nba.814vpoznanovic,
SCOTTIE STRIKES IN FOURTH AS BULLS GO UP 2-0
CHICAGO -- Scottie Pippen scored nine of his 19 points in a
fourth-quarter run as the Chicago Bulls took a 2-0 lead in their
Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 91-80 victory over the New
York Knicks.
Pippen, 3-for-16 in the first three quarters, made his first four
shots of the final period to spark a Bulls rally.
Pippen hit a jumper, a 3-pointer and then a dunk to cap a 12-0 spurt
that put the Bulls up 76-63 with about seven minutes left.
"I wasn't going to back away from my shot," he said. "I still thought
I had good rhythm and (assistant coach) Tex Winter told me just catch
the ball and pull up a shoot."
"We were just hoping we could get something going offensively," Pippen
said. "We didn't shoot well the whole game." The Bulls, who won a
record 72 games in the regular season, remained unbeaten in the
playoffs, with just one of the wins coming by less than 10 points.
Game 3 is Saturday at New York.
Pippen, who was 4-for-15 and had only 11 points in Chicago's 91-84
victory in Game 1, bounced back with a solid effort, keying a 14-4 run
at the outset of the final quarter.
Michael Jordan, who scored 44 points on 17-of-35 shooting in Game 1,
had 28 points and made 11 of 25 shots for Chicago.
"We made some big plays down the stretch,'' Jordan said. ``Our defense
held them ... and we made some big baskets, especially Scottie."
Patrick Ewing scored 23 points and John Starks added 12 for New York,
which was held to 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Knicks have
scored a combined 76 points in the second halves of the two games.
"Right now we're playing not to lose and you can't play like that,"
said Knicks guard Derek Harper. "You can't worry about whether or not
you're going to be the guy to not come up with the right play. You're
not going to hold a team like Chicago down, a guy like Scottie down,
every night."
New York's frustration surfaced after the Bulls took control.
Patrick Ewing, who scored only one of his 23 points in the final
period, charged toward Chicago assistant coach Jim Cleamons, who
exchanged words with Ewing from the Bulls bench. Referee Jess Kersey
restrained Ewing and a double technical was assessed, two of five
technicals in the final period.
"Their bench was just talking a lot of trash," Ewing said. "We're sick
of hearing them bitch and moan. They talk to the refs and then we
don't get a call."
Ewing started quickly for the Knicks but faded in the fourth quarter.
He had two points in the final period of Game 1.
Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-7 series are Saturday and Sunday at
Madison Square Garden.
Dennis Rodman had 19 rebounds for Chicago. After the game, he gave his
jersey to talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who recently interviewed
Rodman about his new book, "Bad As I Wanna Be."
Chicago's 12-0 spurt was part of a 24-6 run in which the Bulls were 10
of 14 from the field. During the stretch, the Knicks missed all four
of their shots, committed five turnovers and went more than seven
minutes and 30 seconds without a field goal.
"Our defense has been able to shut them down when they needed
offense," Pippen said.
The Bulls again shut down John Starks, holding the Knicks' long-range
shooter to 2-for-5 from the field and 12 points. Starks missed all
nine of his field goal attempts in Game 1 and scored only four points.
Toni Kukoc's driving basket gave the Bulls a 61-59 lead at the end of
a third quarter, in which the teams combined for just 37 points. The
Knicks made just 6 of 20 shots in the quarter, and the Bulls were 6 of
19.
Jordan, limited to four first-quarter points, scored the first seven
of the second period and the Bulls surged to a 10-point lead. But
Starks had eight points, including his first basket of the series, and
Derek Harper hit a 3-pointer as the Knicks used an 11-4 run to close
within a point at halftime.
nba.815vpoznanovic,
Utah (95) At San Antonio (75)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Morris F 22 6-11 0-0 2 3 5 0 4 1 1 13
Malone F 35 10-23 3-5 3 4 7 2 5 3 3 23
Spencer C 22 3-6 0-0 5 1 6 1 3 0 2 6
Hornacek G 35 7-12 1-1 2 3 5 3 3 0 0 17
Stockton G 39 5-10 2-2 0 5 5 19 2 1 3 13
Eisley 9 0-2 0-0 2 2 4 4 0 1 0 0
Ostertag 10 0-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
Russell 31 4-7 0-0 1 5 6 1 4 1 2 11
Carr 16 2-6 0-0 1 1 2 0 4 0 1 4
Keefe 21 3-7 2-2 1 2 3 1 5 0 2 8
Benoit Dnp - Contusion Left Knee
Foster Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 40-88 8-10 18 27 45 31 30 7 14 95
(.455) (.800) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 14(14 PTS)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 37 2-7 9-13 0 1 1 4 5 2 4 14
Smith F 12 2-5 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 4
Robinson C 43 9-12 11-18 2 4 6 4 3 2 4 29
Del Negro G 36 1-11 1-1 0 2 2 4 1 0 1 3
Johnson G 43 3-8 0-0 0 4 4 5 2 1 4 6
W Perdue 22 4-6 0-0 3 4 7 0 2 0 1 8
C Person 31 3-6 1-2 0 4 4 2 2 0 1 8
Alexander 5 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
Herrera 4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Williams 4 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
Anderson 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rivers Dnp - Back Spasms
Totals 240 25-60 23-36 7 23 30 19 16 6 16 75
(.417) (.639) Team Rebs: 15 Total To: 17(17 PTS)
Utah 29 17 28 21 - 95
San Antonio 18 23 20 14 - 75
Blocked Shots: Utah - Spencer 3, Morris, Russell. San Antonio - Robinson
5, Elliott, Smith, W Perdue, C Person.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Utah 7-14 (.500), Morris 1-3, Hornacek 2-5, Stockton
1-3, Russell 3-3. San Antonio 2-5 (.400), Elliott 1-1, Del Negro 0-2, C
Person 1-2.
Technicals: Utah - Malone, Illegal Defense 2, Head Coach Sloan, San
Antonio - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Derrick Stafford, Dan Crawford.
A - 15,112. T - 2:12.
nba.816vpoznanovic,
MASSACRE AT THE ALAMO: JAZZ DRUMS UP 20-POINT WIN
SAN ANTONIO -- It was massacre time all over again in San Antonio.
Only this time it was Utah, not the Mexicans, invading the
Alamo(dome).
Karl Malone scored 23 points and John Stockton had 13 points and 19
assists as Utah routed San Antonio 95-75 Tuesday night to win the
opener of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.
The Spurs, who have never won a playoff series after losing the first
game, were booed in the Alamodome as they lost the homecourt advantage
in the best-of-7 series. Game 2 is Thursday in San Antonio.
"It was a plain old-fashioned (butt)-kicking," said San Antonio coach
Bob Hill. "Nothing we did worked, I thought they played great and we
didn't. Give them credit, we have work to do, but we will be back."
The Jazz, who led by five points at halftime, built a comfortable lead
in the third quarter and maintained it the rest of the way. Utah
opened the second half with a 17-7 run to take a 63-48 lead with 6:35
remaining in the third period.
Jeff Hornacek scored nine of his 17 points in the third period for the
Jazz, who led 74-61 at the start of the final period. Utah led by at
least 10 points throughout the fourth quarter.
David Robinson had 29 points and six rebounds for San Antonio. Sean
Elliott added 14 points for the Spurs.
"We didn't come in prepared for their intensity," Robinson said." We
didn't make good decisions and I felt like our minds just weren't
there."
After holding Portland to an NBA playoff-low 64 points in Game 5 of
their opening-round series, the Jazz came up with another defensive
gem against San Antonio.
"We got a little bit lucky with the ball bouncing our way," said Utah
coach Jerry Sloan. "We executed, our guys off the bench competed hard.
I was shocked that they missed as many shots as they missed. It's only
one game, we only beat the Spurs once all year and it was kind of
fluke down here (San Antonio)."
The Spurs didn't score for a four-minute stretch in the first period
as Utah went on a 12-0 run and built a 25-7 lead with 3:25 remaining.
Chuck Person's 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the first finally moved the
Spurs into double figures (25-11) and San Antonio fought back to cut
Utah's lead to 46-41 at halftime.
The Jazz advanced to the semifinals by eliminating the Trail Blazers
3-2 in the first round, including a 102-64 victory Sunday in Game 5.
The Spurs beat Phoenix 3-1 in the first round.
nba.817vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago leads New York 2-0
Sunday May 5 Chicago 91, New York 84
Tuesday May 7 Chicago 91, New York 80
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 2-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 Seattle 105, Houston 101
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
Utah leads San Antonio 1-0
Tuesday May 7 Utah 95, San Antonio 75
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.818vpoznanovic,
OLAJUWON PAYS $5,000 FOR ELBOWING SCHREMPF
Houston Rockets All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon was fined $5,000
Wednesday by the NBA for elbowing Seattle SuperSonics forward Detlef
Schrempf in Saturday's opening game of their Western Conference
semifinal playoff series.
The incident, in which Olajuwon elbowed Schrempf in the back of the
head, occurred in the third quarter of Seattle's 108-75 rout. No
flagrant foul was called on the play. Olajuwon was held to a
season-low six points on three for nine shooting.
The Sonics lead the best-of-7 series, 2-0, with Game 3 scheduled for
Friday at Houston.
nba.819vpoznanovic,
MARCIULIONIS UNDERGOES MINOR KNEE SURGERY
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento Kings guard Sarunas Marciulionis
underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday to remove
loose cartilage.
Marciulionis missed 14 games midway through this season after having
arthroscopic surgery on the right knee, which was bothering him again
throughout the last few weeks of the season and the playoffs.
Marciulionis, who averaged 10.8 points and 2.2 assists in a reserve
role for the Kings in the regular season, is expected to begin
rehabilitation on Monday. He is expected to be at full strength in
time for the Olympic Games this summer in Atlanta where he will lead
his native Lithuania.
Marciulionis missed 14 games midway through this season after having
arthroscopic surgery on the right knee, which was bothering him again
throughout the last few weeks of the season and the playoffs.
The 31-year old Marciulionis spent the first five seasons of his NBA
career with the Golden State Warriors before playing for the Seattle
SuperSonics in 1994-95. He joined the Kings along with forward Byron
Houston on September 18th, 1995, in exchange for center Frank
Brickowski.
nba.820vpoznanovic,
FORMER BLAZERS OFFICIAL TACKLES TASK OF FIXING SIXERS
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday named Brad
Greenberg as the team's general manager and vice president of
operations.
Greenberg, a former Portland Trail Blazers vice president of player
personnel, replaces John Lucas as general manager. Lucas is also the
head coach of the Sixers, but his status is uncertain with the hiring
of Greenberg.
"I need the opportunity to sit down and talk with John Lucas before
any decision is made," said Greenberg at a news conference.
Lucas has compiled a 42-122 record through two seasons and has two
years remaining on his contract.
The Sixers were purchased by ComCast Cable Corp. from Harold Katz last
month and a front-office upheaval was expected after the Sixers
stumbled to an 18-64 record. Only the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies
finished with a worse record. Philadelphia is the first team in league
history to see its win total drop for six consecutive seasons.
Greenberg, 42, was vice president of player personnel for the Trail
Blazers until last June, when his contract expired. He joined Portland
as a scout in 1987 and was promoted to vice president in 1992.
Sixers president Pat Croce interviewed a number of candidates for the
job, including Bob Weinhauer, the Houston Rockets' vice president of
basketball operations; Dave Wohl, the Miami Heat's executive vice
president for basketball operations; Mitch Kupchak, the Los Angeles
Lakers' general manager; and former Charlotte Hornets coach Allen
Bristow.
"People have been asking me basketball questions since it was
announced that I had acquired the club," Croce said. "My answer was
always the same, I'll leave the basketball decisions to an expert in
the field. After a great deal of consideration, I'm pleased to
announce that I've found that person in Brad Greenberg."
Greenberg played at American University, graduating in 1977, and was
later an assistant there under current Washington Bullets coach Jim
Lynam. When Lynam became coach at St. Joseph's in 1978, Greenberg
followed as an assistant.
After Lynam left, Greenberg stayed as an assistant to Jim Boyle from
1981 to 1984 before leaving to become an assistant coach for the Los
Angeles Clippers when Lynam was hired as coach.
With the Clippers, Greenberg was involved in coaching and player
personnel. He also spent a season as an assistant coach with the New
York Knicks. His brother, Seth, is head coach at South Florida.
nba.821vpoznanovic,
GOIN' PRO: THREE MORE UNDERCLASSMEN OPT FOR NBA
The list is getting longer by the day. California freshman Shareef
Abdur-Rahim and juniors Jess Settles of Iowa and Jeff McInnis of North
Carolina added their names on Tuesday to the list of underclassmen
declaring their eligibility for the NBA draft.
Abdur-Rahim, a 6-10, 225-pound forward, was the first freshman ever
named Pacific-10 player of the year after leading the conference in
scoring. He is the second freshman to declare for the draft, joining
Georgia Tech point guard Stephon Marbury. Abdur-Rahim will likely be a
lottery selection.
"I'm not doing this for any selfish reasons. This is not for me,"
Abdur-Rahim said at a news conference with tears running down his
face. "If I was in this world by myself, I'd stay at the University of
California. My mom has sacrificed for me all my life, and so has my
father."
Abdur-Rahim averaged 21.1 points and 8.7 rebounds in 28 games for
California. The Golden Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament and
finished with a 17-11 record, losing to Iowa State in the first round
as Abdur-Rahim scored only seven points on 1-for-6 shooting.
"It was a difficult decision for me, but in the end I decided that
leaving school was the best decision for me and my family at this
time," Abdur-Rahim said. "I am leaving school at this time for my
interest in helping my family's financial need."
The loss of Abdur-Rahim, a native of Marietta, Ga., along with the
transfers of Jelani Gardner and Tremaine Fowlkes, will make the
1996-97 season a major rebuilding year for coach Todd Bozeman.
The 6-6 Gardner has transferred to Pepperdine and the 6-7 Fowlkes also
left the school. The two combined for better than 20 points a game
last season. Fowlkes, Pac-10 freshman of the year in 1994-95, is
looking to transfer to Fresno State.
Settles, who led the Hawkeyes in scoring and rebounding as a junior,
added his name to a list that now includes 15 underclassmen and two
high school players.
"I've always had two dreams," said Settles, a 6-7 native of Winfield,
Iowa. "I've dreamed of playing for the Hawkeyes and I've dreamed of
playing in the NBA."
Settles averaged 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season. He
shot nearly 48 percent from the field and was named to the All-Big Ten
Conference first team. He also was named to the Big Ten All-Academic
team.
The 21-year-old Settles revealed at a news conference Tuesday in Iowa
City that he has had discussions with NBA general managers and intends
to hire an agent.
"I called 10-12 general managers in the NBA," Settles said. "The
general consensus is that I will be picked anywhere from number 15 to
number 25.
"I will get an agent. I am interviewing agents now. I'm going all the
way on this."
Settles said he will participate in NBA pre-draft workouts next month
in Chicago.
McInnis, a second-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection this
year, McInnis led the Tar Heels in scoring and assists. The junior
point guard averaged 16.5 points and compiled 170 assists to lead the
21-11 Tar Heels to the second round of the 1996 NBA tournament.
As a sophomore, he helped lead North Carolina past Kentucky in the
NCAA Southeast Regional final to earn a spot in the 1995 Final Four.
McInnis acknowledged he would likely be better off to wait another
year before entering the draft, but said his decision is based on
personal reasons, primarily his need to help his family financially.
Coach Dean Smith said he expected McInnis to be chosen in the first
round, but not in the top five.
"He has played well for us and against several players already in the
NBA,'' Smith said. "He will be a solid point guard for an NBA team.''
nba.822vpoznanovic,
Rodman book bares more than his flesh
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
(May 7, 1996 - 10:53 EST) -- A lot of people are trashing Dennis
Rodman's book because it isn't fit reading for a 10-year-old.
That appraisal is a correct one, but you could turn it around. You
could say that the problem with many books about sports figures is
that they appear to be written for children. All wholesome platitudes,
no real information. Safe, sanitary, salable.
As was to be expected, Rodman's autobiography, "Bad As I Wanna Be," is
at the other end of the spectrum. It should probably come with a
sticker that says: "Don't try this at home, kids." Instead, it comes
covered with Rodman, nothing much on but a basketball, sitting
backward on a motorcycle. And that's a lot better than the back cover,
on which Rodman moons the world.
But the thing is, the power forward of the Chicago Bulls bares
everything inside the book, too. In the book, written with Tim Keown
-- more likely spoken into Tim Keown's tape recorder -- Rodman is dead
honest. Painfully honest.
This is a strange thing to admit, but at the end of the book, you
liked Rodman a little better than when you started. Maybe he has a
24-hour persecution complex, and maybe his endless search for
attention can become tedious. But even if he is not a picture of
stability, he also might not be a total idiot.
He pulls absolutely no punches, and some of the things he says about
struggling against convention make him almost a sympathetic figure.
The powers of the National Basketball Association don't like him,
Rodman says, because they want "robots who can dunk." Rodman is the
all-purpose anti-robot.
You don't buy a book about a sports figure expecting a contemplation
of death. But you get that here. Rodman is obsessed with death, but at
least it's his own.
The current Rodman, the real Rodman, we are told, emerged from a 1993
night in a parking lot outside the Palace at Auburn Hills. Rodman,
alone with a gun, contemplated suicide. Then he decided that what he
needed to do was get rid of the outer Rodman, and keep the inner
Rodman.
"I sat in that pickup and had a duel with myself," Rodman says. "I
didn't need the gun; it all took place in my mind. I walked one way
and I walked the other way. At 10 paces, I turned and shot the
imposter. I killed the Dennis Rodman that had tried to conform to what
everybody wanted him to be."
To give a larger taste of this literary effort, you would like to
quote typical passages. But you can't, not in the family newspaper.
Much of this book is written in locker room language, which has the
single virtue of being unaffected.
But check out this insight: "Fifty percent of life in the NBA is sex.
The other 50% is money." OK, that's off the court. Surprising, isn't
it? You thought it was 40-60.
There is plenty of basketball in here. Center David Robinson of the
San Antonio Spurs, closer to the standard NBA ideal of manhood, is
ripped repeatedly as a big-game choke. And if you're looking for
distractions for the current Bulls, how about: "We'll cover up for
(Toni) Kukoc's mistakes."
There is Rodman in Detroit: Chuck Daly understood; Rodman in San
Antonio: the fall guy; and Rodman in Chicago: Phil Jackson is cool.
And there is, of course, the mandatory chapter on Rodman and Madonna.
So what?
No, it's not going into the elementary school library. But if a good
autobiography is supposed to be revealing, well, this book takes
revealing to new heights.
"Bad" requires neither a Pulitzer prize nor a blanket condemnation.
nba.823vpoznanovic,
Mavericks search for coach
DALLAS (May 8, 1996 - 02:17 EST) -- The Dallas Mavericks have a wide
list of coaching candidates, and the team's new owners reportedly want
permission to speak with Indiana Pacers coach Larry Brown.
The roll call of candidates was being evaluated Tuesday by new owners
Ross Perot Jr., David McDavid and Frank Zaccanelli. It was compiled by
team president Norm Sonju, player personnel director Keith Grant and
Dick Motta, who moved from coach to consultant when the team was sold
last week.
Two Mavericks' sources told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday the
ownership has asked Sonju to get permission to talk to Brown. If that
happens -- and if he indicates genuine interest -- he would
immediately become the No. 1 candidate, the sources said.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, names appearing on at least
two lists were Mavericks assistant Brad Davis, Kentucky coach Rick
Pitino, former Phoenix coach Paul Westphal, ex-Celtics coach Chris
Ford, recently deposed Charlotte coach Allan Bristow and Chicago
assistant Jim Cleamons.
Other names reportedly on the master list are Utah assistant Phil
Johnson; Indiana assistant Gar Heard, who coached 53 games for Dallas
in 1992-93; and Seattle assistant Bob Weiss, a former Mavericks
assistant who has been a head coach with the Spurs, Hawks and
Clippers.
Dallas also may be eyeing University of Kansas coach Roy Williams and
University of Massachusetts coach John Calipari, although Sonju said
NBA experience would be major plus.
The new owners would like to have someone hired by the June 26 draft.
They are likely to become directly involved with a candidate once the
nominee gets past the initial screening with Sonju or Grant.
"You can book it that before anyone is going to be hired, the
ownership group is going to feel really good about it," Sonju said.
"We want to make sure they absolutely embrace them."
nba.824vpoznanovic,
Grant will be key to Hawks-Magic series
ORLANDO, Fla. (May 7, 1996 - 23:05 EST) -- Horace Grant, a
self-described man of few words, knows when to speak his mind.
His comments may not always sit well with the rest of the Orlando
Magic; however, the defending Eastern Conference champions rarely
question their validity.
When the Magic were foundering with a 9-14 road record in February,
Grant accused his teammates of lacking heart. Instead of dividing the
club, the stinging criticism inspired a stunning turnaround that has
seen the team win 15 of 19 road games since the All-Star Game break.
"Horace Grant is a champion," said Detroit coach Doug Collins, whose
team was swept by Orlando in the opening round of the playoffs as
Grant averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds.
"He is the heart and soul of that team. Talk about their talent or
whatever. Horace Grant holds that team together. ... All you have to
do is look at their record without him this year (10-9) and what it
was with him (50-13)."
The Magic are heavily favored to beat the Atlanta Hawks in a
second-round series that begins Wednesday night at Orlando Arena. The
leadership the 30-year-old Grant provides a team built around two
young superstars is one of the reasons why.
The 6-foot-10 forward won three NBA championship rings with the
Chicago Bulls before signing with the Magic last season. He helped
Orlando to its first appearance in the NBA Finals a year ago and was
angered in February by what he perceived as a sign of complacency
among some of his teammates.
When the Magic scored a franchise-low seven points in the fourth
quarter of a road loss at Detroit, Grant vented his frustration and
didn't care who disliked his choice of words.
"We don't have to get along to play," the nine-year veteran said.
"That's one thing I've learned in the NBA. As long as we play together
out there on the court, that's all that matters."
Grant also knows when to turn up the heat on the court. He was
Orlando's most consistent player in the first-round sweep of Detroit
and will be one of the keys in the conference semifinals against the
Hawks, who advanced by beating Indiana in five games.
If Atlanta, as expected, defends Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee
Hardaway with double teams in the post, it's likely to free Grant,
Nick Anderson and 3-point specialist Dennis Scott for open shots on
the perimeter.
The last time the teams played during the regular season, Scott made a
league-record 11 3s in a 15-point Orlando victory.
"I know they're going to key on me, but I don't think they'll go out
of their way to shut me down because they've got a bigger problem --
how are they going to stop Shaquille," Scott said.
"Christian Laettner did a good job against (Indiana's) Rik Smits, but
Shaq is 10 times more mobile than Smits and 10 times better down low.
Then too, they've got to do something about Penny. I'm predicting I'll
still get a few looks, but I might not get as many as I did before."
