0 1 15
Perkins 27 3-5 0-0 1 2 3 4 1 0 1 9
Askew 13 2-6 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 6
Brickowski 7 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 6
S Scheffler Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Snow Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Wingate Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 37-70 11-16 4 34 38 25 20 4 16 105
(.529) (.688) Team Rebs: 5 Total To: 16(23 PTS)
Houston 19 32 31 19 - 101
Seattle 22 27 31 25 - 105
Blocked Shots: Houston - Olajuwon 4, Horry. Seattle - Kemp 2, D
Schrempf, Johnson.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Houston 13-27 (.481), Horry 4-7, Drexler 3-4, Smith
3-8, Cassell 1-3, Elie 1-4, Mack 1-1. Seattle 20-27 (.741), D Schrempf
2-5, Hawkins 3-3, Payton 3-5, Mcmillan 5-5, Perkins 3-5, Askew 2-2,
Brickowski 2-2.
Technicals: Seattle - Payton, Illegal Defense 3.
Officials: Paul Mihalak, Hugh Evans, Bill Oakes.
A - 17,072. T - 2:22.
nba.811vpoznanovic,
ARC KEEPS SONICS SAFE; ROCKETS ARE FLOODED
SEATTLE -- The two-time defending champion Houston Rockets are
accustomed to seeing the inside-outside game work to perfection.
However, they're not used to seeing it work against them.
Seattle set an NBA playoff record with 20 3-pointers -- including 13
in a row -- during a 105-101 victory over Houston on Monday night,
giving the SuperSonics a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal
series.
HOT SHOTS
Seattle's numbers from 3-point range Monday:
M-A
McMillan 5-5
Hawkins 3-3
Askew 2-2
Brickowski 2-2
Payton 3-5
Perkins 3-5
Schrempf 2-5
TOTALS 20-27
"The 3-pointer is a part of both teams' offenses," Seattle guard Nate
McMillan said. "Houston has been winning like this the last two
years."
"To take a barrage like that was amazing," Houston coach Rudy
Tomjanovich said. "If we played any other team in the league, I'm sure
we'd win the game and it probably wouldn't even be a close game."
Game 3 is Friday at Houston. The Rockets have trailed in four of the
eight series they have won in capturing the past two NBA titles.
Houston trailed Phoenix 2-0 in the conference semifinals last year and
won in seven games.
On Monday, Seattle went inside to 6-foot-10 forwards Detlef Schrempf
and Shawn Kemp, who scored 21 and 17 points, respectively, and grabbed
10 rebounds apiece.
The Sonics also went outside -- boy, did they ever go outside. Seattle
hit 20 of 27 from 3-point range, an incredible 74-percent success
rate.
"This year, coach went to a thing where he started making us shoot
threes after practice," Seattle point guard Gary Payton said of
Seattle coach George Karl. "We have to make at least 30 threes before
we leave practice and it's been helping us a lot."
Houston held the previous playoff record of 19 3-pointers, set last
April 29 against Utah. Seattle and Houston combined to hit 33 from
long distance Monday, also a playoff record.
McMillan tied an NBA playoff with his five-for-five shooting from
beyond the arc. He matched the record set by Dallas' Brad Davis of
Dallas and matched by Byron Scott for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1991.
Seattle's bench of McMillan, Sam Perkins, Vincent Askew and Frank
Brickowski scored 36 points and made 12 of 14 3-pointers.
HOT SHOTS, PART DEUX
Most 3-pointers by a team in an NBA playoff game:
20: Seattle vs. Houston
May 6, 1996
19: Houston at Utah
April 29, 1995
17: New York at Cleveland
April 25, 1996
14: Houston at Orlando (OT)
June 7, 1995
14: Orlando at Houston
June 14, 1995
"We have so many weapons," Schrempf said. "If we make the extra pass,
we usually get a good shot in. When we got down, we started playing a
little harder and played together."
The Sonics made 10 of 13 3-pointers in the second half, when they
erased a 10-point deficit.
Perkins' 3-pointer with 2:11 to play set the record and gave Seattle a
103-99 lead, but Mario Elie's basket 19 seconds later pulled Houston
within two points and the Rockets had one last chance to tie.
Schrempf missed two free throws but forced a jump ball with 45 seconds
left. Houston controlled the tip, but Payton poked the ball away from
Hakeem Olajuwon. Kemp sank two free throws with 10 seconds left to
seal the victory.
Payton, who was named Defensive Player of the Year earlier in the day,
added 18 points for the Sonics, who trailed for much of this game.
"I knew Hakeem was going to get the ball and try to do something,"
Payton said of his crucial steal. "I stuck my hand in there and
knocked it loose. Fortunately, Shawn was able to pick it up."
Clyde Drexler scored 19 points and Olajuwon added 17 points and 16
rebounds for Houston.
"They played well, they shot the ball well," Drexler said of the
Sonics. "When a team shoots that well, they deserve to win.
"I think both teams were playing at a very high level of playoff
basketball. We happened to lose this one by a couple of points but
we're looking forward to Game 3. They held serve, they won two games
in their gym."
Seattle has won 11 consecutive games against the Rockets since the
1994 season and is also the last team to beat Houston in the playoffs,
eliminating the Rockets in six games in the conference semifinals in
1993.