Atlanta's Steve Smith agrees that the Hawks' biggest concern is
containing O'Neal.
"Everything begins and ends with him. Dennis, Penny, Horace, they all
feed off the way you play Shaq," Smith said. "We'll double him because
you can't single cover him. Then it's, 'Can Dennis do to us what he
did last time? Can we rotate up quick enough?' There's the series."
A series Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens notes that many expect to be
one-sided. He relishes the role of underdog.
"I think it's great. People are taking us lightly at a time when our
team is really coming together," he said. "You look back over the
season, how we grew as a team. You look at the determination and grit
we showed (in the first round). ... It's heart-warming."
nba.825vpoznanovic,
Suns clear lockers for early vacation
PHOENIX (May 7, 1996 - 13:30 EST) -- If the Phoenix Suns are broken up
in the offseason, it won't happen because they're a dynasty. Just the
opposite.
The Suns (41-41) under-achieved this season, failing to win at least
50 games for the first time since 1987-88. Following Monday's team
meeting with coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, the players realize changes
will be made.
"He just put it on the table and said, 'Hey look, this is the last
time all you guys will be in this room together,"' guard Kevin Johnson
said. "That's when it kind of hit home."
"I'm sure there'll be some type of changes made," Danny Manning said.
"Who, how many, what? We don't know."
Speculation is rampant about the future of Charles Barkley, who isn't
talking retirement for the first time in three seasons. That doesn't
mean Barkley will return to Phoenix, which acquired him four years ago
and reached the NBA Finals in his first season with the Suns.
Barkley missed 11 games, Johnson 26 and Manning 49 because of
injuries. Then San Antonio won three of four games to eliminate the
Suns from the playoffs in the first round for the first time since
1991.
Barkley said he saw it coming at training camp, after the Suns traded
Dan Majerle and a first-round draft choice to Cleveland for center
John Williams. Earlier, the Suns let Danny Ainge go.
Without Majerle and Ainge on the perimeter, the Suns went from one of
league's best 3-point-shooting teams to one of the worst -- making
33.2 percent of 984 attempts after hitting 36.9 percent of 1,584 tries
the previous season.
"I said if me or KJ is not healthy at any time throughout the season,
we're going to struggle," Barkley said. "Because we weren't good
defensively, and then you compound that with shooting problems.
Without the only two guys on the team who can really get their own
shot, we were going to struggle."
Barkley said he's willing to return to the Suns, but he wouldn't
object to a trade if it's to a championship contender.
"I'm sure we'll sit down with Charles and discuss our options as we do
with the other guys, Charles not being any different than the other
guys," Fitzsimmons said.
The Suns have made some impressive moves during the last four
offseasons.
But signing any free agent who's an established outside shooter is
unlikely, because they're more than $12 million over the 1996-97
salary cap.
The team still has a $1 million cap exception to hire a free agent.
That amount was enough to induce A.C. Green to join the Suns in 1993
and Manning in 1994. Both signed one-year contracts and were rewarded
after their first season in Phoenix with much larger, multiyear pacts.
Barkley, who made $4.7 million this season, is scheduled to make about
$4 million next year. If he were traded, the contracts for any player
or players acquired would have to total within 15 percent of
Barkley's.
nba.826vpoznanovic,
After disastrous end to playoff run, Blazers face personnel questions
PORTLAND, Ore. (May 6, 1996 - 21:11 EST) -- After a season with more
ups and downs than an elevator gone berserk, the Portland Trail
Blazers face some serious personnel decisions.
The season's end couldn't have been much uglier than Sunday's 102-64
loss to the Utah Jazz in the deciding Game 5 of their first-round
playoff series.
"The longest day any of us had to sit through," Blazers president Bob
Whitsitt said. "That sting is going to stay with us, and hopefully
we'll use that to have a good summer of work and motivation for next
season."
Among other things, the Blazers must decide whether to trade unhappy
point guard Rod Strickland, who has two years left on his contract but
has made it clear he doesn't want to play for coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Whitsitt also must determine whether to exercise the option year of
contracts with Clifford Robinson and James Robinson. And there's the
question of whether to re-sign 36-year-old Buck Williams. Whitsitt
might let any or all three go and use their salary slots to sign a
free agent.
"I'm not going to rush into saying anything," Whitsitt said Monday.
"We've got until July 1 to make those decisions."
Strickland, who had his best NBA season but left the team for six
games in a dispute with Carlesimo, said Sunday that he didn't expect
to be back.
"I've got one foot out the door and the other on a banana peel," he
said. "I think I'm pretty much out. I think it's time for a change."
But Whitsitt said he'd made no promises to Strickland and would not
trade his point guard just to get rid of him.
"With Rod, I'll do the same thing I did last year," Whitsitt said.
"I'll let a month or so go by and we'll sit down and talk and go from
there. Rod had a very good year. He's a very important part of what
we're doing."
There's certainly a reluctance to break up the outside-inside
combination of Strickland and Arvydas Sabonis.
"There is not a better center-point guard passing combination in the
NBA," Whitsitt said.
Carlesimo said there was "no question" he and Strickland could make it
through another season.
Clifford Robinson struggled on offense for the fourth playoffs in a
row, shooting just 34 percent from the field. The Blazers have the
option of keeping Robinson for one more year, or they could sign him
to a new contract.
"I'm not worried about that now," Robinson said Sunday. "I'm a
20-point scorer, an All-Star. If I'm not wanted here, I know I can
play someplace else."
Carlesimo indicated he expected Robinson to be back.
"I don't anticipate any problems with Cliff and Bob working things
out," Carlesimo said.
Williams is a different matter. After 15 NBA seasons, the power
forward's best years in the league are behind him. He's among the most
popular Blazers and fills a much-needed leadership role. Still, the
Blazers might be reluctant to sign him to a big contract when they're
trying to rebuild.
"I've had no chance to reflect on that, whether I play here or at
all," Williams said. "Portland is my first choice. I've said I'd like
to finish my career here."
Whitsitt said Carlesimo improved as an NBA coach in his second season.
Whitsitt said he judges a coach on how he performs when things are at
their worst, such as during Strickland's walkout.
"P.J. had an opportunity to point a lot of fingers and let a lot of
things leak out that would have made him look a lot better," Whitsitt
said. "He didn't do that. He kept things in-house. He stayed
professional, and quite frankly a lot of coaches wouldn't do that."
A definite bright spot is Sabonis, who has four years left on his NBA
contract. The 7-foot-3 Lithuanian answered skeptics who wondered if
his injury-wracked body could survive in the NBA. He not only
survived, he became a star.
The only question is how weary he'll be next fall after playing in the
Olympic Games this summer.
The team's biggest need is basic -- someone who can consistently make
shots from the outside and the free throw line.
"I've said all along that one of the glaring areas where we have a
need is in people who can shoot the basketball," Whitsitt said.
There are plenty of free agents available this year, but Whitsitt
downplayed Portland's chances of landing any of them.
"We're not going to be a big player in the free agents market. We
don't have the salary cap structure that allows us to do that," he
said.
Both Whitsitt and Carlesimo tried to fight through the gloom that
followed Sunday's rout and emphasize the positive aspects, especially
the way the Blazers played during their 18-4 run at the end of the
regular season and two homecourt playoff victories over Utah.
"At the beginning of the season, what I clearly sensed and heard from
everybody is we weren't a .500 team. We weren't a playoff team,"
Carlesimo said. "I think you need to give our players their due. They
were better than that. They were a lot better."
nba.827vpoznanovic,
Playoff hero McMillan always thought he was a good shooter
SEATTLE (May 7, 1996 - 23:00 EST) -- Nate McMillan is hoping Bernie
Bickerstaff is watching the Seattle SuperSonics' playoff series
against Houston on television.
He's not trying to prove a point to the former Sonics' coach, but it's
happening just the same.
"I just wish back then I would have gotten the confidence from the
staff that some of these players are getting coming into the league
now," McMillan said.
After his dazzling 3-point shooting display in Seattle's 105-101 Game
2 victory over Houston in the Western Conference semifinals, the
player whom Bickerstaff forbid to shoot in the 1980s has a place among
the elite shooters in the NBA record book.
On Monday night, when the Sonics took a 2-0 lead in the series, he was
an impeccable 5-for-5 from behind the arc to tie a playoff record for
the most 3-pointers made in a game without a miss.
"I've always felt I could shoot the ball," said McMillan, who played
college ball at North Carolina State and Chowan Junior College in
Mufreesboro, N.C. "But, at one particular time, the system didn't want
me to shoot it."
Left open by a Rockets' defense trying to defend the Sonics' other
players, McMillan led Seattle to an incredible 20-for-27 3-point
shooting barrage that was a playoff record.
"The shots were there and my legs felt pretty good," he said. "If the
shots are there, I'm going to take them. They're falling for me right
now."
Falling is just about the way to describe McMillan's playoff shooting
this season.
In the Sonics' 3-1 first-round victory over Sacramento and two games
against Houston, McMillan is a phenomenal 14-for-19 from behind the
line.
A 10-year veteran who played his first four seasons under Bickerstaff,
he has become a go-to guy in the Sonics' offense if the team's other
go-to guys aren't open.
"Nate's a great shooter," teammate Detlef Schrempf said. "When he gets
the ball in a rhythm, when he spots up and he's got confidence, he's a
great shooter. Early in his career, the coach told him not to shoot
the ball, but he can shoot it. When we pass the ball to him, we have
all the confidence in the world in him."
McMillan, 31, was the Sonics' starting point guard under Bickerstaff
before Gary Payton came to Seattle in 1990. McMillan now is a valuable
bench player who has been a second team on all-defense the past two
seasons.
Two years ago, McMillan was the NBA steals champion with 2.96 a game,
a title Payton won this season with 2.85 when Payton was the league's
Defensive Player of the Year.
In 1986-87, McMillan's first year in the league, he had 25 assists to
tie a league record for the most assists in a game as a rookie.
McMillan thinks out loud about what would have happened if Bickerstaff
had given him a green light to shoot instead of telling him only to
pass the ball and play defense.
"I wonder where my game would have been," he said.
Meanwhile, the Sonics' all-time leader in assists and steals is hoping
to get some more 3-point shots against the Rockets when the series
switches to Houston Friday night and Sunday.
And if he doesn't?
"My thing is that I've always played within a system," he said with a
shrug. "Scoring or stats have never been a big thing for me."
nba.828vpoznanovic,
Bullets' rookie Wallace receives deferred prosecution
DURHAM (May 7, 1996 - 20:23 EST) -- Rasheed Wallace of the Washington
Bullets will get to wait a year before his case goes forward on
charges he assaulted his girlfriend.
Chiquita Bryant, Wallace's girlfriend and mother of his child, filed
the charges over the Easter weekend.
Wallace's lawyer, Mike Grace said Bryant and prosecutors agreed to the
arrangement.
Grace said prosecution will be deferred one year under certain
conditions. If the conditions are met, he said, the case will be
dismissed.
Durham District Attorney Jim Hardin said Wallace's arrangement with
the court includes community service and 12 months' probation.
Wallace, a former North Carolina star who just finished his rookie NBA
season, will have to participate in a program that helps men change
attitudes about domestic violence.
nba.829vpoznanovic,
NBA coaches of the year
(May 7, 1996 - 19:41 EST) -- A list of coaches of the year as voted on
by the media.
1963 -- Harry Gallatin, St. Louis Hawks
1964 -- Alex Hannum, San Francisco Warriors
1965 -- Red Auerbach, Boston Celtics
1966 -- Dolph Schayes, Philadelphia 76ers
1967 -- Johnny Kerr, Chicago Bulls
1968 -- Richie Guerin, St. Louis Hawks
1969 -- Gene Shue, Baltimore Bullets
1970 -- Red Holzman, New York Knicks
1971 -- Dick Motta, Chicago Bulls
1972 -- Bill Sharman, Los Angeles Lakers
1973 -- Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
1974 -- Ray Scott, Detroit Pistons
1975 -- Phil Johnson, Kansas City-Omaha Kings
1976 -- Bill Fitch, Cleveland Cavaliers
1977 -- Tom Nissalke, Houston Rockets
1978 -- Hubie Brown, Atlanta Hawks
1979 -- Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City Kings
1980 -- Bill Fitch, Boston Celtics
1981 -- Jack McKinney, Indiana Pacers
1982 -- Gene Shue, Washington Bullets
1983 -- Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks
1984 -- Frank Layden, Utah Jazz
1985 -- Don Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks
1986 -- Mike Fratello, Atlanta Hawks
1987 -- Mike Schuler, Portland Trail Blazers
1988 -- Doug Moe, Denver Nuggets
1989 -- Cotton Fitzsimmons, Phoenix Suns
1990 -- Pat Riley, Los Angeles Lakers
1991 -- Don Chaney, Houston Rockets
1992 -- Don Nelson, Golden State Warriors
1993 -- Pat Riley, New York Knicks
1994 -- Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks
1995 -- Del Harris, Los Angeles Lakers
1996 -- Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls
nba.830vpoznanovic,
1996 NBA DRAFT ORDER
Nos. 1-13 determined by lottery
Chances in lottery
Team record (out of 1,000)
Vancouver 15-67 250
*Philadelphia 18-64 200
*Toronto 21-61 157
Milwaukee 25-57 120
Minnesota 26-56 77
Dallas 26-56 76
L.A. Clippers 29-53 44
New Jersey 30-52 29
Boston 33-49 18
Denver 35-47 11
**Golden State 36-46 7
***Washington 39-43 6
Charlotte 41-41 5
14. Sacramento
15. Phoenix or Cleveland****
16. Charlotte (from Miami)
17. Portland
18. New York (from Detroit via San Antonio)
19. Atlanta or New York (via Miami)*****
20. Cleveland
21. New York
22. Houston
23. Indiana
24. L.A. Lakers
25. Utah
26. Detroit (from San Antonio)
27. Orlando or Golden State**
28. Seattle
29. Chicago
* Philadelphia has the right to swap its own first-round draft pick
for Toronto's first-round draft pick.
** If Golden State's pick is one of the top three, Orlando will
receive that pick and Golden State will receive Orlando's pick (via
Washington).
*** Cleveland will receive Washington's first round pick.
**** Cleveland has the option to receive Phoenix's first-round draft
pick.
***** New York (via Miami) has the option to receive this pick.
nba.831vpoznanovic,
NBA DRAFT RANKINGS
Here is an early ranking of the top 75 prospects for the 1996 NBA
Draft (updated May 8):
No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. School
1 Tim Duncan* C 6-10 240 Wake Forest
2 Marcus Camby** PF 6-11 220 Massachusetts
3 S. Abdur-Rahim** PF 6-9 210 California
4 Ray Allen** SG 6-5 205 Connecticut
5 Allen Iverson** PG 6-0 170 Georgetown
6 Erick Dampier* C 6-11 265 Mississippi St.
7 Stephon Marbury** PG 6-2 180 Georgia Tech
8 John Wallace SF 6-8 225 Syracuse
9 Antoine Walker** SF 6-8 224 Kentucky
10 Lorenzen Wright PF 6-11 230 Memphis
11 Kerry Kittles SG 6-5 179 Villanova
12 Todd Fuller C 6-11 255 NC State
13 Kobe Bryant# G 6-6 190 Lower Merion (Pa.) HS
14 Samaki Walker** PF 6-9 240 Louisville
15 Roy Rogers F-C 6-10 230 Alabama
16 Walter McCarty F 6-10 230 Kentucky
17 Jerome Williams F 6-9 206 Georgetown
18 Jermaine O'Neal# F 6-11 225 Eau Claire (S.C.) HS
19 Dontae Jones** SF 6-7 220 Mississippi St.
20 Ryan Minor SF 6-7 220 Oklahoma
21 Steve Nash PG 6-3 185 Santa Clara
22 Travis Knight C 7-0 235 Connecticut
23 Russ Millard F 6-9 240 Iowa
24 Priest Lauderdale* C 7-3 290 Greece/Central St.
25 Vitaly Potapenko** C-F 6-10 290 Wright State
26 Steve Hamer C 7-0 245 Tennessee
27 Jeff McInnis** PG 6-4 182 North Carolina
28 Moochie Norris PG 6-1 175 West Florida
29 Mark Hendrickson PF 6-9 240 Washington St.
30 Tony Delk G 6-1 193 Kentucky
31 Joseph Blair F-C 6-10 250 Arizona
32 Ronnie Henderson** SG 6-4 193 LSU
33 Brian Evans SF 6-8 220 Indiana
34 Drew Barry PG 6-4 191 Georgia Tech
35 Doron Sheffer PG 6-5 197 Connecticut
36 Mark Pope PF 6-10 235 Kentucky
37 Othella Harrington PF 6-9 235 Georgetown
38 Reggie Geary PG 6-2 187 Arizona
39 Chucky Atkins PG 5-11 160 South Florida
40 Amal McCaskill C-F 6-11 235 Marquette
41 Ben Davis PF 6-8 240 Arizona
42 Jason Sasser SF 6-6 225 Texas Tech
43 Mark Sanford** SF 6-8 200 Washington
44 Carlos Strong F 6-8 230 Georgia
45 Ron Riley SG 6-5 205 Arizona State
46 Randy Livingston** PG 6-4 209 LSU
47 Marcus Brown SG 6-3 180 Murray State
48 Eric Gingold C 7-4 290 Williams Coll. (MA)
49 Simeon Haley C 7-0 235 Missouri
50 Brandon Jessie G-F 6-4 239 Utah
51 Johnny Rhodes SG 6-4 205 Maryland
52 Tim Moore SF 6-8 215 Houston
53 Jess Settles** SF 6-7 220 Iowa
54 Donta Bright SF 6-6 223 Massachusetts
55 Dante Calabria SG 6-5 195 North Carolina
56 Jeff Nordgaard SF 6-7 215 Wisconsin-GB
57 Shandon Anderson F-G 6-6 205 Georgia
58 Marcus Mann PF 6-8 240 Miss.Valley St.
59 Darnell Robinson** C 6-11 270 Arkansas
60 Jamie Feick PF 6-9 250 Michigan State
61 Raimonds Miglinieks PG 6-3 200 Cal-Irvine
62 Derek Fisher PG 6-1 200 Ark.-LR
63 Kenneth Roberts SF 6-8 210 BYU
64 Malik Rose PF 6-7 250 Drexel
65 Art Long PF 6-9 253 Cincinnati
66 Kevin Granger G 6-3 190 Texas Southern
67 Kebu Stewart** PF 6-8 240 Cal St-Bakersfield
68 Sammie Haley C 7-1 235 Missouri
69 Erick Strickland SG-PG 6-3 213 Nebraska
70 Brian Tolbert SG-PG 6-2 165 Eastern Michigan
71 Jaron Boone SG 6-6 198 Nebraska
72 Chris Robinson SG 6-5 205 W. Kentucky
73 Bernard Hopkins SF 6-7 240 Va. Commonwealth
74 Tommy McGhee SG 6-2 187 Rice
75 Theron Wilson SF 6-9 205 Eastern Michigan
*-Has not officially committed to the draft
**-Underclassmen committed to the draft
#-High school player
nba.832vpoznanovic,
Atlanta (105) At Orlando (117)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 39 7-14 9-11 2 5 7 4 3 3 2 23
Long F 27 5-11 0-0 3 4 7 0 5 1 2 11
Laettner C 27 3-5 1-2 1 2 3 1 3 3 2 7
Smith G 44 5-16 8-10 1 1 2 9 3 2 0 18
Blaylock G 39 6-14 4-4 2 2 4 5 1 1 1 18
Rooks 17 2-3 2-4 0 3 3 1 5 0 0 6
Bullard 13 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 3
Henderson 25 8-10 1-2 5 3 8 1 3 0 4 17
Jordan 9 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 1 1 2
Boyce Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Ehlo Dnp - Migrane Headache
Totals 240 38-78 25-33 14 22 36 23 23 11 13 105
(.487) (.758) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 13(18 PTS)
Orlando
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Scott F 37 2-8 0-0 0 1 1 2 4 1 2 5
Grant F 35 8-11 1-1 2 8 10 1 3 1 1 17
Oneal C 36 18-28 5-11 9 4 13 6 2 0 2 41
Anderson G 41 8-16 3-3 0 4 4 4 1 3 2 21
Hardaway G 36 12-19 6-9 3 3 6 6 4 2 2 32
Koncak 6 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
Shaw 18 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 5 5 0 4 0
Wolf 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Bowie 12 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Royal 11 0-0 1-2 0 3 3 0 2 0 0 1
Bonner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Thompson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 48-83 16-26 15 24 39 26 23 9 13 117
(.578) (.615) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 14(16 PTS)
Atlanta 24 32 24 25 - 105
Orlando 29 33 30 25 - 117
Blocked Shots: Atlanta - Augmon, Blaylock, Jordan. Orlando - Grant 2,
Oneal.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Atlanta 4-15 (.267), Augmon 0-1, Long 1-1, Smith 0-5,
Blaylock 2-6, Bullard 1-2. Orlando 5-16 (.313), Scott 1-5, Anderson 2-7,
Hardaway 2-3, Shaw 0-1.
Technicals: Orlando - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Joe Crawford, Bennett Salvatore, Ronnie Nunn.
A - 17,248. T - 2:08.
nba.833vpoznanovic,
LAETTNER NO MATCH FOR SHAQ'S MAGIC ACT
ORLANDO -- Count on Christian Laettner to pass the buck, if not the
ball.
Victimized by Shaquille O'Neal's playoff-franchise record 41 points,
Atlanta's Laettner figured it was just too much Shaq for one man to
handle Wednesday night as the Orlando Magic rolled to a 117-105
victory in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal
series.
"Obviously it's very hard to stop him when they're throwing it into
him 50 times a game,'' said Laettner, who picked up two early fouls
and never did get enough help from his teammates to shut Shaq down.
O'Neal, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, bettered his own playoff scoring
mark of 39, set against Indiana in Game Two of their Eastern
Conference finals last season. He set the record by finishing an
alley-oop pass from Penny Hardaway with 4:53 to play.
The four-time All-Star outscored Laettner 41-7, then downplayed his
domination of Atlanta's undersized starting center. Hawks backup Sean
Rooks didn't have much success slowing down O'Neal, either.
"I'm just going to go out every night and play my game. I hope y'all
are not going to make it some Laettner-O'Neal matchup,'' the 7-foot-1
O'Neal said. "This is a team effort.''
Orlando, which was idle for eight days after eliminating Detroit in
the first round, broke the game open with a 12-3 spurt at the start of
the second half. Hardaway added a playoff career-high 32 points.
O'Neal said he took advantage of the Hawks' defensive strategy.
"They didn't double-team me much, and when teams don't double-team me
I try to get as many points as I can down low,'' he said.
"If they're not going to double me, I'm going to continue to get deep
and go to my strong moves. If they do double, I'm going to pass it out
to my guys and they're going to hit their shots."
Expect a different approach from Atlanta in Game Two, which will be
Friday in Orlando.
"We'll just have to go back to the drawing board," said Atlanta guard
Stacy Augmon. "The plan was to come every other play on Shaq, and we
didn't get it together. We doubled down and he kicked it out, and
Penny hit it or (Nick) Anderson hit it. They're very tough, but they
can be beaten."
Augmon scored 23 points and Steve Smith and Mookie Blaylock added 18
points for Atlanta, which eliminated the Indiana Pacers in five games
in the first round. The Hawks allowed more than 87 points just once
against the Pacers.
After O'Neal scored 25 points to give the Magic a 62-56 halftime lead,
he opened the second half with a dunk and a hook around a 15-footer by
Grant Long to make it 66-58. Nick Anderson hit a jumper with 10:17
left and Grant added a 15-footer to make it 70-58.
Smith made a free throw before Anderson hit a six-footer and Grant
closed the run with a fast-break dunk, making it 74-59 with 8:18 left
in the third quarter.
Orlando was never seriously threatened thereafter and led by as many
as 17 points. Anderson scored 21 points, Grant added 17 and Dennis
Scott netted five for the Magic, whose five starters accounted for all
but one of the team's points.
The Orlando bench, which scored just 36 points in the three wins over
Detroit, contributed only a free throw by Donald Royal. Magic reserves
took just one shot in 55 total minutes, a missed three-pointer by
Brian Shaw.
"We played excellent defense in the third quarter and it got us out on
the break," said Orlando coach Brian Hill. "We were 8-for-8 on
fastbreaks in the third quarter, which kind of broke open the game."
O'Neal was 18-of-28 from the field, Hardaway made 12-of-19 and Grant
was 8-of-11 from the floor for Orlando, which shot a blistering 58
percent (48-of-83).
O'Neal simply overpowered the smaller Laettner, getting many of his
shots from in close. O'Neal also had six assists, passing out of the
double-team.
"Nothing surprised us. It's not as physical a series as the one we
came out of," said Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens. "We just didn't play
the kind of defense we're capable of playing. We could be a whole lot
better. We're not going to quit, we'll keep on working hard and next
game we'll be a whole lot better."
Orlando outscored Atlanta in the paint, 70-44.
Smith, who averaged 22.8 points on 51 percent shooting overall and 60
percent from 3-point range in the first round, was 5-of-16 from the
field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. He did have nine assists.
Alan Henderson added 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Atlanta, which
shot 49 percent (38-of-78) from the floor and 4-of-15 from 3-point
range.
nba.834vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics Atlantic Division Through Wednesday, May 8
MIAMI HEAT
----------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Alonzo Mourning 3 18.0 6.0 1.3 3- 15- 18 2 3 16 13
Tim Hardaway 3 17.7 1.7 5.7 1- 4- 5 3 0 15 10
Rex Chapman 3 9.0 2.0 1.7 0- 6- 6 3 0 1 6
Sasha Danilovic 3 8.3 0.3 1.3 1- 0- 1 1 0 3 8
Tony Smith 3 7.3 1.3 2.7 3- 1- 4 4 0 3 7
Chris Gatling 3 6.0 8.0 0.3 10- 14- 24 2 0 8 8
Walt Williams 3 4.7 4.0 1.7 3- 9- 12 1 1 3 4
Keith Askins 3 4.3 2.7 0.7 3- 5- 8 1 0 4 9
Kurt Thomas 3 4.0 5.3 1.0 4- 12- 16 2 1 5 13
Dan Schayes 2 3.5 2.0 0.0 2- 2- 4 0 0 2 1
Tyrone Corbin 2 2.5 3.5 0.5 4- 3- 7 2 0 1 3
Stacey King 1 1.0 3.0 1.0 0- 3- 3 0 0 0 1
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Mourning 17-35 .486 0-0 .000 20-28 .714 54 30
Hardaway 20-43 .465 8-22 .364 5-7 .714 53 30
Chapman 12-28 .429 3-13 .231 0-0 .000 27 11
Danilovic 9-18 .500 4-10 .400 3-3 1.000 25 15
Smith 9-19 .474 4-10 .400 0-0 .000 22 10
Gatling 6-22 .273 0-0 .000 6-12 .500 18 10
Williams 6-18 .333 1-9 .111 1-2 .500 14 12
Askins 4-11 .364 2-6 .333 3-3 1.000 13 13
Thomas 4-10 .400 0-0 .000 4-4 1.000 12 6
Schayes 3-4 .750 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 7 5
Corbin 1-5 .200 0-0 .000 3-4 .750 5 5
King 0-3 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 1
NEW YORK KNICKS
---------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Patrick Ewing 5 19.8 11.0 2.0 8- 47- 55 1 15 20 11
John Starks 5 15.0 4.2 4.8 3- 18- 21 8 1 15 15
Anthony Mason 5 13.2 8.2 3.8 13- 28- 41 3 1 9 11
Charles Oakley 5 12.2 7.6 2.0 18- 20- 38 2 0 15 20
Derek Harper 5 11.2 2.2 5.0 0- 11- 11 8 1 9 14
Hubert Davis 5 8.2 2.0 0.6 3- 7- 10 0 0 6 10
Willie Anderson 1 6.0 2.0 0.0 1- 1- 2 1 0 0 2
Gary Grant 1 6.0 3.0 0.0 2- 1- 3 1 0 1 0
Charlie Ward 4 3.5 1.0 2.8 1- 3- 4 5 0 4 6
Herb Williams 4 2.3 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 1 0 1
Jr Reid 1 2.0 1.0 1.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 1 2
Ronnie Grandison 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 1
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Ewing 40-87 .460 1-2 .500 18-34 .529 99 23
Starks 21-48 .438 14-28 .500 19-24 .792 75 22
Mason 28-58 .483 0-0 .000 10-13 .769 66 23
Oakley 24-53 .453 2-4 .500 11-17 .647 61 17
Harper 20-54 .370 8-21 .381 8-12 .667 56 19
Davis 13-22 .591 10-18 .556 5-7 .714 41 15
Anderson 2-6 .333 0-2 .000 2-2 1.000 6 6
Grant 2-5 .400 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 6 6
Ward 6-15 .400 2-7 .286 0-0 .000 14 6
Williams 3-5 .600 0-0 .000 3-4 .750 9 4
Reid 1-1 1.000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2 2
Grandison 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
ORLANDO MAGIC
-------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Shaquille Oneal 4 26.0 8.3 5.5 17- 16- 33 1 4 15 15
Penny Hardaway 4 22.3 5.3 7.0 5- 16- 21 8 3 5 9
Nick Anderson 4 17.5 5.0 2.5 6- 14- 20 6 2 7 5
Horace Grant 4 15.5 12.3 1.0 15- 34- 49 2 6 2 14
Dennis Scott 4 15.0 2.8 2.0 3- 8- 11 4 0 7 14
Donald Royal 2 3.0 2.0 0.0 1- 3- 4 0 0 0 2
Anthony Bowie 4 2.5 0.3 1.5 0- 1- 1 0 0 0 2
Brian Shaw 4 2.3 1.0 5.8 1- 3- 4 2 0 8 13
Joe Wolf 4 1.5 0.3 0.3 0- 1- 1 1 0 2 5
Jon Koncak 4 1.3 1.8 0.0 1- 6- 7 2 2 1 13
Brooks Thompson 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Anthony Bonner 1 0.0 0.0 1.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 1
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Oneal 44-79 .557 0-0 .000 16-36 .444 104 41
Hardaway 30-62 .484 8-16 .500 21-27 .778 89 32
Anderson 24-47 .511 8-22 .364 14-20 .700 70 22
Grant 29-46 .630 0-0 .000 4-5 .800 62 17
Scott 22-42 .524 12-24 .500 4-7 .571 60 23
Royal 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 4-5 .800 6 5
Bowie 4-5 .800 0-0 .000 2-2 1.000 10 6
Shaw 3-12 .250 1-7 .143 2-2 1.000 9 9
Wolf 3-6 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 6 4
Koncak 2-2 1.000 0-0 .000 1-3 .333 5 3
Thompson 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 1
Bonner 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
(NOTE: STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR MORE THAN ONE TEAM
ARE CUMULATIVE)
nba.835vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics Central Division Through Wednesday, May 8
ATLANTA HAWKS
-------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Steve Smith 6 22.0 4.3 3.2 8- 18- 26 9 10 9 20
Mookie Blaylock 6 16.3 4.7 5.8 9- 19- 28 18 4 19 10
Christian Laettner 6 13.8 7.5 1.2 21- 24- 45 8 7 16 22
Grant Long 6 10.2 8.2 2.0 21- 28- 49 4 2 13 21
Stacey Augmon 6 9.8 3.8 2.5 7- 16- 23 10 5 10 18
Alan Henderson 6 6.8 3.2 1.0 13- 6- 19 1 2 6 17
Matt Bullard 2 5.5 2.0 0.0 0- 4- 4 0 2 2 4
Craig Ehlo 5 5.2 2.2 0.6 0- 11- 11 6 1 4 6
Sean Rooks 6 4.0 2.5 0.8 9- 6- 15 1 3 5 15
Reggie Jordan 6 1.7 0.7 1.2 0- 4- 4 3 2 2 4
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Smith 46-96 .479 15-30 .500 25-31 .806 132 27
Blaylock 35-90 .389 16-49 .327 12-15 .800 98 23
Laettner 29-68 .426 0-0 .000 25-33 .758 83 24
Long 25-70 .357 3-12 .250 8-11 .727 61 13
Augmon 20-45 .444 0-1 .000 19-24 .792 59 23
Henderson 20-29 .690 0-0 .000 1-3 .333 41 17
Bullard 3-8 .375 3-5 .600 2-4 .500 11 8
Ehlo 9-29 .310 6-17 .353 2-3 .667 26 12
Rooks 9-16 .563 0-0 .000 6-13 .462 24 10
Jordan 4-8 .500 0-0 .000 2-4 .500 10 3
CHICAGO BULLS
-------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Michael Jordan 5 32.4 4.2 3.0 7- 14- 21 8 1 7 9
Scottie Pippen 5 17.8 9.8 6.8 18- 31- 49 15 7 13 9
Toni Kukoc 5 11.2 4.2 3.6 5- 16- 21 4 1 6 11
Ron Harper 5 9.8 5.0 3.4 10- 15- 25 8 1 8 14
Steve Kerr 5 8.2 1.0 2.2 0- 5- 5 3 0 5 5
Luc Longley 5 7.0 6.0 1.2 15- 15- 30 2 7 10 23
Dennis Rodman 5 4.0 9.8 1.8 15- 34- 49 1 2 12 20
Jud Buechler 4 3.3 2.0 0.3 1- 7- 8 1 0 4 3
James Edwards 3 3.0 1.3 0.0 0- 4- 4 0 0 1 6
Randy Brown 4 2.8 0.3 0.0 0- 1- 1 1 0 0 2
Bill Wennington 5 2.6 3.0 0.6 6- 9- 15 4 0 1 9
John Salley 5 0.8 0.8 0.2 0- 4- 4 1 1 3 8
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Jordan 60-122 .492 7-18 .389 35-41 .854 162 44
Pippen 31-72 .431 8-24 .333 19-28 .679 89 24
Kukoc 20-52 .385 1-24 .042 15-19 .789 56 21
Harper 20-39 .513 3-8 .375 6-12 .500 49 15
Kerr 11-26 .423 6-16 .375 13-14 .929 41 13
Longley 15-33 .455 0-0 .000 5-6 .833 35 10
Rodman 7-15 .467 0-0 .000 6-10 .600 20 6
Buechler 5-14 .357 3-8 .375 0-0 .000 13 7
Edwards 3-5 .600 0-0 .000 3-4 .750 9 5
Brown 5-8 .625 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 11 6
Wennington 6-10 .600 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 13 6
Salley 1-4 .250 0-0 .000 2-5 .400 4 3
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
-------------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Terrell Brandon 3 19.3 3.0 8.0 1- 8- 9 4 1 11 10
Dan Majerle 3 16.7 4.0 3.0 2- 10- 12 4 2 3 6
Danny Ferry 3 9.7 5.0 3.0 1- 14- 15 3 2 4 13
Bobby Phills 3 9.7 4.7 2.0 5- 9- 14 2 1 5 4
Tyrone Hill 3 8.3 5.0 0.0 7- 8- 15 0 0 3 11
Chris Mills 3 7.7 5.3 1.7 5- 11- 16 2 2 3 10
Michael Cage 3 6.3 9.3 0.7 13- 15- 28 2 5 0 5
Bobby Sura 3 1.3 0.3 1.0 0- 1- 1 1 0 4 4
John Crotty 2 1.0 0.5 0.5 1- 0- 1 1 1 1 0
John Amaechi 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Donny Marshall 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Antonio Lang 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Brandon 21-47 .447 3-9 .333 13-15 .867 58 21
Majerle 16-36 .444 10-23 .435 8-9 .889 50 23
Ferry 14-41 .341 1-16 .063 0-0 .000 29 12
Phills 13-35 .371 2-10 .200 1-4 .250 29 11
Hill 9-12 .750 0-0 .000 7-9 .778 25 13
Mills 11-33 .333 0-5 .000 1-1 1.000 23 10
Cage 8-14 .571 0-0 .000 3-5 .600 19 10
Sura 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 4 4
Crotty 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2-2 1.000 2 2
Amaechi 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Marshall 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Lang 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
DETROIT PISTONS
---------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Allan Houston 3 25.0 2.7 2.0 1- 7- 8 0 1 11 11
Grant Hill 3 19.0 7.3 3.7 4- 18- 22 3 0 8 13
Joe Dumars 3 13.7 4.3 3.7 5- 8- 13 0 0 7 5
Otis Thorpe 3 11.7 11.7 2.3 14- 21- 35 0 0 7 9
Mark West 3 9.3 5.3 0.3 6- 10- 16 1 1 2 12
Terry Mills 3 5.3 1.7 1.3 3- 2- 5 1 0 1 6
Lindsey Hunter 2 3.0 1.0 0.5 1- 1- 2 1 0 0 2
Michael Curry 3 2.0 1.0 0.3 1- 2- 3 1 1 0 5
Don Reid 3 1.0 0.3 0.3 0- 1- 1 0 2 1 8
Lou Roe 2 0.0 1.0 0.0 1- 1- 2 1 0 0 1
Theo Ratliff 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Eric Leckner 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 2
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Houston 25-58 .431 7-21 .333 18-20 .900 75 33
Hill 22-39 .564 1-2 .500 12-14 .857 57 21
Dumars 16-35 .457 5-14 .357 4-4 1.000 41 15
Thorpe 13-24 .542 0-0 .000 9-12 .750 35 15
West 11-21 .524 0-0 .000 6-13 .462 28 11
Mills 5-20 .250 1-8 .125 5-6 .833 16 10
Hunter 2-8 .250 1-4 .250 1-2 .500 6 3
Curry 3-7 .429 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 6 2
Reid 1-3 .333 0-0 .000 1-3 .333 3 3
Roe 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Ratliff 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Leckner 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
INDIANA PACERS
--------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Reggie Miller 1 29.0 1.0 1.0 1- 0- 1 1 0 0 1
Rik Smits 5 19.0 7.4 1.6 13- 24- 37 2 2 14 20
Derrick Mckey 5 12.8 6.6 2.0 8- 25- 33 7 1 14 20
Mark Jackson 5 10.6 5.0 6.0 3- 22- 25 6 0 13 9
Ricky Pierce 5 10.2 0.8 3.0 3- 1- 4 8 1 12 13
Antonio Davis 5 7.8 6.2 0.6 12- 19- 31 3 6 10 12
Dale Davis 5 7.2 11.2 0.8 20- 36- 56 3 6 10 16
Travis Best 5 5.8 2.2 1.8 3- 8- 11 6 0 10 10
Haywoode Workman 5 3.8 0.6 0.4 1- 2- 3 2 0 2 5
Duane Ferrell 5 3.6 1.8 0.6 6- 3- 9 4 0 4 10
Adrian Caldwell 1 2.0 1.0 0.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 0 0
Eddie Johnson 1 0.0 0.0 1.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Miller 7-17 .412 2-6 .333 13-15 .867 29 29
Smits 42-77 .545 0-0 .000 11-14 .786 95 29
Mckey 24-57 .421 5-12 .417 11-13 .846 64 15
Jackson 18-51 .353 4-18 .222 13-17 .765 53 16
Pierce 16-47 .340 2-8 .250 17-20 .850 51 13
A Davis 13-25 .520 0-0 .000 13-15 .867 39 10
D Davis 16-31 .516 0-0 .000 4-11 .364 36 12
Best 11-22 .500 1-6 .167 6-7 .857 29 10
Workman 7-16 .438 3-5 .600 2-2 1.000 19 12
Ferrell 7-19 .368 0-0 .000 4-8 .500 18 7
Caldwell 1-1 1.000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2 2
Johnson 0-5 .000 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
(NOTE: STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR MORE THAN ONE TEAM
ARE CUMULATIVE)
nba.836vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics Midwest Division Through Wednesday, May 8
HOUSTON ROCKETS
---------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Hakeem Olajuwon 6 21.5 9.0 3.2 12- 42- 54 12 14 18 20
Clyde Drexler 6 15.0 7.3 5.3 10- 34- 44 17 4 15 13
Robert Horry 6 13.0 6.7 3.3 10- 30- 40 16 10 9 18
Sam Cassell 6 11.0 2.7 4.5 1- 15- 16 6 1 13 15
Chucky Brown 6 8.3 2.5 0.7 2- 13- 15 2 0 2 13
Mario Elie 6 8.3 2.8 2.0 4- 13- 17 5 2 4 8
Mark Bryant 6 7.3 3.2 0.5 5- 14- 19 1 2 2 16
Kenny Smith 6 7.0 1.2 4.2 2- 5- 7 2 0 5 7
Sam Mack 5 2.4 1.6 0.2 0- 8- 8 1 0 2 1
Pete Chilcutt 1 2.0 3.0 0.0 2- 1- 3 0 0 1 0
Charles Jones 3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 0 0
Eldridge Recasner 1 0.0 1.0 2.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 1 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Olajuwon 57-116 .491 0-0 .000 15-21 .714 129 33
Drexler 35-83 .422 6-23 .261 14-20 .700 90 21
Horry 27-66 .409 15-38 .395 9-19 .474 78 18
Cassell 21-61 .344 4-18 .222 20-26 .769 66 22
Brown 20-35 .571 0-0 .000 10-12 .833 50 16
Elie 20-42 .476 6-16 .375 4-5 .800 50 14
Bryant 18-30 .600 0-0 .000 8-10 .800 44 12
Smith 15-34 .441 7-17 .412 5-5 1.000 42 17
Mack 5-13 .385 2-8 .250 0-3 .000 12 9
Chilcutt 1-4 .250 0-1 .000 0-2 .000 2 2
Jones 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Recasner 0-3 .000 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
-----------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
David Robinson 5 29.8 10.6 3.2 17- 36- 53 7 15 14 19
Sean Elliott 5 16.8 3.6 2.8 7- 11- 18 7 3 14 11
Vinny Del Negro 5 14.2 2.6 5.0 2- 11- 13 6 2 3 8
Chuck Person 5 13.2 4.0 2.2 2- 18- 20 1 3 4 16
Avery Johnson 5 12.8 5.0 11.4 3- 22- 25 6 1 11 10
Will Perdue 5 8.6 8.0 0.2 12- 28- 40 0 2 5 13
Charles Smith 5 5.6 4.4 1.2 6- 16- 22 5 6 3 14
Doc Rivers 2 1.5 0.5 0.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 1 3
Cory Alexander 4 1.3 0.8 0.0 2- 1- 3 0 0 1 1
Monty Williams 3 0.3 0.7 0.0 1- 1- 2 0 0 2 2
Greg Anderson 2 0.0 1.0 0.0 0- 2- 2 1 1 0 0
Carl Herrera 4 0.0 0.5 0.3 0- 2- 2 0 0 2 6
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Robinson 54-93 .581 0-0 .000 41-54 .759 149 40
Elliott 27-58 .466 6-15 .400 24-31 .774 84 20
Del Negro 29-64 .453 7-15 .467 6-8 .750 71 29
C Person 22-40 .550 14-23 .609 8-11 .727 66 18
Johnson 30-64 .469 0-0 .000 4-8 .500 64 19
W Perdue 19-24 .792 0-0 .000 5-6 .833 43 17
Smith 13-31 .419 0-0 .000 2-6 .333 28 12
Rivers 1-3 .333 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 3 3
Alexander 2-4 .500 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 5 3
Williams 0-3 .000 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 1 1
Anderson 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Herrera 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
UTAH JAZZ
---------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Karl Malone 6 26.8 9.3 2.8 8- 48- 56 14 2 16 22
Jeff Hornacek 6 19.2 4.5 2.8 7- 20- 27 3 1 7 18
John Stockton 6 14.0 2.8 15.2 2- 15- 17 10 3 17 16
David Benoit 5 9.8 5.0 0.2 5- 20- 25 0 2 7 12
Greg Ostertag 6 6.3 5.2 0.0 15- 16- 31 2 13 3 16
Antoine Carr 6 6.2 2.2 0.2 4- 9- 13 0 6 3 22
Bryon Russell 6 6.0 3.7 0.7 6- 16- 22 8 2 4 12
Chris Morris 6 4.5 3.3 0.3 7- 13- 20 2 2 2 6
Felton Spencer 6 3.3 3.8 0.2 13- 10- 23 1 7 7 22
Adam Keefe 6 2.0 1.0 0.2 2- 4- 6 0 1 2 11
Greg Foster 3 1.7 1.7 0.0 3- 2- 5 0 1 0 2
Howard Eisley 6 1.5 1.3 2.2 3- 5- 8 1 0 2 10
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Malone 64-134 .478 0-2 .000 33-65 .508 161 35
Hornacek 41-71 .577 14-21 .667 19-21 .905 115 30
Stockton 24-52 .462 4-9 .444 32-35 .914 84 21
Benoit 19-41 .463 7-15 .467 4-4 1.000 49 17
Ostertag 14-29 .483 0-0 .000 10-17 .588 38 12
Carr 15-38 .395 0-0 .000 7-10 .700 37 10
Russell 13-25 .520 5-9 .556 5-6 .833 36 12
Morris 10-30 .333 3-13 .231 4-6 .667 27 13
Spencer 9-19 .474 0-0 .000 2-2 1.000 20 6
Keefe 3-9 .333 0-0 .000 6-6 1.000 12 8
Foster 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 5 3
Eisley 0-10 .000 0-1 .000 9-10 .900 9 4
(NOTE: STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR MORE THAN ONE TEAM
ARE CUMULATIVE)
nba.837vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics Pacific Division Through Wednesday, May 8
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
------------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Cedric Ceballos 4 19.0 8.3 1.3 11- 22- 33 4 1 8 9
Eddie Jones 4 17.3 5.3 1.5 7- 14- 21 8 1 4 16
Magic Johnson 4 15.3 8.5 6.5 8- 26- 34 0 0 12 3