Houston still led 88-82 after a basket by Mark Bryant with 9:18 to
play, but the Sonics stormed back with a 15-2 tear.
Hersey Hawkins and Payton hit 3-pointers to tie the score 88-88 with
7:58 left. Olajuwon answered with a hook shot to give Houston its
final lead, but Schrempf made a hook shot and Payton converted a layup
and added a jumper to make it 94-90 with 6:09 remaining.
Hawkins capped the run with a 3-pointer to give Seattle a 97-90 lead
with 5:17 to go.
Houston clawed back with a 9-3 spurt. Elie and Nate McMillan traded
3-pointers before Olajuwon had a putback and Sam Cassell hit four free
throws to make it 100-99 with three minutes to play.
After Kemp missed a shot in the post, Houston had a chance to take the
lead but Drexler missed a reverse layup in transition.
"There was a lot of physical play tonight. It was one of the most
physical games I've probably played in my career," Kemp said. "Lots of
elbows, lots of grinding inside. The thing was we didn't give up, we
just kept going inside, even though they were elbowing us inside. We
kept going back inside to make it happen."
Robert Horry scored 14 points, Bryant 12 and Chucky Brown and Kenny
Smith 11 apiece for the Rockets, who shot 44 percent (36 for 81)
overall and 48 percent (13 for 27) from 3-point range.
nba.812vpoznanovic,
JACKSON FINALLY WINS COACH OF THE YEAR
NEW YORK -- After leading the Chicago Bulls to an NBA-record 72 wins,
Phil Jackson was named NBA Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
Jackson received 82 of a possible 113 votes from a nationwide panel of
writers and broadcasters.
Mike Fratello of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished second with 22
votes.
Jackson guided the Bulls to the best record in NBA history at 72-10,
breaking the record of 69 held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
"This is a dream year and we've had a wonderful ride up to this
point," said Jackson. "I receive this as a member of the Bulls
organization with gratitude and thanks to the players."
"The coach is always the jockey and the players drag him down the
racetrack... coaching is really a partnership between the players and
the coaching staff... this year wasn't as much work as I've had to do
in other years, but certainly some of the off-the-court work was as
difficult as on the court."
Despite coaching the Bulls to three straight NBA titles from 1991 to
1993, Jackson had never won Coach of the Year honors.
Doug Collins of the Detroit Pistons and Bob Hill of the San Antonio
Spurs tied for third with three votes apiece. Rudy Tomjanovich of the
Houston Rockets received two votes and Lenny Wilkens of the Atlanta
Hawks had one vote.
The Bulls also set NBA records for most consecutive home wins (44) and
most consecutive home wins to start a season (37) in 1995-96.
The Coach of the Year receives the Red Auerbach Trophy in honor of
Auerbach, the president of the Boston Celtics, who guided the Celtics
to nine NBA championships between the 1956-57 and 1966-67 seasons.
nba.813vpoznanovic,
New York (80) At Chicago (91)
New York
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Oakley F 39 3-10 3-6 6 5 11 0 4 0 4 9
Mason F 44 5-10 0-0 3 5 8 1 2 1 3 10
Ewing C 39 9-19 5-9 1 9 10 1 2 0 4 23
Starks G 32 2-5 8-8 0 3 3 4 4 4 3 12
Harper G 40 4-13 0-0 0 1 1 5 4 1 5 11
Davis 19 0-4 1-2 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 1
Grant 8 2-5 0-0 2 1 3 0 0 1 1 6
Williams 9 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Anderson 10 2-6 2-2 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 6
Grandison Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Reid Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Ward Dnp - Flu
Totals 240 28-74 19-27 13 25 38 13 21 8 20 80
(.378) (.704) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 20(24 PTS)
Chicago
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Pippen F 41 7-21 2-2 2 3 5 6 4 4 2 19
Rodman F 31 3-4 0-0 5 14 19 1 4 0 5 6
Longley C 25 3-6 0-0 4 5 9 0 5 0 3 6
Harper G 33 5-13 3-4 4 5 9 3 4 0 2 15
Jordan G 40 11-25 5-5 3 2 5 5 0 3 2 28
Kukoc 25 2-7 2-2 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 6
Kerr 19 2-5 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5
Buechler 4 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0
Edwards 5 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 2
Wennington 14 1-1 1-2 0 3 3 1 3 1 0 3
Salley 3 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Brown Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 35-86 14-17 18 36 54 19 26 9 17 91
(.407) (.824) Team Rebs: 6 Total To: 18(20 PTS)
New York 19 22 18 21 - 80
Chicago 22 20 19 30 - 91
Blocked Shots: New York - Ewing 4. Chicago - Longley 3, Rodman 2, Pippen.
3-Pt. Field Goals: New York 5-19 (.263), Oakley 0-1, Starks 0-1, Harper
3-8, Davis 0-4, Grant 2-3, Anderson 0-2. Chicago 7-21 (.333), Pippen 3-7,
Harper 2-3, Jordan 1-3, Kukoc 0-4, Kerr 1-2, Buechler 0-2.
Technicals: New York - Ewing, Harper, Starks, Chicago - Assistant Coach
Cleamons, Harper.
Officials: Bernie Fryer, Jack Nies, Jess Kersey.
A - 24,328. T - 2:19.