Elden Campbell 4 12.0 8.0 2.0 3- 29- 32 1 9 10 17
Nick Van Exel 4 11.8 4.0 6.8 4- 12- 16 2 0 11 10
Anthony Peeler 3 9.3 2.7 1.0 2- 6- 8 6 0 3 6
Vlade Divac 4 9.0 7.5 2.0 11- 19- 30 0 5 8 10
Sedale Threatt 4 2.5 0.8 1.0 1- 2- 3 2 0 3 4
George Lynch 2 2.0 1.5 0.5 0- 3- 3 0 0 2 4
Fred Roberts 1 0.0 3.0 0.0 2- 1- 3 0 0 1 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Ceballos 30-62 .484 5-16 .313 11-12 .917 76 25
Jones 27-49 .551 10-19 .526 5-8 .625 69 20
Johnson 15-39 .385 3-9 .333 28-33 .848 61 26
Campbell 20-39 .513 0-1 .000 8-16 .500 48 18
Van Exel 16-54 .296 5-16 .313 10-13 .769 47 15
Peeler 9-27 .333 6-14 .429 4-4 1.000 28 12
Divac 15-35 .429 1-5 .200 5-8 .625 36 11
Threatt 4-18 .222 2-11 .182 0-0 .000 10 10
Lynch 2-4 .500 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 4 4
Roberts 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
PHOENIX SUNS
------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Charles Barkley 4 25.5 13.5 3.8 18- 36- 54 4 4 6 15
Kevin Johnson 4 17.3 4.3 10.8 2- 15- 17 2 2 11 8
Wesley Person 4 14.3 5.8 0.8 8- 15- 23 3 1 5 7
Danny Manning 4 12.3 2.8 1.3 4- 7- 11 4 1 6 15
John Williams 4 9.0 6.5 0.3 11- 15- 26 0 7 6 17
Chris Carr 3 8.0 2.3 1.3 3- 4- 7 2 1 4 6
Wayman Tisdale 4 5.3 1.0 0.5 3- 1- 4 1 1 1 7
Ac Green 4 4.8 4.5 0.5 6- 12- 18 1 0 2 7
Elliot Perry 4 3.5 0.5 3.0 0- 2- 2 2 0 0 3
Mario Bennett 2 2.0 1.5 0.0 2- 1- 3 0 0 2 0
Joe Kleine 2 0.0 0.5 0.0 1- 0- 1 1 0 1 1
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Barkley 31-70 .443 3-12 .250 37-47 .787 102 30
Johnson 27-57 .474 1-4 .250 14-17 .824 69 21
W Person 22-56 .393 9-29 .310 4-5 .800 57 23
Manning 22-48 .458 0-1 .000 5-8 .625 49 16
Williams 14-32 .438 0-0 .000 8-12 .667 36 15
Carr 9-14 .643 2-3 .667 4-5 .800 24 17
Tisdale 10-30 .333 0-0 .000 1-2 .500 21 11
Green 6-17 .353 0-3 .000 7-8 .875 19 8
Perry 7-14 .500 0-0 .000 0-1 .000 14 8
Bennett 2-4 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 4 2
Kleine 0-2 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
----------------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Arvydas Sabonis 5 23.6 10.2 1.8 12- 39- 51 4 3 10 17
Rod Strickland 5 20.6 6.2 8.4 12- 19- 31 5 0 12 14
Clifford Robinson 5 15.2 3.6 1.6 4- 14- 18 7 5 16 19
Aaron Mckie 5 6.2 3.6 1.8 4- 14- 18 6 2 9 13
Harvey Grant 5 5.4 4.0 0.8 5- 15- 20 0 2 3 16
Dontonio Wingfield 5 4.8 2.8 0.8 10- 4- 14 0 0 3 10
Buck Williams 5 4.8 5.0 0.2 13- 12- 25 1 4 5 18
Rumeal Robinson 5 4.2 0.4 0.6 0- 2- 2 3 0 3 8
James Robinson 2 4.0 0.5 1.5 0- 1- 1 1 1 3 4
Chris Dudley 5 2.8 5.4 0.2 9- 18- 27 2 2 4 18
Gary Trent 2 1.0 0.5 0.0 0- 1- 1 1 0 0 3
Elmore Spencer 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Sabonis 35-81 .432 5-9 .556 43-60 .717 118 27
Strickland 37-84 .440 6-12 .500 23-36 .639 103 27
C Robinson 21-61 .344 6-23 .261 28-37 .757 76 21
Mckie 11-30 .367 2-8 .250 7-9 .778 31 16
Grant 13-38 .342 1-7 .143 0-4 .000 27 8
Wingfield 8-21 .381 6-10 .600 2-6 .333 24 9
Williams 9-23 .391 1-2 .500 5-7 .714 24 7
R Robinson 8-19 .421 4-9 .444 1-4 .250 21 8
J Robinson 3-10 .300 2-6 .333 0-0 .000 8 5
Dudley 5-13 .385 0-0 .000 4-6 .667 14 6
Trent 1-4 .250 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2 2
Spencer 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-2 .000 0 0
SACRAMENTO KINGS
----------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Mitch Richmond 4 21.0 4.3 3.0 3- 14- 17 3 0 15 11
Olden Polynice 4 13.8 12.0 0.8 16- 32- 48 1 7 3 15
Tyus Edney 4 12.0 3.0 2.8 2- 10- 12 8 0 9 11
Brian Grant 4 9.8 5.0 1.0 7- 13- 20 2 7 13 14
Lionel Simmons 4 9.5 3.0 2.0 4- 8- 12 6 2 6 12
Billy Owens 4 8.3 6.5 3.5 5- 21- 26 4 1 11 17
Sarunas Marciulionis 4 7.3 1.8 3.5 4- 3- 7 10 0 10 4
Michael Smith 4 4.8 5.5 2.0 7- 15- 22 1 2 2 14
Duane Causwell 2 2.5 2.5 0.5 1- 4- 5 0 0 2 3
Corliss Williamson 1 1.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Kevin Gamble 2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
Bobby Hurley 1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0- 0- 0 0 0 0 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Richmond 24-54 .444 8-23 .348 28-35 .800 84 37
Polynice 24-46 .522 1-1 1.000 6-9 .667 55 18
Edney 18-42 .429 2-8 .250 10-12 .833 48 17
Grant 16-42 .381 0-0 .000 7-14 .500 39 13
Simmons 15-33 .455 3-9 .333 5-7 .714 38 24
Owens 15-34 .441 0-4 .000 3-6 .500 33 12
Marciulionis 8-29 .276 4-18 .222 9-15 .600 29 12
Smith 7-12 .583 0-0 .000 5-11 .455 19 7
Causwell 1-3 .333 0-1 .000 3-4 .750 5 3
C Williamson 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 1-1 1.000 1 1
Gamble 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Hurley 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
SEATTLE SUPERSONICS
-------------------
REBOUNDS
G PPG RPG APG OFF-DEF --TOT STL BLK TO PF
Gary Payton 6 21.5 4.8 6.7 4- 25- 29 14 4 16 20
Shawn Kemp 5 17.0 9.4 1.0 14- 33- 47 8 15 22 18
Detlef Schrempf 6 15.8 6.0 4.7 8- 28- 36 3 3 20 16
Hersey Hawkins 6 13.0 2.5 2.2 5- 10- 15 9 0 8 14
Sam Perkins 6 12.3 4.2 2.0 5- 20- 25 4 0 5 9
Nate Mcmillan 6 7.8 4.5 3.7 2- 25- 27 8 2 6 9
Frank Brickowski 6 4.5 1.2 0.3 0- 7- 7 2 1 8 15
Vincent Askew 6 4.5 2.2 1.3 3- 10- 13 4 2 6 13
Ervin Johnson 6 4.0 5.0 0.2 9- 21- 30 4 7 6 17
David Wingate 3 0.7 0.3 0.0 0- 1- 1 0 0 0 1
Steve Scheffler 2 0.0 0.5 0.5 0- 1- 1 1 0 1 2
Eric Snow 2 0.0 0.5 1.0 0- 1- 1 1 0 2 0
FG 3PT FT
M-A PCT M-A PCT M-A PCT PTS HI
Payton 45-95 .474 15-33 .455 24-36 .667 129 29
Kemp 30-60 .500 0-0 .000 25-36 .694 85 23
D Schrempf 38-81 .469 5-17 .294 14-24 .583 95 22
Hawkins 21-47 .447 10-18 .556 26-31 .839 78 18
Perkins 27-59 .458 10-27 .370 10-14 .714 74 17
Mcmillan 16-26 .615 14-19 .737 1-2 .500 47 15
Brickowski 10-15 .667 4-8 .500 3-4 .750 27 12
Askew 10-28 .357 3-8 .375 4-6 .667 27 8
Johnson 11-29 .379 0-0 .000 2-2 1.000 24 12
Wingate 1-2 .500 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 2 2
S Scheffler 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
Snow 0-1 .000 0-1 .000 0-0 .000 0 0
(NOTE: STATISTICS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR MORE THAN ONE TEAM
ARE CUMULATIVE)
nba.838vpoznanovic,
NBA Team-By-Team Statistics (Through Wednesday, May 8)
OFFENSE
TEAM G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT AVG
==== == ========= === ======= === ========= === ===
Orlando 4 162-303 .535 29-69 .420 69-109 .633 105.5
San Antonio 5 197-386 .510 28-55 .509 92-128 .719 102.8
Chicago 5 184-400 .460 28-98 .286 106-143 .741 100.4
Phoenix 4 150-344 .436 15-52 .288 80-105 .762 98.8
Utah 6 214-461 .464 33-70 .471 132-184 .717 98.8
Seattle 6 209-444 .471 61-131 .466 109-155 .703 98.0
LA Lakers 4 138-329 .419 32-92 .348 71-94 .755 94.8
Houston 6 219-488 .449 40-122 .328 85-123 .691 93.8
Atlanta 6 200-459 .436 43-114 .377 102-141 .723 90.8
Portland 5 151-384 .393 33-86 .384 113-171 .661 89.6
Detroit 3 98-216 .454 15-50 .300 56-74 .757 89.0
Sacramento 4 128-296 .432 18-64 .281 77-114 .675 87.8
Indiana 5 162-368 .440 17-57 .298 94-122 .770 87.0
New York 5 160-354 .452 39-85 .459 76-113 .673 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
======= === === === == ====
Orlando 49-102 151 103 26 48 17
San Antonio 52-149 201 131 33 62 33
Chicago 77-155 232 115 48 75 20
Phoenix 58-108 166 87 20 44 17
Utah 75-178 253 148 41 71 40
Seattle 50-182 232 134 58 102 34
LA Lakers 49-134 183 88 23 64 16
Houston 48-177 225 145 62 75 33
Atlanta 88-136 224 109 60 92 38
Portland 69-139 208 84 30 70 19
Detroit 36-71 107 43 8 40 5
Sacramento 49-120 169 75 35 78 19
Indiana 70-141 211 86 42 93 16
New York 49-137 186 103 29 81 19
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
==== == ========= === ======= === ========= === ===
Chicago 5 151-369 .409 31-104 .298 82-114 .719 83.0
New York 5 162-395 .410 26-103 .252 71-86 .826 84.2
Utah 6 176-444 .396 35-91 .385 136-207 .657 87.2
Seattle 6 194-460 .422 40-121 .331 99-149 .664 87.8
Indiana 5 162-381 .425 39-99 .394 77-108 .713 88.0
Cleveland 3 100-201 .498 30-51 .588 41-66 .621 90.3
Atlanta 6 210-451 .466 22-73 .301 110-148 .743 92.0
Orlando 4 136-294 .463 19-65 .292 81-107 .757 93.0
Sacramento 4 128-289 .443 31-78 .397 88-128 .688 93.8
LA Lakers 4 153-324 .472 18-65 .277 63-88 .716 96.8
San Antonio 5 190-432 .440 22-66 .333 88-115 .765 98.0
Houston 6 219-484 .452 62-145 .428 92-121 .760 98.7
Portland 5 174-373 .466 26-56 .464 124-174 .713 99.6
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 4 172-326 .528 26-50 .520 69-92 .750 109.8
- REBOUNDS -
OFF-DEF TRB AST STL TO BLKS
======= === === === == ====
Chicago 59-127 186 78 33 100 9
New York 71-142 213 99 36 67 24
Utah 76-162 238 103 36 87 28
Seattle 70-173 243 126 54 107 26
Indiana 74-114 188 86 49 79 35
Cleveland 24-84 108 76 17 44 15
Atlanta 85-165 250 112 51 107 19
Orlando 50-93 143 66 19 53 8
Sacramento 36-106 142 81 39 68 26
LA Lakers 27-124 151 94 43 46 26
San Antonio 76-135 211 118 27 58 22
Houston 63-210 273 141 42 98 24
Portland 57-151 208 117 34 57 35
Detroit 34-78 112 77 17 34 14
Miami 41-89 130 75 31 48 10
Phoenix 45-126 171 112 27 45 24
(NOTE: DEFENSIVE STATISTICS REFLECT CUMULATIVE TOTALS OF A
TEAM'S OPPONENTS)
nba.839vpoznanovic,
NBA Team Comparison Through Wednesday, May 8
POINTS FIELD GOAL 3-PT FG
PER GAME PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE TURNOVERS PER GAME
TEAM OWN OPP OWN OPP OWN OPP OWN OPP MARGIN
Atlanta 90.8 92.0 .436 .466 .377 .301 15.3 17.8 +2.5
Chicago 100.4 *83.0 .460 .409 .286 .298 15.0 *20.0 *+5.0
Cleveland 79.7 90.3 .423 .498 .254 .588 13.3 14.7 +1.4
Detroit 89.0 101.7 .454 .518 .300 .453 13.3 11.3 -2.0
Houston 93.8 98.7 .449 .452 .328 .428 12.5 16.3 +3.8
Indiana 87.0 88.0 .440 .425 .298 .394 18.6 15.8 -2.8
LA Lakers 94.8 96.8 .419 .472 .348 .277 16.0 11.5 -4.5
Miami 83.7 106.7 .421 .511 .314 .310 21.0 16.0 -5.0
New York 87.0 84.2 .452 .410 .459 *.252 16.2 13.4 -2.8
Orlando *105.5 93.0 *.535 .463 .420 .292 12.0 13.3 +1.3
Phoenix 98.8 109.8 .436 .528 .288 .520 *11.0 11.3 +0.3
Portland 89.6 99.6 .393 .466 .384 .464 14.0 11.4 -2.6
Sacramento 87.8 93.8 .432 .443 .281 .397 19.5 17.0 -2.5
San Antonio 102.8 98.0 .510 .440 *.509 .333 12.4 11.6 -0.8
Seattle 98.0 87.8 .471 .422 .466 .331 17.0 17.8 +0.8
Utah 98.8 87.2 .464 *.396 .471 .385 11.8 14.5 +2.7
------------------ RECORDS ------------------
UNDER 100 PTS OT DECIDED BY
REBOUND PCT OWN OPP GAMES 3-PTS(LESS) 10-PTS(MORE)
TEAM OFF DEF TOT W-L W-L W-L W-L W-L
Atlanta .348 .615 .473 3-2 3-1 0-1 1-0 1-1
Chicago .377 .724 *.555 2-0 5-0 0-0 0-0 4-0
Cleveland .294 .760 .507 0-3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-1
Detroit .316 .676 .489 0-3 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-2
Houston .186 .738 .452 1-2 3-0 0-0 0-0 0-2
Indiana *.380 .656 .529 1-3 2-3 1-0 0-1 0-1
LA Lakers .283 *.832 .548 0-3 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-0
Miami .276 .643 .454 0-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-3
New York .257 .659 .466 2-2 3-2 0-0 0-0 1-1
Orlando .345 .671 .514 1-0 3-0 0-0 1-0 3-0
Phoenix .315 .706 .493 1-2 1-0 0-0 1-0 0-2
Portland .314 .709 .500 2-2 2-0 1-0 1-0 0-2
Sacramento .316 .769 .543 1-3 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-2
San Antonio .278 .662 .488 0-2 2-2 0-0 0-1 2-1
Seattle .224 .722 .488 2-1 4-1 0-0 0-0 3-0
Utah .316 .701 .515 1-2 3-2 0-1 0-1 3-0
* = Indicates League Leader
REBOUND PERCENTAGE:
Off - a team's offensive rebounds divided by offensive rebound
opportunities (that team's total number of missed shots)
Def - a team's defensive rebounds divided by defensive rebound
opportunities (the total number of missed shots by that
team's opponents)
Tot - a team's total rebounds divided by rebound opportunities
(the sum of missed shots by that team and its opponents)
nba.840dizel,
-> #802, lexus> => Starks G 39 0-9 4-4 2 0 2
> 2 4 => 0 1 4 ^^^
>
> Ovaj Starks stvarno ne ume da sutira u vaznim utakmicama...
Mnogo je dobar cesto puta,ali kada je najbitnije(najcesce protiv famoznog
Cikaga) zakaze...
Steta!
nba.841lexus,
-> #840, dizel=> Mnogo je dobar cesto puta,ali kada je najbitnije(najcesce protiv
=> famoznog Cikaga) zakaze...
A možda i protiv Houstona u finalu ;)
nba.842vpoznanovic,
-> #513, dizel>>> Sa nekoliko americkih sportskih mreza.
>>
>>Pretpostavio sam.Pa,koliki su ti onda racuni za tel?
Još uvijek su u razumnim granicama. Nadam se da će tako i ostati. :)
nba.843vpoznanovic,
-> #580, kant>>> pogotovo što mi pretplata ističe sredinom maja, a nisam siguran
>>> kada ću je produžavati.
>>
>> Aman, poklonite čoveku jedno 6 meseci pretplate, mislim da je to
>> zaslužio.
Hvala, hvala, i tebi i ostalima koji su podržali tu ideju :), ali ipak
nije mi to bila namjera. Pokušao sam baš da istaknem da se ne postavlja
pitanje da li ću produžiti pretplatu, već kada ću to uraditi - odmah ili
u julu. Zaista ne bih volio da junski ispitni rok dovedem u pitanje kao
što sam zamalo aprilski.
nba.844vpoznanovic,
-> #581, mpavlo>> I ja sam za to da mu se produzi pretplata, jer na Sezamnet-u ne postoji brzi
>> i bolji izvor kvalitetnih informacija od vpoznanovic-a. Covek je sve radio,
>> kako sam shvatio, samoinicijativno i volonterski i ucinio temu nba
>> najatraktivnijom (bar od onih tema koje ja pratim). Svaka cast.
Uh, nemojte više, molim vas, stvarno ću se uobraziti. :)
nba.845vpoznanovic,
-> #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 ?
>>
>> Barkley 20
>> Robinson 21
Studio B i BK očigledno prenose vijesti iz istih agencijskih izvora.
Prateći godinama rezultate sa naših televizijskih kanala, nebrojeno puta
sam bio svjedok grubih grešaka. Nemam pojma šta je bio uzrok, ali znam da
sam potpuno izgubio povjerenje u njih.
Ne mogu sa sigurnošću da tvrdim da je i u ovom slučaju taj izvor
proslijedio pogrešnu informaciju ili da je ljudski faktor s njihove strane
zakazao, ali mogu da kažem da su izvori mojih informacija nešto
najmjerodavnije što se može zamisliti. Naime, statistike koje šaljem
nastaju kao proizvod obrade prijenosa utakmica u realnom vremenu i ja ih
uzimam praktično iz prve ruke. Kasnije one u identičnoj formi postaju dio
službene arhive NBA. Znači, nema apsolutno nikavih posrednika, čime je
mogućnost greške svedena na minimum.
nba.846vpoznanovic,
-> #743, imangovski>> Jel prenose(direktno)play off na bk,i kad?
Ne, idu samo pregledi i snimke u standardnom večernjem terminu. Po svoj
prilici, ništa od direktnih prijenosa neće biti do finala, a ni to još
nije zvanično potvrđeno. Koliko mogu da vidim, NBA se ove godine dobro
zatvorila prema ostatku svijeta što se tiče direktnih prijenosa utakmica.
Ranije se u ranim poslijepodnevnim satima nacrtaš pred televizorom i
ne ustaješ sve do jutra - sve utakmica za utakmicom. Sad kad su postali
svjesni svoje ogromne popularnosti, izgleda da nisu više spremni da nam
gratis izlaze u susret.
nba.847vpoznanovic,
-> #769, schef>> A šta sam ja pričao (pisao)? Tačno sam bre znao... :(
Posljedica unutrašnjih problema u ekipi, koji kao po pravilu kod Lakersa
posljednjih godina dostižu kulminaciju u plejofu. :(
Ali to svakako nije razlog da ne priznamo tvoje prognozerske sposobnosti.
:)
nba.848vpoznanovic,
-> #782, basrak>>> the best prep prospect ever to come from South Carolina
>> ^^^^
>> Šta mu dođe ovo?
Koliko ja znam, to je izraz za onoga ko pohađa školu, đaka, u ovom
slučaju srednjoškolca.
nba.849vpoznanovic,
BULLS TRIO LEADS NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
NEW YORK -- Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman of the
Chicago Bulls became the first trio of teammates in 13 years to make
the NBA's all-defensive team. The team was announced Thursday.
The three Bulls were joined on the first team by Seattle's Gary Payton
and San Antonio's David Robinson. Earlier this week, Payton was named
the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Pippen received 55 of a possible 56 points in voting by 29 NBA
coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players. Pippen
was named on 27 first-team ballots. Jordan got 53 points and 25
first-team votes, and Rodman got 30 points and 11 first-team votes.
Payton got 48 points and 20 first-team votes, and Robinson got 42
points and 16 first-team votes.
The second team consisted of Orlando's Horace Grant (25 points, eight
first-team votes) and Indiana's Derrick McKey (15, five) at forward,
Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon (27, eight) at center and Atlanta's Mookie
Blaylock (22, four) and Cleveland's Bobby Phills (12, three) at guard.
The last time three players from the same team made the all-defensive
team was in 1982, when Moses Malone, Bobby Jones and Maurice Cheeks of
the Philadelphia 76ers were picked. This is the fifth time in NBA
history that it's happened.
Others receiving votes this year, with point totals, (first-place
votes in parentheses): Dikembe Mutombo (four) 13, Shawn Kemp (three)
9, John Stockton (two) 9, Dale Davis (one) 9, Karl Malone (one) 9,
Derek Harper (two) 8, Mitch Richmond (two) 8, Grant Hill (one) 7,
Alonzo Mourning (one) 4, Anthony Mason (one) 3, Stacey Augmon 3,
Robert Horry 3, Jason Kidd 3, Nate McMillan 3, Anfernee Hardaway 2,
Terrell Brandon 1, Elden Campbell 1, Chris Childs 1, Sean Elliott 1,
Brian Grant 1, Eddie Jones 1, Grant Long 1, Charles Oakley 1,
Shaquille O'Neal 1, Sam Perkins 1, John Starks 1, Bryant Stith 1, Rod
Strickland 1.
nba.850vpoznanovic,
Brown out, Westphal moves up Mavericks' list
DALLAS (May 9, 1996 - 11:41 EST) -- Paul Westphal, fired this season
by the Phoenix Suns, is a leading candidate to replace Dick Motta as
coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
"They've got a great nucleus with Jamal Mashburn, Jason Kidd and Jim
Jackson, and a lot of coaches would be attracted to that job,
including me," Westphal told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on
Wednesday. "I've only heard rumors so far, but I hope they call.
They've got a great upside."
Indiana's Larry Brown also has been mentioned, but Pacers president
Donnie Walsh said the Mavericks had not contacted him for permission
to talk to Brown and that there's no way he would agree to it.
Mavericks assistant Brad Davis has expressed an interest and the team
also considered Chicago assistant Jim Cleamons. However, the Bulls
will not grant permission to talk to Cleamons until their season ends.
Davis was Motta's top assistant for two seasons.
"I think I'm ready after playing under Dick and coaching with him,"
Davis said. "My biggest strength is I know the team and the
organization and I know how to relate to our players. They've said
I'll get an interview, and I'm excited."
Meanwhile, the new majority owner Ross Perot Jr. is considering
Cityplace, a development north of downtown, as a site for a new arena.
One proposal for the site, carrying a price tag of $600 million to
$800 million, includes an arena with 22,000 seats and 100 or more
skyboxes, a shopping mall, offices, condos, multiscreen cinema and
450-room hotel.
"I think it's very viable and very attractive," Perot said.
nba.851vpoznanovic,
IOWA'S KINGSBURY TO TAKE A SHOT AT NBA
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa sharpshooter Chris Kingsbury
told the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Gazette on Wednesday night that he plans
to write a letter to the NBA and declare himself eligible for the
league's draft.
Kingsbury, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound guard, said he is not looking for an
agent and that if he isn't selected in the first round during the June
26 draft, he will return to school for his senior season.
"The past couple years, only a couple of second-rounders have made the
final roster," Kingsbury said in Thursday editions of the Gazette.
"There's a big difference between the 29th and 20th pick."
Kingsbury's Iowa teammate, Jess Settles, declared himself eligible for
the NBA draft at a Tuesday news conference. Settles, a 6-7, 220-pound
junior, was an all-Big Ten forward and Iowa's leading scorer and
rebounder last season.
Underclassmen and high school players have until May 12 to make their
decisions.
Kingsbury is Iowa's all-time leading 3-point shooter. He averaged 16.8
points per game as a sophomore but dipped to 11.9 as a junior. He
missed three games last year after being suspended for unsportsmanlike
conduct.
"Last year I didn't have a great year, but I had some problems and I
kind of got down on basketball," he told the Gazette. "I know what I
can do. I play my best basketball against great players."
Kingsbury scored 30 points during a 101-95 upset victory over
Connecticut last season.
nba.852vpoznanovic,
Utah (77) At San Antonio (88)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Morris F 17 1-3 0-0 2 1 3 1 3 0 1 2
Malone F 41 12-25 0-0 1 7 8 3 3 1 4 24
Spencer C 12 0-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 4 0 0 0
Hornacek G 27 1-6 1-1 0 1 1 2 3 1 2 3
Stockton G 40 1-6 2-2 0 5 5 13 4 2 6 4
Eisley 7 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4
Russell 31 6-12 0-0 2 3 5 5 1 1 0 16
Ostertag 21 2-4 1-2 0 8 8 0 3 0 0 5
Keefe 21 5-5 0-0 1 3 4 0 1 1 0 11
Carr 23 4-11 0-0 0 0 0 5 5 0 2 8
Benoit Dnp - Bruised Knee
Foster Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 34-78 4-5 7 31 38 30 27 6 15 77
(.436) (.800) Team Rebs: 2 Total To: 16(16 PTS)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 37 2-9 8-10 0 4 4 0 3 2 4 12
Smith F 22 5-8 0-0 3 2 5 2 2 0 0 10
Robinson C 40 9-20 6-10 4 8 12 3 3 2 2 24
Del Negro G 32 4-11 2-2 0 6 6 2 1 1 2 10
Johnson G 42 4-11 0-0 1 2 3 10 1 3 2 8
W Perdue 34 2-4 4-6 1 6 7 4 1 0 0 8
C Person 27 6-11 1-1 1 5 6 0 1 1 2 16
Alexander 6 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0
Anderson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Herrera Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Rivers Dnp - Back Spasms
Williams Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 32-74 21-29 11 35 46 22 12 9 12 88
(.432) (.724) Team Rebs: 9 Total To: 15(15 PTS)
Utah 9 29 16 23 - 77
San Antonio 25 11 27 25 - 88
Blocked Shots: Utah - Ostertag 2, Spencer, Russell, Malone, Carr. San
Antonio - Robinson 3, Smith 2.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Utah 5-11 (.455), Morris 0-1, Hornacek 0-1, Stockton
0-2, Russell 4-6, Keefe 1-1. San Antonio 3-9 (.333), Elliott 0-2, Del
Negro 0-1, C Person 3-6.
Technicals: Utah - Morris, Head Coach Sloan 2 (Ejected), Malone, Illegal
Defense.
Officials: Mike Mathis, Hue Hollins, Ron Olesiak.
A - 18,635. T - 2:08.
nba.853vpoznanovic,
SPURS' VICTORY SILENCES THE BOO-BIRDS
SAN ANTONIO -- You want a definition of pressure? How about when
15,000 of your own fans boo you -- and you have to play in front of
them two nights later?
After falling apart in Game 1, the San Antonio Spurs withstood the
pressure and rallied to defeat the Utah Jazz 88-77 on Thursday night,
evening their Western Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.
The Spurs lost the first game 95-75 on Tuesday night and were booed
soundly by the Alamodome crowd.
"There was a lot of pressure after losing the first game," San Antonio
center David Robinson said after Game 2. "Everyone was on edge coming
in."
Robinson led the Spurs with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks
Thursday. Chuck Person added 16 points off the bench.
Karl Malone scored 24 points for the Jazz, but was whistled for a
crucial technical foul late in the game with the Jazz trailing 78-72.
Bryon Russell added 16 points for Utah, which was held to its lowest
playoff point total in franchise history.
Game 3 is Saturday at Utah.
"We won the first game and in this game, we came out and just relaxed
and they jumped out to a big lead," Malone said. "We were happy to get
a win here, but we felt like we were in this one."
San Antonio bolted to an 11-0 lead, paced by Avery Johnson's four
points. The Jazz was scoreless until Malone hit a jumper with 7:40
left in the first quarter.
Utah was four for 17 from the field in the first period and avoided
matching its playoff low for points in the first quarter when Greg
Ostertag hit the second of two free throws with 35 seconds left.
Trailing 25-9 after one quarter, Utah regrouped and closed the half
with a 25-5 run. The Jazz took a 38-36 lead at halftime on a 3-pointer
by Adam Keefe at the buzzer.
The Jazz took its final lead of the game at 52-51 with 4:47 to go in
the third quarter on a basket by Ostertag, but San Antonio took
control of the game with a 15-2 spurt.
Person capped the run with a 3-pointer 59 seconds into the final
quarter.
The Jazz staged one last stand, pulling within 76-72 on a free throw
by John Stockton with 2:34 remaining. Johnson made a layup to push the
Spurs lead to six points, and then Malone was whistled for a foul on
Perdue following a Utah miss and was called for a technical foul for
lightly shoving Perdue.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan, who had picked up a technical foul in the
second quarter, argued the call and was ejected with 1:50 remaining.
Robinson and Purdue made three of four free throws to extend the lead
to 81-72 and the Spurs never trailed.
Sloan said he thought Malone and Perdue were about to get into an
altercation.
"Next time I'll wait until somebody gets his head knocked off," Sloan
said. "It was just a mistake on my part to go out there."
"I never talk about the officiating; I'm not going to start now,"
Malone said. "It's just the way it happened. We didn't do what we
needed down the stretch."
The Jazz shot 44 percent (34 for 78) from the floor and was outscored
21-4 from the foul line. Utah's five free-throw attempts were the
fewest in team playoff history, far lower than the 14 they attempted
against Dallas on April 18, 1986.
The four made foul shots are also a playoff low, seven fewer than the
11 against Dallas.
"They just came at us really hard," Sloan said. "We just couldn't get
to the free-throw line and they took the ball to us."
The Spurs concentrated on stopping Utah's money play: the
pick-and-roll.
"We were a lot more aggressive on the pick-and-roll tonight," Robinson
said. "Tonight, they didn't get those wide-open looks. Losing the
first game was tough, but tonight was a good bounce back. The road
ahead is a long one."
"We had two major goals: Play pick-and-roll defense and rebound,"
San Antonio coach Bob Hill said. "Overall, we kept them out of the
middle of the floor and off the boards.
"We were god-awful in Game 1. We weren't great tonight but we were
better."
San Antonio's other four starters, Johnson, Vinny Del Negro, Smith and
Sean Elliott, combined to go eight for 31 from the field in Game 1.
They bounced back with 40 points on 15-for-39 shooting Thursday.
Utah's supporting cast around Malone could not score in Game 2. Chris
Morris, Felton Spencer, Jeff Hornacek and Stockton combined to make
three of 18 shots.
The Utah reserves were better, shooting 19 for 35 from the floor.
Keefe finished with 11 points off the bench on five-for-five shooting.
"The Spurs got after it tonight," Stockton said. "Our bench did a
great job. Those (of us) who should have started should have played
like our bench. The playoffs are serious -- we did not get it done
tonight."
nba.854vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago leads New York 2-0
Sunday May 5 Chicago 91, New York 84
Tuesday May 7 Chicago 91, New York 80
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 leads Atlanta 1-0
Wednesday May 8 Orlando 117, Atlanta 105
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 2-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 Seattle 105, Houston 101
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
Utah, San Antonio tied 1-1
Tuesday May 7 Utah 95, San Antonio 75
Thursday May 9 San Antonio 88, Utah 77
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
nba.855vpoznanovic,
National Basketball Association Leaders Through Thursday, May 9
SCORING
(MINIMUM OF 5 GAMES PLAYED OR 112 POINTS SCORED)
PLAYER GP PTS AVG
------ -- --- ---
Michael Jordan, CHI 5 162 32.4
David Robinson, SAS 6 173 28.8
Karl Malone, UTH 7 185 26.4
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 5 118 23.6
Steve Smith, ATL 6 132 22.0
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 6 129 21.5
Gary Payton, SEA 6 129 21.5
Rod Strickland, POR 5 103 20.6
Patrick Ewing, NYK 5 99 19.8
Rik Smits, IND 5 95 19.0
Scottie Pippen, CHI 5 89 17.8
Shawn Kemp, SEA 5 85 17.0
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 7 118 16.9
Mookie Blaylock, ATL 6 98 16.3
Sean Elliott, SAS 6 96 16.0
Detlef Schrempf, SEA 6 95 15.8
Clifford Robinson, POR 5 76 15.2
Clyde Drexler, HOU 6 90 15.0
John Starks, NYK 5 75 15.0
Christian Laettner, ATL 6 83 13.8
Chuck Person, SAS 6 82 13.7
Vinny Del Negro, SAS 6 81 13.5
Anthony Mason, NYK 5 66 13.2
Hersey Hawkins, SEA 6 78 13.0
Robert Horry, HOU 6 78 13.0
Derrick Mckey, IND 5 64 12.8
John Stockton, UTH 7 88 12.6
Sam Perkins, SEA 6 74 12.3
Charles Oakley, NYK 5 61 12.2
Avery Johnson, SAS 6 72 12.0
REBOUNDING
(MINIMUM OF 5 GAMES PLAYED OR 64 REBOUNDS)
PLAYER GP REB AVG
------ -- --- ---
Dale Davis, IND 5 56 11.2
Patrick Ewing, NYK 5 55 11.0
David Robinson, SAS 6 65 10.8
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 5 51 10.2
Scottie Pippen, CHI 5 49 9.8
Dennis Rodman, CHI 5 49 9.8
Shawn Kemp, SEA 5 47 9.4
Karl Malone, UTH 7 64 9.1
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 6 54 9.0
Anthony Mason, NYK 5 41 8.2
Grant Long, ATL 6 49 8.2
Will Perdue, SAS 6 47 7.8
Charles Oakley, NYK 5 38 7.6
Christian Laettner, ATL 6 45 7.5
Rik Smits, IND 5 37 7.4
Clyde Drexler, HOU 6 44 7.3
Robert Horry, HOU 6 40 6.7
Derrick Mckey, IND 5 33 6.6
Antonio Davis, IND 5 31 6.2
Rod Strickland, POR 5 31 6.2
ASSISTS
(MINIMUM OF 5 GAMES PLAYED OR 32 ASSISTS)
PLAYER GP AST AVG
------ -- --- ---
John Stockton, UTH 7 104 14.9
Avery Johnson, SAS 6 67 11.2
Kevin Johnson, PHO 4 43 10.8
Rod Strickland, POR 5 42 8.4
Scottie Pippen, CHI 5 34 6.8
Gary Payton, SEA 6 40 6.7
Mark Jackson, IND 5 30 6.0
Mookie Blaylock, ATL 6 35 5.8
Clyde Drexler, HOU 6 32 5.3
Derek Harper, NYK 5 25 5.0
John Starks, NYK 5 24 4.8
Detlef Schrempf, SEA 6 28 4.7
Sam Cassell, HOU 6 27 4.5
Vinny Del Negro, SAS 6 27 4.5
Kenny Smith, HOU 6 25 4.2
Anthony Mason, NYK 5 19 3.8
Nate Mcmillan, SEA 6 22 3.7
Toni Kukoc, CHI 5 18 3.6
Ron Harper, CHI 5 17 3.4
Robert Horry, HOU 6 20 3.3
FIELD GOAL PCT
(MINIMUM OF 24 FIELD GOALS MADE)
PLAYER GP FGM FGA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Horace Grant, ORL 4 29 46 .630
David Robinson, SAS 6 63 113 .558
Shaquille Oneal, ORL 4 44 79 .557
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 27 49 .551
Chuck Person, SAS 6 28 51 .549
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 7 42 77 .545
Rik Smits, IND 5 42 77 .545
Olden Polynice, SAC 4 24 46 .522
Nick Anderson, ORL 4 24 47 .511
Shawn Kemp, SEA 5 30 60 .500
Michael Jordan, CHI 5 60 122 .492
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 6 57 116 .491
Cedric Ceballos, LAL 4 30 62 .484
Penny Hardaway, ORL 4 30 62 .484
Anthony Mason, NYK 5 28 58 .483
FREE THROW PCT
(MINIMUM OF 10 FREE THROWS MADE)
PLAYER GP FTM FTA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Steve Kerr, CHI 5 13 14 .929
John Stockton, UTH 7 34 37 .919
Cedric Ceballos, LAL 4 11 12 .917
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 7 20 22 .909
Allan Houston, DET 3 18 20 .900
Antonio Davis, IND 5 13 15 .867
Terrell Brandon, CLE 3 13 15 .867
Reggie Miller, IND 1 13 15 .867
Grant Hill, DET 3 12 14 .857
Michael Jordan, CHI 5 35 41 .854
Ricky Pierce, IND 5 17 20 .850
Magic Johnson, LAL 4 28 33 .848
Derrick Mckey, IND 5 11 13 .846
Hersey Hawkins, SEA 6 26 31 .839
Chucky Brown, HOU 6 10 12 .833
Tyus Edney, SAC 4 10 12 .833
THREE POINT PCT
(MINIMUM OF 3 THREE POINT FIELD GOALS MADE)
PLAYER GP 3FG 3FA PCT
------ -- --- --- ---
Nate Mcmillan, SEA 6 14 19 .737
Jeff Hornacek, UTH 7 14 22 .636
Bryon Russell, UTH 7 9 15 .600
Dontonio Wingfield, POR 5 6 10 .600
Matt Bullard, ATL 2 3 5 .600
Haywoode Workman, IND 5 3 5 .600
Chuck Person, SAS 6 17 29 .586
Hubert Davis, NYK 5 10 18 .556
Hersey Hawkins, SEA 6 10 18 .556
Arvydas Sabonis, POR 5 5 9 .556
Eddie Jones, LAL 4 10 19 .526
Steve Smith, ATL 6 15 30 .500
John Starks, NYK 5 14 28 .500
Dennis Scott, ORL 4 12 24 .500
Penny Hardaway, ORL 4 8 16 .500
Rod Strickland, POR 5 6 12 .500
Frank Brickowski, SEA 6 4 8 .500
STEALS
(MINIMUM OF 5 GAMES PLAYED OR 10 STEALS)
PLAYER GP STL AVG
------ -- --- ---
Mookie Blaylock, ATL 6 18 3.0
Scottie Pippen, CHI 5 15 3.0
Clyde Drexler, HOU 6 17 2.8
Robert Horry, HOU 6 16 2.7
Sarunas Marciulionis, SAC 4 10 2.5
Gary Payton, SEA 6 14 2.3
Karl Malone, UTH 7 15 2.1
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 6 12 2.0
John Stockton, UTH 7 12 1.7
Stacey Augmon, ATL 6 10 1.7
Derek Harper, NYK 5 8 1.6
Ron Harper, CHI 5 8 1.6
Michael Jordan, CHI 5 8 1.6
Shawn Kemp, SEA 5 8 1.6
Ricky Pierce, IND 5 8 1.6
John Starks, NYK 5 8 1.6
Sean Elliott, SAS 6 9 1.5
Hersey Hawkins, SEA 6 9 1.5
Avery Johnson, SAS 6 9 1.5
David Robinson, SAS 6 9 1.5
Steve Smith, ATL 6 9 1.5
BLOCKED SHOTS
(MINIMUM OF 5 GAMES PLAYED OR 8 BLOCKED SHOTS)
PLAYER GP BLK AVG
------ -- --- ---
David Robinson, SAS 6 18 3.0
Patrick Ewing, NYK 5 15 3.0
Shawn Kemp, SEA 5 15 3.0
Hakeem Olajuwon, HOU 6 14 2.3
Elden Campbell, LAL 4 9 2.3
Greg Ostertag, UTH 7 15 2.1
Robert Horry, HOU 6 10 1.7
Steve Smith, ATL 6 10 1.7
Luc Longley, CHI 5 7 1.4
Scottie Pippen, CHI 5 7 1.4
Charles Smith, SAS 6 8 1.3
Antonio Davis, IND 5 6 1.2
Dale Davis, IND 5 6 1.2
Ervin Johnson, SEA 6 7 1.2
Christian Laettner, ATL 6 7 1.2
Felton Spencer, UTH 7 8 1.1
Antoine Carr, UTH 7 7 1.0
Clifford Robinson, POR 5 5 1.0
Stacey Augmon, ATL 6 5 0.8
Buck Williams, POR 5 4 0.8
nba.856dizel,
-> #841, lexus> => Mnogo je dobar cesto puta,ali kada je najbitnije(najcesce
> protiv => famoznog Cikaga) zakaze...
>
> A mozda i protiv Houstona u finalu ;)
Auuuuu, tada me je najvise iznervirao...
U poslednjoj utakmici je imao sut npr. 15/1...
A u prethodnim mecevima je bio super...
Ali, nadam se da ce sada zaigrati dobro, kao u
one dve prve utakmice, kada je pre par
godina, dok je Dzordan jos igrao za Bullse,
New York poveo sa 2:0, pobedama u svojoj hali...
Tada je Starka bio njabolji na terenu, potpuno zaustavio
Dzordana (potpuno znaci da je Dzordan postigao "samo" 20 poena), :))
ali je sam postizao po 25...
Posle toga vise nije pruzao takve partije i Bullsi su taj duel dobili
sa 4:2.
Ne volim New York mnogo, ali Cikago mnogo mrzim, pa zato zelim
da se dogodi iznenadjenje u ovom duelu!!!(sto je verovatno nemoguce,,,)
Ali,nema veze.
nba.857junior,
-> #846, vpoznanovic> Ne, idu samo pregledi i snimke u standardnom večernjem terminu.
A koji su to standardni termini ? Nikako da uhvatim NBA Action ;(
nba.858vpoznanovic,
KUKOC INJURES BACK, WILL MISS GAMES IN NEW YORK
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc injured his lower
back in practice Friday at the team's practice facility, and the team
doctor said Kukoc will miss the next two games of the Eastern
Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.
The Bulls lead the best-of-7 series 2-0 heading into Games 3 and 4
Saturday and Sunday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Trainer Chip Schaefer said Kukoc suffered a lower lumbar injury while
doing a jump-stop maneuver near the end of the workout. Kukoc was
taken by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, team physician
Dr. James Hefferon said.
"He jammed his back in practice today and he was in a lot of pain, a
lot of back spasms -- so much so it was hard for him to even get up
off the floor," Hefferon said. "He's feeling much better now."
Kukoc missed the team flight to New York and was scheduled to undergo
a magnetic-resonance imaging test later Friday to determine the extent
of the injury.
Hefferon compared the back injury to an ankle sprain in which the
joint is severely twisted.
"The ligaments will get sprained and the muscles will tighten up in
order to protect the back, and that's basically we think what happened
to Toni," Hefferon said.
Game 5, if necessary, is scheduled back at Chicago on Tuesday night.
Kukoc was one key to the Bulls' record-breaking 72-10 regular season.
He averaged 13.1 points while shooting 49 percent from the field and
40 percent on 3-pointers.
Since the playoffs began, he lost the touch on his 3-point shot,
missing 23 of 24 attempts. He is averaging 11.2 points and 4.2
rebounds in five playoff games.
nba.859vpoznanovic,
BULLS' ASSISTANT CLEAMONS FINED FOR VERBAL CONFRONTATION
NEW YORK -- The NBA fined Chicago Bulls' assistant coach Jim Cleamons
$2,500 Friday for his actions during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference
semifinals on Tuesday.
Cleamons was fined for initiating a verbal confrontation with New York
Knicks' center Patrick Ewing during Chicago's 91-80 victory.
Cleamons is in his seventh year with the Bulls and has been highly
touted as a future NBA head coach. He played in the NBA for nine years
and was a teammate of head coach Phil Jackson with the Knicks in
1977-78.
The Bulls lead the best-of-7 series, 2-0, with Game 3 scheduled for
Saturday at New York.
nba.860vpoznanovic,
WAKE FOREST'S DUNCAN CHOOSES SCHOOL OVER NBA DRAFT
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Tim Duncan, a consensus All-American at Wake
Forest last season, announced Friday that he will return to the
Atlantic Coast Conference school for his senior season, bucking the
trend of undergraduates leaving early to enter the NBA Draft.
Duncan resisted the money of the NBA, something Connecticut junior Ray
Allen, Massachusetts junior Marcus Camby, Georgetown sophomore Allen
Iverson and Georgia Tech freshman Stephon Marbury all could not. All
are expected to be drafted in the Top 10, possibly even the first five
selections. Duncan would have drawn consideration as the top overall
pick.
"Being a part of Wake Forest and the basketball program here has meant
a great deal to me the past three years," said Duncan in a prepared
statement. "At this point in my life, I feel the best thing for me is
to remain at Wake Forest for another year. I have a strong desire to
complete my degree, which I can do next spring, and believe that the
additional time spent here will only benefit my development as a
basketball player as well."
The 6-foot-11 center enjoyed a banner year, averaging 19.1 points and
12.3 rebounds in 32 games. Duncan shot 55.5 percent from the field and
blocked 120 shots, raising his three-year total to 379, third in the
conference and eighth in NCAA history.
Duncan was the ACC Player of the Year and was named to the all-ACC
regular season and conference tournament first teams for the second
consecutive season as well as the Defensive Player of the Year. He
closed the season with seven consecutive double-doubles in points and
rebounds as Wake Forest advanced to the Midwest Regional Finals,
losing to eventual champion Kentucky 83-63.
Duncan's scoring has improved each of the last two years. After
scoring just under 10 points per game freshman year, Duncan averaged
16.8 points as a sophomore before netting just over 19 per game last
year.
"The presence that Tim has shown on the basketball floor for three
years has been just as evident the past few weeks as he as gone about
making this decision," said Wake Forest coach Dave Odom. "I am amazed
at his ability to concentrate on academicism, enjoy life as a student
and still move forward with this process. I truly believe this was his
decision alone."
Wake Forest has posted a 73-24 record in Duncan's three seasons,
winning consecutive ACC Tournaments in 1995 and 1996. The Demon
Deacons have a 6-3 record in the NCAA Tournament with Duncan and last
year's regional final appearance was the deepest entry into the NCAA
Tournament for the first time since 1962, when they finished third.
nba.861vpoznanovic,
NO BULL: DAMPIER MIGHT DOG MSU FOR NBA
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State junior center Erick Dampier
threw his name into the NBA draft on Friday but said he won't hire and
agent in order to keep open the possibility of returning to college
next season.
In a statement released by Mississippi State, the 6-foot-11, 265-pound
Dampier said he was submitting his name for the June 26 draft "in
order to begin gathering information about my possible draft
position."
The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is midnight
Sunday.
Dampier, a two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection, is the
second MSU underclassman to declare his draft eligibility since the
Bulldogs appeared in their first-ever NCAA Final Four.
Junior forward Dontae' Jones made himself available after playing just
one season at State. But Jones cannot return to school since he has
already signed with an agent.
Dampier averaged 14.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game
this past season for the Bulldogs, who set a school record with 26
victories.
"Erick is basically in a situation where he can only make a positive
decision at this time because of his expected high draft position,
whether it be opting for the NBA or returning to school," Mississippi
State coach Richard Williams said.
Because he hasn't signed with an agent, Dampier has until 48 hours
before the draft to withdraw his name and keep his college
eligibility.
If a players goes through the draft, he can still return to school,
but his rights are bound to the team that drafted him.
Dampier is 13th on Mississippi State's career scoring list with 1,231
career points and is fourth with 859 career rebounds. He is one of
only four Bulldogs who have scored at least 1,000 points and grabbed
800 rebounds.
During MSU's Final Four season, Dampier set a school record with 106
blocked shots and he also holds the career record with 249.
nba.862vpoznanovic,
Atlanta (94) At Orlando (120)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 27 1-4 0-0 1 2 3 3 2 0 2 2
Long F 21 2-9 0-0 2 2 4 3 0 2 0 5
Laettner C 32 8-12 3-3 1 5 6 0 6 2 2 20
Smith G 37 6-14 5-6 2 2 4 5 3 1 2 18
Blaylock G 42 8-14 3-4 1 2 3 3 1 0 5 25
Ehlo 22 0-3 2-2 0 1 1 3 1 1 3 2
Henderson 27 2-7 4-5 1 2 3 0 2 0 2 8
Rooks 16 2-4 4-4 1 3 4 1 5 2 0 8
Jordan 6 1-2 1-2 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 3
Bullard 8 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 3
Boyce 2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 31-75 22-26 10 21 31 18 22 9 16 94
(.413) (.846) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 16(21 PTS)
Orlando
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Scott F 35 7-12 0-0 2 5 7 1 2 0 0 17
Grant F 32 7-13 0-0 3 8 11 2 2 1 1 14
Oneal C 32 11-15 6-8 4 5 9 5 3 1 5 28
Anderson G 31 6-11 8-8 1 2 3 5 1 6 2 22
Hardaway G 29 5-13 4-4 1 2 3 7 1 2 2 15
Koncak 13 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 0
Shaw 22 3-6 0-0 1 3 4 6 0 0 1 8
Bowie 16 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 1 3 0 0 2
Wolf 16 2-5 0-0 0 2 2 0 4 0 0 4
Royal 8 1-2 3-4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5
Bonner 3 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Thompson 3 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2
Totals 240 45-85 22-26 15 31 46 30 20 10 12 120
(.529) (.846) Team Rebs: 7 Total To: 12(10 PTS)
Atlanta 19 27 20 28 - 94
Orlando 36 31 22 31 - 120
Blocked Shots: Atlanta - Long, Laettner, Smith, Blaylock. Orlando -
Oneal, Bowie, Thompson.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Atlanta 10-27 (.370), Long 1-3, Laettner 1-3, Smith
1-4, Blaylock 6-10, Ehlo 0-2, Bullard 1-3, Boyce 0-2. Orlando 8-17 (.471),
Scott 3-6, Anderson 2-4, Hardaway 1-3, Shaw 2-3, Thompson 0-1.
Technicals: None.
Officials: Hugh Evans, Joe Forte, Don Vaden.
A - 17,248. T - 2:08.
nba.863vpoznanovic,
FE, FI ... HO HUM: MAGIC GIANT HURTS HAWKS AGAIN
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Gigantic center Shaquille O'Neal has dominated the
first two games of Orlando's second-round playoff series against the
Atlanta Hawks -- but don't be tricked into thinking the Magic is a
one-man team.
O'Neal had 28 points and nine rebounds and Nick Anderson had 22 points
and six steals on Friday as Orlando won 120-94 and took a 2-0 lead in
their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Dennis Scott had 17 points and seven rebounds, Horace Grant had 14
points and 11 rebounds and Anfernee Hardaway had 15 points and seven
assists before sitting out with injuries to his hamstrings.
"They shot the ball extremely well in these two games," Atlanta coach
Lenny Wilkens said. "You know that Shaquille and Penny (Hardaway) are
going to play well, but the two guys I feel are really key and have
made a huge difference are Horace Grant and Nick Anderson. Those two
guys have been incredible. It's like they don't miss a shot."
Orlando shot 53 percent (43 for 83) from the field. O'Neal was 11 for
15 from the floor and the frontcourt of Grant, Scott and O'Neal missed
just 15 of 40 shots. Anderson was six for 11 from the floor.
The 7-foot-1, 305-pound O'Neal, who set a franchise playoff record in
Game 1 with 41 points, continued to pound the smaller frontline of the
Hawks, scoring 25 in the first half for the second game in a row.
"We just played good team basketball," O'Neal said. "When guys get
doubled, they pass it out to the open guys who make plays."
Scott scored five points in the series-opener and was the only Orlando
starter who failed to reach double figures in that game. In Game 2, he
scored eight of his 17 points during a 21-7 run that gave the Magic a
36-19 lead after one quarter.
"Everybody's just stepping up and making big contributions right now,
and that's what you want this time of year," Orlando coach Brian Hill
said. "We even got it from our bench tonight -- 24 points and 13
rebounds. It was a real good win for us."
Hardaway sat out the entire fourth quarter after straining his right
hamstring. He already was playing with a tender left hamstring.
"His right hamstring just tightened up," Orlando trainer Lenny Currier
said. "He went along and he just wasn't able to get loose. He really
started to favor it in the third period. When the period ended, he
really didn't need to go any further, so we brought him out of the
ball game at that point."
Mookie Blaylock scored 26 points and Christian Laettner added 20
points for Atlanta, which has never rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win
a playoff series.
"They played two great games," Blaylock said. "It's hard to go in
there and stop Shaq. You go double, and they hit the threes.
"They're not as great on the road as they are at home. We beat them at
home before, so we know what to do."
Game 3 is Sunday at Atlanta, where the Hawks beat Orlando twice during
the regular season.
Grant Long pulled Atlanta within 15-12 with 6:23 left in the first
quarter before the Magic broke the game open. Grant started the burst
with a 19-footer, Scott had a layup and Hardaway added a layup to make
it 21-12 with 4:39 remaining.
Long answered with a 3-pointer, but Grant hit an 18-foot jumper and
Scott connected on a 3-pointer to make it 26-15 with 2:52 remaining.
Laettner hit a jumper before Hardaway responded with two jumpers
around a 3-pointer by Scott to push the lead to 33-17.
Laettner hit a layup before Hardaway canned a three-pointer at the
buzzer to give Orlando a 36-19 lead after 12 minutes.
Atlanta got no closer than 17 points and the Magic opened up its
largest lead of the game at 57-28 after Anderson threw down the second
of his consecutive dunks.
nba.864vpoznanovic,
Seattle (115) At Houston (112)
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
D Schrempf F 38 10-15 7-8 0 5 5 5 4 3 2 28
Kemp F 41 6-19 9-10 8 10 18 3 3 2 6 21
Johnson C 12 0-3 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Hawkins G 28 5-8 0-0 0 4 4 3 2 1 1 10
Payton G 44 12-19 2-4 1 0 1 8 1 0 4 28
Mcmillan 23 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 0
Perkins 33 5-8 5-6 0 4 4 2 3 2 0 17
Askew 18 3-5 4-6 1 2 3 3 5 1 0 11
Brickowski 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 0
S Scheffler Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Snow Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Wingate Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 41-78 27-34 12 26 38 28 22 10 14 115
(.526) (.794) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 14(13 PTS)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Horry F 34 3-8 0-0 1 4 5 0 5 2 3 7
Brown F 27 5-8 1-2 1 4 5 1 2 0 2 11
Olajuwon C 46 7-12 10-11 2 11 13 9 3 2 7 24
Drexler G 37 10-21 5-6 1 2 3 2 5 2 0 28
Smith G 48 8-15 6-6 2 2 4 11 5 2 2 27
Bryant 15 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 1 1 0 0 0
Elie 23 4-10 3-3 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 13
Cassell 10 0-4 2-2 0 1 1 1 1 0 2 2
Chilcutt Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Jones Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Mack Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Recasner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 37-79 27-30 8 26 34 25 27 8 16 112
(.468) (.900) Team Rebs: 7 Total To: 17(21 PTS)
Seattle 28 34 28 25 - 115
Houston 37 29 18 28 - 112
Blocked Shots: Seattle - D Schrempf, Kemp, Johnson, Askew. Houston -
Olajuwon 3, Horry 2, Elie.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Seattle 6-13 (.462), D Schrempf 1-2, Hawkins 0-2,
Payton 2-4, Perkins 2-3, Askew 1-2. Houston 11-27 (.407), Horry 1-4,
Drexler 3-8, Smith 5-10, Elie 2-4, Cassell 0-1.
Technicals: Seattle - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Steve Javie, Ed F Rush.
A - 16,285. T - 2:27.
nba.865vpoznanovic,
Seattle 115, Houston 112
HOUSTON -- Gary Payton and Detlef Schrempf scored 28 points apiece as
the Seattle SuperSonics rallied from a 16-point first-quarter deficit
and posted a 115-112 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday,
pushing the two-time defending NBA champions to the brink of playoff
elimination.
The Sonics can close out the best-of-7 second-round series in Game 4
on Sunday in Houston.
"Three wins feels good, but it's not over and it doesn't feel that
good," Payton said. "It'll feel a lot better when we get number four."
Shawn Kemp had 21 points and 18 rebounds for Seattle, which has won 12
consecutive games against Houston since a loss on March 10, 1994.
The Sonics fell behind 11-2 at the start of Friday's game and 26-10
after Houston guard Clyde Drexler made a basket with 4:31 remaining in
the opening quarter.
"We knew the storm was coming early. We called timeout and told
ourselves to calm down," Kemp said. "We knew down two games, they'd
come out shooting for the stars."
Seattle, which failed to advance to the second round the past two
seasons, is one victory away from advancing to the conference finals
for the first time since 1993, when the Sonics lost to Phoenix in
seven games.
Drexler scored 28 points and Kenny Smith added 22 of his 27 in the
first half for Houston, which has won its past eight playoff games
when facing elimination. The Rockets, the only team to rally from a
3-1 deficit in playoff history, will now try to become the first team
to rally from a 3-0 deficit.
"It's a position that I don't like and I don't feel comfortable with,
but we're going to try and give it our all on Sunday and that's all we
can do," Houston swingman Mario Elie said.
"We're just going to have to go out and do it," Drexler said. "No one
else has done it before."
Houston took its final lead of the game on a layup by Robert Horry for
a 95-93 advantage with 9:32 to play. The Sonics then went on an 8-2
burst. Sam Perkins hit a hook shot and Vincent Askew made two free
throws to give Seattle a 97-95 edge.
Smith tied the score with two free throws of his own before Hersey
Hawkins had a runner and Kemp added a steal and dunk to give the
Sonics a 101-97 lead with 4:28 to go.
Mario Elie and Horry hit 3-pointers around a basket and free throw by
Perkins, cutting the deficit to 104-103 with 2:44 left.
Kemp and Perkins each hit two free throws around a hook shot by
Schrempf, pushing Seattle's lead to 110-103 with 1:23 remaining.
Houston countered with a 9-3 burst, capped by a 26-footer by Elie to
pull the Rockets within 113-112 with 13.9 seconds to play.
Payton hit two free throws to make it 115-112 with 10.2 seconds to go.
Houston inbounded the ball to Elie, who dribbled up the right side of
the court and launched a hurried 3-pointer from nearly the identical
spot of his made one, but it bounced off the rim.
Payton also had eight assists for Seattle. He is averaging 22.4 points
and 6.9 assists in seven games in the playoffs. Perkins added 17
points off the bench for the Sonics, who shot 53 percent (41 for 78)
from the field.
"This is a special team," Payton said. "We stay poised. We stick
together. Right now, we're just playing ball. We found an answer to
everything they've thrown at us and we've executed on those answers."
Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon was one assist shy of a triple-double,
finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists. Elie added 13
points off the bench for Houston, which shot 47 percent (37 for 79)
from the floor and 11 for 27 from 3-point range. Smith also dished out
11 assists.
"I thought it wasn't a very good basketball game, but there was some
great individual performances," Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.
"I thought we played hard, but we're playing against a very good
basketball team. We had some costly turnovers in the fourth quarter.
They just seem to come in spurts and that really hurts you, especially
in a close game."
Houston had taken an 82-81 lead with 4:10 to go in the third quarter
on a basket by Elie, but the Sonics closed the quarter with a 9-2 run,
capped by dunks by Payton and Schrempf.
The Rockets countered with a 11-3 run, capped by Horry's basket with
9:32 to play.
Seattle outscored the Rockets 58-36 in the paint and 16-4 in
transition.
"I thought we had them and even in the fourth quarter when we were up
by one," said Smith, who was eight for 15 from the field. "They just
made the big offensive plays. They've been making them all series. I'm
just waiting for it to not work and it can change the whole series.
One game can propel you two more a lot of times."
nba.866dizel,
-> #841, lexus> => Mnogo je dobar cesto puta,ali kada je najbitnije(najcesce
> protiv => famoznog Cikaga) zakaze...
>
> A mozda i protiv Houstona u finalu ;)
Auuuuu, tada me je najvise iznervirao...
U poslednjoj utakmici je imao sut npr. 15/1...
A u prethodnim mecevima je bio super...
Ali, nadam se da ce sada zaigrati dobro, kao u
one dve prve utakmice, kada je pre par
godina, dok je Dzordan jos igrao za Bullse,
New York poveo sa 2:0, pobedama u svojoj hali...
Tada je Starka bio njabolji na terenu, potpuno zaustavio
Dzordana (potpuno znaci da je Dzordan postigao "samo" 20 poena), :))
ali je sam postizao po 25...
Posle toga vise nije pruzao takve partije i Bullsi su taj duel dobili
sa 4:2.
Ne volim New York mnogo, ali Cikago mnogo mrzim, pa zato zelim
da se dogodi iznenadjenje u ovom duelu!!!(sto je verovatno nemoguce,,,)
Ali,nema veze.
nba.867kant,
-> #843, vpoznanovic> Hvala, hvala, i tebi i ostalima koji su podržali tu ideju :),
> ali ipak nije mi to bila namjera. Pokušao sam baš da istaknem
> da se ne postavlja pitanje da li ću produžiti pretplatu, već
> kada ću to uraditi - odmah ili u julu.
Naravno da ti to nije bila namera...Jednostavno smatram da to
što radiš ima veliki značaj za conf. i za SEZAM kao sistem i da
su zvaničnici sa SEZAM-a davno trebali da reaguju i na neki
način pokažu da cene tvoj trud. Možda bi to nekoga motivisalo da
radi nešto slično u nekoj drugoj conf. U svakom slučaju, "ako te
se sete na Dan bezbednosti, sete se", ako ne, još jednom hvala u
ime par ljudi kojima zaista mnogo znače tvoji prilozi.
> Zaista ne bih volio da junski ispitni rok dovedem u pitanje
> kao što sam zamalo aprilski.
Srećno na ispitima.
nba.868dizel,
-> #867, kant> Naravno da ti to nije bila namera...Jednostavno smatram da to
> sto radis ima veliki znacaj za conf. i za SEZAM kao sistem i da
> su zvanicnici sa SEZAM-a davno trebali da reaguju i na neki
> nacin pokazu da cene tvoj trud. Mozda bi to nekoga motivisalo
> da radi nesto slicno u nekoj drugoj conf. U svakom slucaju,
> "ako te se sete na Dan bezbednosti, sete se", ako ne, jos
> jednom hvala u ime par ljudi kojima zaista mnogo znace tvoji
> prilozi.
>
Predlazem da svi ucesnici konferencije sport koje interesuju
vesti koje salje vpoznanovic nacine nekakvu inicijativu,
u stilu peticije illi nekog protesta, u cilju omogucavanja
besplatnog pristupa vpoznanovica ovom sistemu...
Ko je za?
nba.869vpoznanovic,
ORLANDO'S HARDAWAY UNCERTAIN FOR SUNDAY'S GAME
ORLANDO, Fla.-- Orlando Magic point guard Anfernee Hardaway is
uncertain for Sunday's playoff game at Atlanta due to sore hamstrings.
Hardaway left in the third quarter of Friday's 120-94 rout of the
Atlanta Hawks and did not return. He finished with 15 points and seven
assists in 29 minutes.
"His right hamstring just tightened up," said Orlando trainer Lenny
Currier after Friday's game. "He went along and he just wasn't able to
get loose. He really started to favor it in the third period, so when
the period ended, he really didn't need to go any further, so we
brought him out of the game at that point."
Hardaway did not participate in a light workout Saturday morning and
will continue to receive treatment for the hamstrings Saturday and
Sunday.
"Penny has played with a sore left hamstring since the Detroit series
and overcompensated with the right one," said Magic coach Brian Hill.
"Actually, the right hamstring is better today but the left one is
still giving him pain. Hopefully, the next 24 hours will make it
better."
The Magic lead the Hawks, two games to none, with Game 3 Sunday
afternoon and Game 4 Monday night at Atlanta.
Hardaway played all 82 games this season and averaged 21.7 points, 7.1
assists and 4.3 rebounds. He has averaged 20.8 points, 7.0 assists and
4.8 rebounds in five playoff games, all wins for Orlando.
nba.870vpoznanovic,
Chicago (99) At New York (102) - Final In Ot
Chicago
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Rodman F 52 2-4 3-3 2 14 16 3 4 3 3 7
Pippen F 49 10-29 0-0 4 4 8 6 4 3 4 24
Longley C 26 3-7 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 6
Jordan G 51 17-35 10-13 3 1 4 2 2 2 4 46
Harper G 36 1-8 1-2 1 2 3 1 5 2 0 4
Wennington 15 2-4 0-0 2 1 3 0 3 0 1 4
Kerr 24 3-5 0-0 0 0 0 3 1 2 1 6
Buechler 7 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 2
Salley 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Edwards 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brown Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Kukoc Dnp - Sore Lower Back
Totals 265 38-92 16-20 12 24 36 16 28 12 13 99
(.413) (.800) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 14(22 PTS)
New York
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Oakley F 44 4-8 5-6 4 9 13 2 4 2 7 13
Mason F 49 7-10 4-6 3 7 10 2 2 1 3 18
Ewing C 45 8-15 6-8 2 11 13 3 2 0 1 22
Starks G 43 11-18 3-5 0 4 4 6 5 3 3 30
Harper G 39 1-11 1-1 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 3
Ward 20 5-6 2-4 1 2 3 2 1 1 1 12
Davis 7 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Anderson 18 1-6 2-3 0 1 1 0 2 1 3 4
Grandison Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grant Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Reid Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Williams Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 265 37-75 23-33 10 36 46 17 19 9 20 102
(.493) (.697) Team Rebs: 16 Total To: 21(23 PTS)
Chicago 17 21 20 30 11 - 99
New York 25 18 19 26 14 - 102
Blocked Shots: Chicago - Rodman, Harper. New York - Ewing 3.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Chicago 7-21 (.333), Pippen 4-11, Jordan 2-5, Harper
1-4, Kerr 0-1. New York 5-17 (.294), Oakley 0-1, Starks 5-8, Harper 0-5,
Ward 0-1, Anderson 0-2.
Technicals: Chicago - Rodman, New York - Oakley.
Officials: Ed T Rush, Hue Hollins, Joe Derosa.
A - 19,763. T - 3:02.
nba.871vpoznanovic,
KNICKS THROW UP ROADBLOCK IN BULLS' PATH
NEW YORK -- The collapse of the New York Knicks was all too imminent
and even expected. After all, these are the Chicago Bulls. A late
fourth-quarter rush. Some turnovers from the Knicks. Some magic from
that Michael Jordan fellow.
All that did happen. Except the Knicks won.
Patrick Ewing scored five of his 22 points in overtime as the Knicks
survived another fourth-quarter collapse and 46 points by Michael
Jordan for a 102-99 victory over Chicago, the Bulls' first loss in
this year's playoffs.
The Knicks blew an eight-point lead in the final 90 seconds as Jordan
rallied the Bulls from an 88-80 deficit by scoring the final eight
points of regulation. Chicago still leads the best-of-seven series
2-1, with Game 4 at New York on Sunday.
"The only people that feel we're pushovers were the media," Ewing
said. "I know we're capable of beating this team. We let two games get
away from us in Chicago, came back and won this one and we have
another one tomorrow. We're focused on that and we'll come out hard."
Ewing, who has been blamed for the team's poor play in the late stages
of games, answered his critics with a free throw and a pair of big
baskets in the final 2Ż minutes of overtime. He made a tough runner in
the lane and a jumper to give the Knicks a 98-97 lead with 37 seconds
to go.
Charles Oakley then stripped the ball from Jordan and John Starks
recovered. Jordan fouled Starks, who made two foul shots with 27
seconds left. Scottie Pippen dunked and Oakley made two free throws
before Pippen missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
"I never figured we were invincible. If there was an aura around us
because of the 72 games we won in the regular season, I don't think
(the players) felt that way," Jordan said.
Starks, who made just two shots in the first two games, scored 30
points but rushed a baseline jumper and missed in the waning moments
of regulation, drawing a glare from Ewing, who was open.
"I thought John Starks had a tremendous game for us," Ewing said. "He
got out of his slump he had in the first two games and came up big."
It was Starks, Ewing and unheralded Charlie Ward who helped the Knicks
build their 13-point lead. Ward made a pair of drives around Ewing's
jumper to give New York a 73-67 lead and added another after two
baskets by Jordan to rebuild the lead to 10 points.
The Bulls played without forward Toni Kukoc, who will also miss
Sunday's game with a back injury. Kukoc was Chicago's third-leading
scorer during the regular season and playoffs, but is just one for 24
from 3-point range in the postseason.
Pippen scored 24 points but shot just 10 of 29 from the field. His
cold shooting left the Bulls standing around and watching Jordan
again, just as they did in Game 1, when Jordan bailed them out with 44
points. He is averaging nearly 40 points per game in the series.
The Knicks led 82-69 with 5Ż minutes remaining in the fourth quarter
and still held an 88-80 advantage after Ewing's jumper with 1:30 to go
before coming apart, just as they did in the final period of the first
two games in Chicago.
Jordan sank a 3-pointer and Pippen made a steal to set up another
jumper by Jordan that cut the deficit to 88-85 with 45 seconds to go.
Oakley traveled to set up Jordan's game-tying 3-pointer with 19
seconds left.
"We spent a lot of energy," said Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who made a
statement then declined to answer questions after the game. "It's
going to be real interesting tomorrow to see which team can step up,
resuscitate, and come back with a kind of game plan."
Jordan was held to two points for the first 16 minutes of the second
half but scored 16 points in the final eight minutes of the fourth
quarter. Pippen and Starks traded 3-pointers in overtime before Jordan
made a jumper, two free throws and a follow shot to give the Bulls a
97-94 lead with 2:03 to go.
Anthony Mason scored 18 points and Oakley had 13 points and 13
rebounds for the Knicks, who shot 49 percent (37 of 76) from the field
and held a 46-36 rebounding advantage. Ward scored 12 points, Ewing
had 13 rebounds and Mason 10.
Dennis Rodman played all but 10 seconds and had seven points and 16
rebounds for the Bulls, who shot just 41 percent (38 of 92). Pippen
missed 14 of his first 18 shots.
The Knicks cooled off Jordan in the third quarter, holding him to two
points. But they got careless and relinquished the lead for the first
time. A 3-pointer by Ron Harper pulled the Bulls within one point, and
Pippen stole a bad inbounds pass and made a 3-pointer, giving Chicago
a 51-49 lead with 6:03 to go in the period.
New York bounced back with eight straight points. Mason made a free
throw and Starks sank a 3-pointer to give the Knicks the lead for good
at 53-51 with 4:57 to go. Ewing's turnaround jumper and Oakley's
tip-in extended the advantage to 57-51.
The Bulls closed to 60-58 and had a chance to tie the score or regain
the lead, but Steve Kerr missed a layup and lost his dribble out of
bounds after making a pair of backcourt steals. Mason's drive gave the
Knicks a 62-58 lead entering the final period.
Starks, who scored just 16 points in the first two games, came out
animated and aggressive. He had 13 points in the first half as the
Knicks gained control early and held a 43-38 lead.
Jordan kept the Bulls in it with 22 points. He shot seven for 14 from
the field but his teammates were just seven of 22, including an awful
three-for-13 showing by Pippen.
Mason scored six points and Starks five in a 13-0 run midway through
the first quarter as the Bulls missed seven straight shots. A steal
and reverse dunk by Starks capped the burst and gave the Knicks a 19-6
lead.
With Kukoc in Chicago and Pippen off target, Jordan again was the
focal point of the offense, scoring 11 points in the first quarter,
which ended with New York holding a 25-17 lead.
nba.872vpoznanovic,
San Antonio (75) At Utah (105)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 31 5-11 6-6 1 4 5 0 3 0 2 17
Smith F 10 1-2 0-0 0 4 4 0 4 0 3 2
Robinson C 35 4-10 3-9 4 5 9 1 1 0 1 11
Del Negro G 41 6-12 1-1 0 2 2 0 2 2 1 15
Johnson G 35 2-9 3-4 0 2 2 10 2 1 2 7
W Perdue 14 3-4 2-2 4 2 6 0 1 0 1 8
C Person 21 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 1 4 0 2 5
Alexander 18 3-6 2-2 0 0 0 2 3 1 2 8
Anderson 11 0-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 0 2 0
Williams 15 1-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 0 2 2
Herrera 9 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0
Rivers Dnp - Did Not Travel
Totals 240 27-67 17-24 12 22 34 14 23 6 18 75
(.403) (.708) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 19(13 PTS)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Morris F 27 5-8 0-0 1 4 5 2 2 3 1 12
Malone F 33 14-24 4-7 5 6 11 6 2 1 0 32
Spencer C 15 2-5 0-0 1 1 2 0 4 2 0 4
Hornacek G 31 6-11 3-3 1 1 2 5 0 0 1 17
Stockton G 29 2-6 1-1 1 1 2 7 3 1 2 6
Eisley 24 6-6 2-2 1 1 2 4 0 0 1 14
Ostertag 12 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 2
Russell 28 4-8 0-0 2 2 4 1 2 0 3 10
Keefe 15 1-3 1-1 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 3
Carr 11 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 0
Benoit 12 2-4 0-0 0 2 2 1 1 0 1 5
Foster 3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 0 1 0
Totals 240 43-81 11-14 15 25 40 29 19 8 12 105
(.531) (.786) Team Rebs: 4 Total To: 13(14 PTS)
San Antonio 20 22 16 17 - 75
Utah 32 19 32 22 - 105
Blocked Shots: San Antonio - Robinson 3, Del Negro. Utah - Morris,
Malone, Spencer, Stockton, Carr.
3-Pt. Field Goals: San Antonio 4-10 (.400), Elliott 1-4, Del Negro 2-2, C
Person 1-2, Alexander 0-2. Utah 8-12 (.667), Morris 2-3, Malone 0-1,
Hornacek 2-2, Stockton 1-2, Russell 2-2, Benoit 1-2.
Technicals: San Antonio - Head Coach Hill, C Person 2 (Ejected), Utah -
Illegal Defense, Carr.
Officials: Jess Kersey, Bennett Salvatore, Terry Durham.
A - 19,911. T - 2:16.
nba.873vpoznanovic,
ALL THAT JAZZ IS MORE THAN SPURS CAN HANDLE
SALT LAKE CITY -- Game 3 was definitely All that Jazz. And a lot of
the Mailman. And even more of that defense. And very little of David
Robinson.
Karl Malone scored 32 points and shut down Robinson as the Utah Jazz
smothered the San Antonio Spurs 105-75 on Saturday to take a 2-1 lead
in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Jeff Hornacek scored 10 of his 17 points during a pair of decisive
third-quarter bursts for the Jazz, who limited the Spurs to 75 points
for the second game in the series. Game 4 is Sunday night at Salt Lake
City.
Robinson, guarded by the shorter Malone for much of the game, managed
just 11 points. He shot just four of 10 from the field and three of
nine from the foul line and netted just three points in the second
half, when the Spurs were held to just 33 points.
"This is crazy," Robinson said. "It was a time when we had a good
opportunity in here and today wasn't an example of good basketball.
They're looking good and we haven't scored. We have to figure a way to
put the ball in the basket a lot better than we have been."
San Antonio has been held to its second-lowest playoff total in its
two losses in Games 1 and 3. Utah was limited to a team playoff
record-low 77 points in losing Game 2.
"They were very physical with us," Spurs coach Bob Hill said. "They
put us on our heels and basically the game was over. We were very
apologetic, we didn't fight back, we didn't get dirty.
"They told us what they were going to do in the paper. They called our
bluff. They put it in the paper and then they did it and we didn't
respond."
Malone scored 21 points in the first half and held Robinson to eight
as the Jazz opened a 51-42 lead. Malone and Hornacek scored four
points apiece in a 10-2 run that opened the third quarter and gave the
Jazz a 61-44 lead with 7:17 left in the period.
Hornacek had a free throw, 20-footer and 3-pointer during an 11-4
burst that closed the quarter and gave the Jazz an 83-58 bulge. Utah
shot 72 percent (13 of 18) from the field in the period and held San
Antonio to 29-percent shooting (five of 17).
"Going to the basket strong sets the tone for us. I see what the
defense gives me and play off that," said Malone.
The Jazz never trailed by less than 22 points thereafter and opened
its largest lead at 103-70 on a short jumper by Howard Eisley with
3:45 to go.
Eisley scored 14 points off the bench and Chris Morris 12 for Utah,
which shot 53 percent (43 of 81) to 40 percent for San Antonio.
Sean Elliott scored 17 points and Vinny Del Negro 15 for the Spurs,
who committed 19 turnovers. Forward Chuck Person was ejected for
arguing with a referee late in the third quarter.
Malone scored 16 points in the first quarter, including eight in a
14-3 run the Jazz used to take control for good. Utah held a 32-20
lead after one period.
"When Karl is going, the rest of the team feeds off him -- and we all
really get going. He was in the groove today," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan
said.
nba.874vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago leads New York 2-1
Sunday May 5 Chicago 91, New York 84
Tuesday May 7 Chicago 91, New York 80
Saturday May 11 New York 102, Chicago 99 (OT)
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 NBC
Orlando leads Atlanta 2-0
Wednesday May 8 Orlando 117, Atlanta 105
Friday May 10 Orlando 120, Atlanta 94
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 3-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 Seattle 105, Houston 101
Friday May 10 Seattle 115, Houston 112
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
Utah leads San Antonio 2-1
Tuesday May 7 Utah 95, San Antonio 75
Thursday May 9 San Antonio 88, Utah 77
Saturday May 11 Utah 105, San Antonio 75
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
nba.875dizel,
-> #870, vpoznanovic> Chicago (99) At New York (102) - Final In Ot
Najzad! :)
Cikago je izgubio!
> 3-pt field goals: Starks 5-8
Starks je proradio!
Samo da tako nastavi i Jordan i ekipa ce imati mnogo tezi posao!
NEW YORK!
nba.876dizel,
-> #872, vpoznanovic> San Antonio (75) At Utah (105)
>
Sta se desava sa San Antoniom.Ovo je drugi poraz od Jute, i to opet
sa velikom razlikom (prvi put sa 20, a ovog puta sa cak 30 razlike).
Del Negro cele sezone nije promasivao, a sad sutira u stili 11-2...
Robinson cas igra dobro, cas nema pojma...
U najmanju ruku, cudno.
nba.877lexus,
-> #876, dizel=> Sta se desava sa San Antoniom.Ovo je drugi poraz od Jute, i to opet
=> sa velikom razlikom (prvi put sa 20, a ovog puta sa cak 30
=> razlike). Del Negro cele sezone nije promasivao, a sad sutira u
=> stili 11-2... Robinson cas igra dobro, cas nema pojma...
Dešava se da su naleteli na Jazzere ;)
Utah igra odličnu odbranu protiv San Antonia i zasad uspeva :)))
Mailman je zaustavio Robinsona na ovoj utakmici.
A što se tvoje konstatacije da Admiral čas igra dobro, čas nema
pojma tiče, u pravu si. I to nije samo ove sezone, nego stalno.
Čoveku se dešava da se potpuno izgubi na terenu, ne prati akcije,
zamišljen je... Što reče Vlada Olić: "Robinson svira saksofon u mislima,
umesto da prati dešavanja na terenu." :)))))
nba.878vitez.koja,
Sietl - Hjuston 4 : 0
Hjuston stigao -20 u poslednjoj četvrtini (bilo je oko 9 min. do
kraja) serijom trojki i presingom po celom terenu uspeo izboriti
produžetak...
Hjuston bio na -4, Olajdžuvon promašuje 2 bacanja na 4 min. pre
kraja, Sietl opet ide na +9, minut i po do kraja. Opet presing
Hjustona i Hori (2 puta) i Kasel (4 sec pre kraja) postižu trojke,
Dreksler daje 2 bacanja, a sa druge strane samo Pejton pravi ulaz (15
sec pre kraja) i to je produžetak.
U produžetku, Hjuston dobro počeo, Sietl bez poena 3 minuta, onda
čini se ključni momenat - 6. lična Horiju (pred kraj je i Šrempf
izašao) i serija 7:0 Sietla i to bi bio kraj. Olajdžuvon bez poena u
produžetku, ali istini za volju, i bez lopti...
Tako je ispao još jedan tim za koji sam navijao...
sk
nba.879vitez.koja,
-> #875, dizel#=>> 3-pt field goals: Starks 5-8
#=> Starks je proradio!
#=> Harper G 39 1-11 1-1
E još da je ovaj proradio... Ajmo Nju Jork, Nju Jork...
Neće valjda da ispadnu svi timovi za koje ja navijam :)...
sk
nba.880vpoznanovic,
Orlando (103) At Atlanta (96)
Orlando
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Scott F 40 5-8 1-1 0 6 6 2 3 0 1 15
Grant F 42 6-9 8-8 1 6 7 4 2 1 0 20
Oneal C 37 10-16 4-13 6 6 12 4 5 0 3 24
Anderson G 40 7-16 2-4 3 3 6 1 4 0 3 18
Hardaway G 39 9-19 2-4 2 0 2 6 1 2 2 21
Koncak 10 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 5 0 0 0
Shaw 22 2-7 0-0 1 1 2 3 3 2 2 5
Bowie 5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Wolf 5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Bonner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Royal Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Thompson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 39-76 17-30 14 25 39 20 25 5 11 103
(.513) (.567) Team Rebs: 15 Total To: 11(13 PTS)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 30 4-7 4-5 0 2 2 1 4 0 1 12
Long F 42 2-7 9-10 2 11 13 6 0 1 1 13
Laettner C 35 11-20 4-7 1 3 4 3 4 0 1 26
Smith G 44 5-11 5-6 1 2 3 5 3 0 3 16
Blaylock G 44 8-17 0-0 0 3 3 8 0 3 0 20
Ehlo 17 0-3 1-2 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 1
Rooks 13 3-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 5 0 1 6
Henderson 6 1-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
Jordan 4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
Bullard 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Boyce Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 34-70 23-30 6 25 31 24 20 5 9 96
(.486) (.767) Team Rebs: 8 Total To: 9(5 PTS)
Orlando 31 23 28 21 - 103
Atlanta 30 21 31 14 - 96
Blocked Shots: Orlando - Oneal 2, Anderson. Atlanta - Blaylock 2,
Henderson.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Orlando 8-18 (.444), Scott 4-6, Anderson 2-8, Hardaway
1-2, Shaw 1-2. Atlanta 5-17 (.294), Long 0-3, Smith 1-4, Blaylock 4-9,
Ehlo 0-1.
Technicals: Orlando - Illegal Defense 3, Atlanta - Illegal Defense.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Steve Javie, Jack Nies.
A - 15,476. T - 2:22.
nba.881vpoznanovic,
PENNY PLAYS, HAWKS PAY THE PRICE
ATLANTA -- Penny's hamstrings were sore and Shaq's free throws were
sore, but it was the Atlanta Hawks who were left in pain on Sunday.
Anfernee Hardaway, playing despite two tight hamstrings, scored 21
points and Shaquille O'Neal overcame foul trouble to score 24 points
as the Orlando Magic stopped the Hawks 103-96, holding Atlanta
scoreless over the game's final 2:47.
The Magic went up 3-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinal series and
remained the lone unbeaten team in the playoffs at 6-0 and can
complete the sweep with a win in Atlanta on Monday.
"I don't care what the critics say," O'Neal said. "We just have to
focus on one thing -- we want jewelry."
"I felt great," Hardaway said. "There wasn't any pain today. It felt
tight once when I went down, but that was it."
Orlando took the lead for good with 7 1/2 minutes left and turned away
a late rally by the Hawks, who played their first competitive game of
the series but still came up short.
"Now, with the experience from last year's playoffs, we really know
how to win," Hardaway said. "The first few games against them, we
jumped on them early. Today, we really had to play defense."
Christian Laettner battled foul trouble to score 26 points for
Atlanta, which scored just 14 points in the final period.
"We played a little better," Laettner said. "We did a little more on
our home court. Obviously, we didn't do well enough. We were able to
get a little closer but they were just a little too much for us. Some
of us have to have career days tomorrow."
Orlando again got very little help from its bench, which scored five
points, all by Brian Shaw in the final period. In Game 1, Magic
reserves totaled one point. In Game 2 -- a rout with plenty of garbage
time -- the subs managed 24.
Two free throws in separate trips by O'Neal -- who was four of 13 from
the line -- gave the Magic an 89-88 lead. O'Neal departed with his
fifth foul but jumpers by Shaw and Nick Anderson built the lead to
five points with 5:20 to go.
"They really made some big shots down the stretch," Hawks coach Lenny
Wilkens said. "I think Hardaway stepped up and hit some big shots.
Nick Anderson had a couple of big shots."
O'Neal returned and powered a slam over Laettner -- also playing with
five fouls -- for a 97-91 lead. Steve Smith hit a technical foul shot
and Laettner made an 18-footer and two free throws to bring Atlanta
within 97-96 with 2:47 remaining.
O'Neal passed out of a double-team to Dennis Scott, who sank a
3-pointer to give Orlando a 100-96 lead. Laettner missed a jumper and
Hardaway followed his own miss to make it 102-96 with 1:46 to play.
"I told him (Scott), 'You're going to come off your man and I'm going
to give it to you,'" O'Neal said.
Horace Grant scored 20 points and O'Neal grabbed 12 rebounds for the
Magic. Anderson scored 18 points and Scott added 12 of his 15 on
3-pointers.
"No matter what they threw at us, we kept our composure," O'Neal said.
"We just played good team ball. Penny was hurt a little bit, I was in
foul trouble. The guys stepped up, especially Nick and Dennis."
Mookie Blaylock scored 20 points and Smith 16 for Atlanta, which
hasn't advanced to the conference finals since 1970. Long had 13
rebounds.
"I thought that we had a great effort," Wilkens said. "I thought that
our guys played real hard out there and tried to make things happen.
Orlando came up with the big plays, though."
nba.882vpoznanovic,
Seattle (114) At Houston (107) - Final In Ot
Seattle
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
D Schrempf F 31 7-12 3-4 1 5 6 2 6 1 4 18
Kemp F 44 13-19 6-7 4 11 15 0 5 0 4 32
Johnson C 13 0-3 0-0 2 5 7 1 3 0 1 0
Hawkins G 33 6-13 4-4 0 3 3 5 2 1 2 17
Payton G 49 9-19 5-10 1 3 4 11 2 3 1 24
Mcmillan 31 1-6 3-4 1 4 5 5 2 4 0 6
Perkins 40 5-9 3-6 3 5 8 0 4 2 3 14
Askew 19 1-6 1-4 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 3
Brickowski 5 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 0 0 0
S Scheffler Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Snow Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Wingate Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 265 42-87 25-39 12 38 50 26 30 12 15 114
(.483) (.641) Team Rebs: 14 Total To: 15(20 PTS)
Houston
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Horry F 45 7-17 1-4 4 8 12 4 6 3 3 20
Brown F 13 0-2 4-4 3 1 4 0 2 1 0 4
Olajuwon C 50 11-19 4-8 3 3 6 3 5 1 4 26
Drexler G 36 4-14 7-8 4 11 15 6 4 2 5 15
Smith G 19 0-4 2-2 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 2
Bryant 26 3-4 4-5 1 4 5 0 4 0 1 10
Elie 37 5-14 4-4 2 3 5 2 4 2 1 15
Cassell 35 5-16 1-1 0 0 0 6 4 0 3 15
Mack 4 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Chilcutt Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Jones Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Recasner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 265 35-92 27-36 17 32 49 23 31 10 18 107
(.380) (.750) Team Rebs: 12 Total To: 18(24 PTS)
Seattle 26 31 26 18 13 - 114
Houston 18 25 23 35 6 - 107
Blocked Shots: Seattle - Kemp 3, Johnson 2, Mcmillan 2, Perkins 2, Askew,
Brickowski. Houston - Horry.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Seattle 5-23 (.217), D Schrempf 1-1, Kemp 0-1, Hawkins
1-6, Payton 1-4, Mcmillan 1-4, Perkins 1-5, Askew 0-2. Houston 10-34
(.294), Horry 5-11, Olajuwon 0-1, Drexler 0-3, Smith 0-4, Elie 1-4,
Cassell 4-10, Mack 0-1.
Technicals: Seattle - Illegal Defense, Houston - Elie, Drexler.
Officials: Joe Crawford, Bernie Fryer, Ron Garretson.
A - 16,611. T - 2:50.
nba.883vpoznanovic,
SONICS KO THE CHAMPS IN OVERTIME
HOUSTON -- The kings are dead.
The two-time defending champion Houston Rockets were swept out of the
Western Conference semifinals by the Seattle SuperSonics, who blew a
20-point lead but got six clutch points in overtime from Hersey
Hawkins for a 114-107 victory.
"Our heart was there, but we ran into a team that's really got it
going," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "They have so much depth
and so much confidence.
"We ran into a phenomenal basketball team. They were the guys who made
the big shots. They were great."
The proud Rockets -- who were 8-0 in elimination games during their
title years -- erased an 88-68 deficit in the final nine minutes of
regulation with a barrage of 3-pointers, the last one by Sam Cassell
from the left corner with 4.1 seconds to go. But Houston managed only
a 3-pointer by Cassell in the last 3:15 of overtime.
Thanks in large part to the Reign Man, Houston's NBA reign is over.
Shawn Kemp got the Sonics off quickly, scoring 14 of the team's first
18 points and finished with a game-high 32 points and 15 rebounds.
Point man Gary Payton added 24 points and 11 assists for the Sonics,
who have owned the Rockets over the past two years and finally got a
chance to prove it in the playoffs. Seattle entered the series with
nine consecutive wins over Houston and extended that streak to 13 with
its first-ever series sweep.
"It's more a relief than exciting because we kicked a big lead,"
Sonics coach George Karl said. "The last four games is probably the
best basketball we've played in a while, and I think we'll continue to
do that."
Clyde Drexler's free throw to open overtime gave the Rockets their
first lead, and Mario Elie's running banker made it 104-101 with 3:15
to go. But Sam Perkins made two foul shots, and Hawkins scored on a
drive to give Seattle the lead for good with 1:28 remaining.
After a steal, Kemp scored inside and was fouled with 1:07 left. He
completed the three-point play and, after Cassell missed a 3-pointer,
Hawkins made two free throws to push the lead to 110-104 with 31
seconds left.
Cassell made a 3-pointer, but Kemp answered with two free throws with
13 seconds to play. Houston never got another shot as Hawkins
converted a steal into a layup.
The Sonics, who handed the Rockets their last elimination in the 1993
conference semifinals, won their sixth consecutive postseason game and
await the winner of the series between the San Antonio Spurs and Utah
Jazz. Seattle, which had been eliminated in the first round the last
two years, moved into the conference finals for the first time since
1993.
"We're a little looser now, more focused," Karl said. "We don't point
fingers as much (because) we don't have the pressure on us."
Seattle appeared to have the game won on several occasions, the last
time after Payton's jumper and 3-pointer boosted the lead to 99-90
with 1:32 to go in the fourth quarter. But Drexler made two foul
shots, and Robert Horry sank two 3-pointers around a steal to cut the
deficit to 99-98 with 30 seconds left.
Kemp made two free throws to give Seattle a three-point lead, but
Payton inexplicably double-teamed Hakeem Olajuwon, who passed to a
wide-open Cassell for the tying shot.
The Sonics had a chance to win in regulation, but Kemp, who took the
inbounds pass from Nate McMillan following a timeout, missed a driving
layup with Hakeem Olajuwon fronting him all the way to the hoop.
In the period, the Rockets were seven of 10 from 3-point range,
including five of six from Horry.
Detlef Schrempf scored 18 points, Hawkins added 17 and Perkins 14 for
the Sonics, who shot 48 percent (42-of-87) from the field.
Olajuwon scored 26 points, Horry added 20 and Drexler, Cassell and
Elie had 15 apiece. Drexler had 15 rebounds and Horry 12 for Houston,
which shot 38 percent (35-of-92).
A 3-pointer by Perkins gave the Sonics their largest lead at 88-68
with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter. Horry made three 3-pointers and
Drexler scored eight points in a 22-6 burst that pulled the Rockets
within 94-90 with 2:36 to go.
The Rockets hit just five of 20 shots (25 percent) in the opening
quarter, stayed close from the foul line, converting six of six until
an 8-0 run at the end of the period pulled the Sonics to a 10-point
advantage.
Kemp scored 14 of Seattle's first 18 points, including a dunk that
triggered an 8-0 run and gave the Sonics a 26-16 lead. Elie's
22-footer in the closing seconds of the period made it 26-18.
The Rockets started to fall apart after that. Elie was called for an
offensive foul, rolled the ball across the court for a delay of game
and then drew a technical foul.
Drexler, who had two quick fouls in the first period, got his third in
the opening minutes of the second quarter and was slapped with a
technical for arguing the call. A basket by Mark Bryant cut the
deficit to six points early in the second quarter, but Houston was
held without a field goal for over three minutes as Seattle opened a
41-22 lead.
Seattle, clicking along with 55 percent shooting, eventually built
their lead to 20 points before settling for a 57-43 halftime bulge.
Houston made an 11-6 run to start the second half, trimming a Seattle
lead that had grown to as much as 20 points into single digits. But as
he has done throughout the series, Schrempf's 3-pointer with 6:57
remaining in the third period highlighted a 10-2 Sonics run and
blunted the Rockets' attempt at a comeback.
The Rockets' 3-pointers, clunkers for the entire game, suddenly
started going in. The Sonics, meanwhile, went cold everywhere, even
the free throw line, hitting just two of 10 during one stretch that
allowed Houston to get back into the game and send it to overtime.
nba.884vpoznanovic,
Chicago (94) At New York (91)
Chicago
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Rodman F 41 3-10 0-2 10 9 19 3 5 2 6 6
Pippen F 39 3-11 2-4 4 3 7 5 3 2 3 9
Longley C 21 2-5 1-2 3 1 4 3 6 0 3 5
Jordan G 40 7-23 11-13 2 6 8 8 5 2 0 27
Harper G 40 6-15 3-3 3 2 5 2 2 0 2 18
Kerr 23 2-2 3-3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 7
Brown 12 3-4 2-2 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 8
Edwards 4 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
Buechler 5 3-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6
Wennington 7 2-3 0-0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4
Salley 8 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2
Kukoc Dnp - Back Injury
Totals 240 33-81 22-29 23 23 46 22 28 7 15 94
(.407) (.759) Team Rebs: 9 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 38 6-9 5-6 3 2 5 0 5 3 3 17
Mason F 38 0-2 1-2 0 5 5 3 4 0 4 1
Ewing C 42 10-21 9-10 0 10 10 1 5 0 4 29
Starks G 39 4-11 4-5 0 3 3 3 3 2 5 13
Harper G 37 5-8 2-2 0 3 3 5 4 1 0 15
Ward 9 1-2 1-3 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 3
Anderson 14 1-1 2-2 0 1 1 0 3 0 2 5
Williams 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
Davis 19 2-4 4-4 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 8
Grandison Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Grant Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Reid Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 29-58 28-34 4 24 28 14 27 7 20 91
(.500) (.824) Team Rebs: 7 Total To: 20(22 PTS)
Chicago 24 27 26 17 - 94
New York 28 22 18 23 - 91
Blocked Shots: Chicago - Longley 3, Rodman, Jordan, Brown. New York -
Ewing 4, Williams.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Chicago 6-20 (.300), Pippen 1-4, Jordan 2-7, Harper
3-9. New York 5-14 (.357), Oakley 0-1, Starks 1-5, Harper 3-6, Ward 0-1,
Anderson 1-1.
Technicals: Chicago - Rodman, Head Coach Jackson, Longley, New York -
Illegal Defense, Oakley.
Officials: Mike Mathis, Bill Oakes, Ed Middleton.
A - 19,763. T - 2:49.
nba.885vpoznanovic,
WENNIE THE BULL SAVES CHICAGO
NEW YORK -- With the series in jeopardy of being tied, the Chicago
Bulls turned to their go-to guy ... Bill Wennington.
The Bulls reserve center upstaged original Dream Teamers Michael
Jordan and Patrick Ewing on Sunday with a pair of baskets in the final
88 seconds -- his only points of the game -- to lift Chicago to a
94-91 victory over the New York Knicks and a 3-1 lead in their Eastern
Conference semifinal series.
The Bulls, whose Game 3 overtime loss was their first of the playoffs,
can wrap up the best-of-seven series with a home win Tuesday. The
Knicks, who have come up just short in all three losses, have lost
nine consecutive games at Chicago, including the first two of this
series.
Jordan -- who scored 44, 28 and 46 points in the first three games of
the series -- hit for 27 points Sunday but was zero for six in the
fourth quarter. His two free throws with 11 seconds left gave Chicago
a 94-91 lead. Ewing scored 29 points but missed a jumper and traveled
in the final minute. John Starks also traveled before he made what
would have been a game-tying 3-pointer.
Jordan, who is averaging 36.3 points per game in the series, picked up
his fifth foul with 7:17 remaining and Chicago holding an 86-76 lead.
But Jordan played on.
By the time four minutes remained, he was arguing with hecklers and it
looked as if Chicago's dream season was starting to unravel. The
Knicks responded with a 13-0 run, holding the Bulls scoreless for
nearly six minutes.
Charles Oakley and Starks each made two foul shots before Starks sank
a 3-pointer. Hubert Davis made a pair of free throws, and Ewing
drained back-to-back jumpers to give New York an 89-86 lead with 1:41
to go.
"Ewing did what I did yesterday -- keep his team involved," Jordan
said.
Wennington got all alone for a dunk with 1:28 left, and Ewing hit
another jumper before Scottie Pippen scored for the first time since
the final minute of the opening quarter, bringing Chicago within 91-90
with 1:01 remaining.
Ewing traveled and Wennington made a 10-footer from the right
baseline, giving the Bulls the lead for good with 36 seconds to play.
Ewing rushed a jumper from the corner and the Knicks had to commit
three fouls to get Jordan on the line.
After the free throws, Derek Harper -- who suffered a bruised right
shoulder but returned -- dribbled upcourt and passed to Anthony Mason,
who set a pick for Starks coming around the top of the circle. But
Starks took a skip step before launching his shot.
Ron Harper scored 18 points for the Bulls, who had two players in
double figures for the third time in the series. Pippen had just nine
points on three of 11 shooting and was 13 of 40 in the two games in
New York.
Chicago got a big boost from Dennis Rodman, who had 19 rebounds and
assists on both Wennington baskets. Rodman grabbed 10 rebounds on the
offensive end, where the Bulls enjoyed a 23-4 edge. Jordan had eight
assists but hit just seven-of-23 shots from the field.
Charles Oakley scored 17 points, Derek Harper had 15 and Starks 13 for
the Knicks, who shot 50 percent (29-of-58) but took 23 less shots than
the Bulls. Ewing grabbed 10 rebounds.
Chicago closed the third quarter with a 15-2 run, sparked by seven
points by Jordan and a rare four-point play by Ron Harper, to take a
77-68 lead.
Derek Harper scored 13 points in the first period, when New York led
by as many as eight points before settling for a 28-24 edge. Chicago
took its first lead at 51-50 on Jordan's 3-pointer 36 seconds before
halftime.
nba.886schef,
-> #879, vitez.koja=- E još da je ovaj proradio... Ajmo Nju Jork, Nju Jork...
=- Neće valjda da ispadnu svi timovi za koje ja navijam :)...
Eh dečki dečki, sam' se vi nadajte... :) Ima da gledamo finala
Chicago - Orlando na istoku i Seattle - Utah na zapadu i UBEĐEN sam
da će šampion da bude ili Orlando ili Seattle! Chicago neće uspeti
obe ove ekipe da bije. Lično mislim da će Seattle da prođe u finale
mnogo lakše nego Chicago na istoku te će mu to olakšati posao protiv
Chicaga... Bar' se nadam. :) Ne volim kad pobeđuje ekipa sa Hrvatom
u njoj... :)
Srleř
nba.887vpoznanovic,
LOUISVILLE'S OSBORNE JUMPS ABOARD NBA GRAVY TRAIN
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville forward Jason Osborne, who couldn't
handle academia at the University of Louisville, says he doesn't need
it.
Osborne, who sat out the 1995-96 season after failing to meet academic
requirements, on Sunday became the second Cardinals underclassman to
declare himself eligible for the NBA draft, just hours before the
midnight deadline.
College underclassmen and high school players have until midnight
Sunday to apply for the draft.
"This is a decision I have been contemplating for a long time," said
Osborne, who joined teammate Samaki Walker on the NBA gravy train.
"This was definitely a hard decision.
"With the support of my family, friends and the grace of God, I am
confident that I can compete at the professional level and make my
family happy."
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Osborne started as a freshman and sophomore
for Louisville in 1993-94 and 1994-95. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.6
rebounds and 3.1 assists as a sophomore. Osborne averaged 9.6 points,
6.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 1993-94 and was named to the Metro
Conference All-Freshman team.
Osborne said he thought his versatility would be attractive to NBA
teams.
"I can do a lot of different things, with my height," Osborne said.
Osborne said he has not signed with an agent, leaving open the
possibility that he could return to the Cardinals if he were
disappointed with how he fared in the draft. But he dodged a question
about whether he would be academically eligible at Louisville in the
1996-97 season.
"I'd prefer not to talk about that right now," he said.
Coach Denny Crum was traveling and did not attend the news conference,
but a school spokesman said Crum "did wish Jason the best."
Marcus Camby of Massachusetts, Ray Allen of Connecticut, Allen Iverson
of Georgetown and Stephon Marbury of Georgia Tech are among the
prominent underclassmen who have declared for the draft.
A total of 21 players have applied for early entry, including
Philadelphia high school star Kobe Bryant.
nba.888vpoznanovic,
CONVERSATION WITH KARL MALONE
Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone sat down recently to talk about the
nine-time All-Star's quest to win a championship, his family and his
teammate John Stockton, among other things.
Karl Malone "We've already talked about it, we won't play apart from
each other. We might miss some games because of injuries. But we'll
be on the same team." -- Karl Malone on John Stockton
Aldridge: Charles Barkley always says he can get through his career
without winning a championship, because he knows he has done the best
he can do. Would it bother you if you were never able to win a
championship?
Malone: If you look at it as a basketball accomplishment, it will
bother you, because you did not win the ultimate prize, so to speak.
As an athlete and as a person away from it, it doesn't bother me. I
feel when I go out and play I give it everything I've got. That is all
you can expect. If you can look in the mirror and say I tried to do
the things on and off the court to be a successful basketball player,
both individually and as a team, that's important. This is a game and
that's what it is. The game of life is still going to be looking Karl
Malone in the face. Being a husband and a father excites me more than
winning a championship, because that's real.
I've always said I love and respect what I do, but it doesn't make me
tick everyday. It doesn't drive me to do certain things. I respect the
game, that's why I give everything I've got when I'm playing. But when
I get home and I see my three kids and my wife, I know this is what my
life is all about.
Aldridge: You didn't want to talk to NBC last week because they hadn't
put the Jazz on television all year.
Malone: NBC is huge. Karl Malone is a little peon. That's the
reality. We haven't won a championship, and we don't have the kind of
guys that you'll go out and buy a jersey of theirs, but we do have a
pretty damn good team. It's just one of those little things that I
believe in. We have great athletes on this team and we have a pretty
good team and for us not be on NBC the whole year. I didn't like that.
I'm just Karl Malone, and that's NBC. It's their network. I'll
probably have nothing to do with it, and after this incident, I'll
surely have nothing to do with it now. But I do have a life, and that
is fine. It's just my way of saying we have a good team. Every now and
then gives us a token appearance, even if it's regional coverage. Let
us know that one of your trucks is in our building you're not in
somebody else's all the time.
I'm not being a horse's behind. It's just something I believe in. Once
I believe in something I don't just do it. I think about it before I
do it. I don't just run my mouth off to run it.
Aldridge: Your team never seems to get mentioned when you see all the
plans for the off-season with all the free agency that is happening.
The Knicks have $13 million, the Heat has $15 million. We never hear
about the Jazz. Does that bother you that it doesn't seem that the
Jazz is going to be involved in the free agency business this summer?
Malone: I don't really think it bothers me. I don't think I could
have said this in the past. But in the last three years I think that
if the right situation comes up with the right player that fits with
our team, the Jazz will do everything they can to sign that player.
We're not a team or an organization that is going to go out there and
throw money around just to get an athlete. They are also concerned
about the person, too. I can tell you right now that you can be one of
the most talented free agents out there, but if your attitude doesn't
fit what's already here and what's going to be here, they're not going
to sign you.
That's just the way we do things. You can call it what you want. You
can call it teasing the fans, but that is just they way we do things
in Utah. That's the way we'll continue to do things as long as I'm
here and Stockton and Jeff Hornacek. It's just what we believe in.
Aldridge: What has made you think the Jazz has changed its attitude
about signing people?
Malone: They went out and took some chances. They re-signed Antoine
Carr. They signed Chris Morris, Jeff Hornacek and Adam Keefe. They've
done those sort of things. In the past, they never did that. They used
to say we are going to stick with what we have and try to make it work.
Aldridge: John Stockton is a free agent after this season. I know
that nobody thinks he's going anywhere. But let's just say for the
sake of argument that he got some incredible offer that he really had
to think about. What would you do?
Malone: If that happened, I would be the horse's behind that I said
I wouldn't be. I can't see playing with another point guard. First of
all, I'm not going to groom another one. With some of these younger
ones, you never know what they are going to do. You don't know whether
they are going to eat the basketball or throw it up into the stands.
Second of all, I won't play without him. I mean if he got hurt or I
got hurt, the show would go on. But, we've already talked about it, we
won't play apart from each other. We might miss some games because of
injuries. But we'll be on the same team.
Aldridge: Where did you meet Stockton?
Malone: I met Stockton at the Olympic Games trials in Indiana. It's
sort of amazing. You had to be there. I don't know how many guys were
there, but we ate dinner and lunch in this big cafeteria. We just met
out of the blue. We were at the same table with 500 basketball
players. We sat down and just struck up a conversation. We started
talking about everything. The next thing I knew the Jazz drafted him.
A year later, in 1985, they drafted me. That's kind of how it
happened.
Aldridge: You said you can't imagine playing without Stockton, can
you remember what it was like not to have him as a point guard?
Malone: I can't remember what it was like. I can't even remember how
it all started clicking. It's kind of amazing if you talk about things
all time. If you talk about a certain play you kind of remember when
things started to jell, years ago, I can remember that.
I can't remember when we started running the pick and roll. It has
been so many years now. I can't remember that first pass he gave me
where I said that was pretty nice. Now all of a sudden we expect so
much out of each other that we have to do something really good to
impress each other. Every now and then that will happen in a game, and
we just kind of give each other that look. It doesn't work perfect all
the time, but when it does -- it's amazing.
nba.889vpoznanovic,
San Antonio (86) At Utah (101)
San Antonio
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Elliott F 41 6-15 8-10 0 3 3 1 2 0 4 22
Smith F 17 3-5 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 1 2 6
Robinson C 24 2-3 7-10 1 3 4 2 6 0 3 11
Del Negro G 41 4-11 1-2 1 1 2 0 1 1 0 9
Johnson G 34 5-10 4-5 0 0 0 8 4 6 6 14
W Perdue 24 0-2 0-0 2 5 7 0 3 1 2 0
C Person 39 6-9 3-3 1 6 7 2 2 0 1 17
Alexander 14 3-6 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 6
Anderson 2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Herrera 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Williams 2 0-1 1-2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
Rivers Dnp - Back Spasms
Totals 240 29-63 24-32 7 23 30 15 23 9 20 86
(.460) (.750) Team Rebs: 10 Total To: 20(20 PTS)
Utah
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Morris F 36 11-14 0-0 0 5 5 3 1 1 2 25
Malone F 40 6-15 10-10 0 5 5 7 5 3 4 22
Spencer C 9 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 1
Hornacek G 34 3-10 3-3 1 5 6 4 2 2 0 10
Stockton G 36 5-9 2-2 2 3 5 10 2 3 6 13
Eisley 12 2-4 2-2 0 1 1 2 3 0 0 8
Ostertag 10 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Keefe 30 5-5 1-2 3 4 7 0 3 1 1 11
Carr 9 2-4 0-0 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 4
Russell 20 2-6 2-2 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 7
Benoit 4 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Foster Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 36-68 21-23 6 27 33 27 24 10 16 101
(.529) (.913) Team Rebs: 3 Total To: 17(8 PTS)
San Antonio 20 22 32 12 - 86
Utah 24 29 30 18 - 101
Blocked Shots: San Antonio - Smith, Robinson. Utah - Morris 3, Malone,
Spencer.
3-Pt. Field Goals: San Antonio 4-9 (.444), Elliott 2-4, C Person 2-5. Utah
8-11 (.727), Morris 3-4, Hornacek 1-1, Stockton 1-1, Eisley 2-2, Russell
1-3.
Technicals: San Antonio - W Perdue.
Officials: Hugh Evans, Joe Forte, Bob Delaney.
A - 19,911. T - 2:12.
nba.890vpoznanovic,
JAZZ RATTLE AND HUMBLE ROBINSON
SALT LAKE CITY -- The Admiral has been taken hostage, leaving the San
Antonio Spurs' ship adrift in a sea of hostility and defeat.
And if the Spurs can't locate the old David Robinson, then their boat
is surely to sink.
For the second consecutive game, Robinson was tied up by a stingy
defense as the Utah Jazz rolled to a 101-86 victory Sunday to take a
3-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.
The new tame (lame?) Robinson took a mere three shots and was limited
to 11 points for the second consecutive day as San Antonio never
really challenged Utah's supremacy.
"The game speaks for itself. I have no other comment," said a somber
Robinson, who was scoreless in the second half.
Chris Morris scored 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead the Jazz,
who also got 22 points from Karl Malone, including a 10-for-10
performance from the free-throw line. John Stockton added 13 points
and 10 assists.
Robinson was just two of three from the field and seven of 10 from the
line before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Sean Elliott led San
Antonio with 22 points, and Chuck Person added 17.
"I don't have any comment on the fouls on David -- except for about
four of them," Spurs coach Bob Hill said. "He didn't get the benefit
of the doubt on the calls tonight, as normally a player of his
magnitude gets."
The Jazz remained unbeaten in five home contests and have yet to allow
San Antonio more than 88 points in any of the four games. Utah's three
victories have been by 20, 30 and 15 points. Game 5 is Tuesday night
at the Alamodome.
"We are not shooting the ball very well," Hill said. "Utah is playing
great basketball right now, and you have to give them credit. All of
the things that are important this time of the season are clicking."
After trailing by nine as the final period began, Avery Johnson's
back-to-back layups cut the Spurs' deficit to 83-78. But San Antonio
would get no closer.
Utah, with Malone scoring twice inside and Stockton hitting two
perimeter jumpers, responded with a 16-2 run and took its biggest
lead, 99-80, on Bryon Russell's driving shot with 3:22 remaining.
The 6-foot-8 Morris, a starter ever since David Benoit was sidelined
by a bruised knee at the outset of this series, averaged just 5.1
points in Games 1-3 but was three for four from 3-point range in Game
4.
"I'm happy I came out loose, waited for a lot of shots," Morris said.
"(But) we can't look too far ahead. We got to think about the game
that is coming up.
"We can't look too far ahead. We got to think about the game that is
coming up and try to play them a different way because we know that
they are going to come out and change things."
San Antonio was down by 11 at halftime, and the Spurs' fortunes got
worse 24 seconds into the third quarter when Robinson was whistled for
his fourth foul. While he was out, the Jazz went on a 9-4 run to go up
62-46.
Robinson returned with 5:01 left in the quarter but was benched again
less than two minutes later after collecting his fifth foul. Robinson
would not play again until midway through the fourth quarter, and then
fouled out with 4:15 remaining when he collided with Stockton on a
rebound.
Howard Eisley's 3-pointer gave the Jazz an 80-61 lead, but even
without their star center the Spurs weren't done yet: A 13-3 run,
capped by Charles Smith's tip-in just before the horn, made it 83-74
entering the fourth.
"We kind of let up when Robinson got his fifth foul. Their subs came
in and got the lead down, but fortunately we were able to stop them,"
Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek said.
nba.891vpoznanovic,
NBA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Second round
(Best-of-7; all times Eastern; * - if necessary)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago leads New York 3-1
Sunday May 5 Chicago 91, New York 84
Tuesday May 7 Chicago 91, New York 80
Saturday May 11 New York 102, Chicago 99 (OT)
Sunday May 12 Chicago 94, New York 91
Tuesday May 14 at Chicago 8 p.m. TNT
Thursday May 16 *at New York TBA TNT or TBS
Sunday May 19 *at Chicago TBA NBC
Orlando leads Atlanta 3-0
Wednesday May 8 Orlando 117, Atlanta 105
Friday May 10 Orlando 120, Atlanta 94
Sunday May 12 Orlando 103, Atlanta 96
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 defeats Houston 4-0
Saturday May 4 Seattle 108, Houston 75
Monday May 6 Seattle 105, Houston 101
Friday May 10 Seattle 115, Houston 112
Sunday May 12 Seattle 114, Houston 107 (OT)
Utah leads San Antonio 3-1
Tuesday May 7 Utah 95, San Antonio 75
Thursday May 9 San Antonio 88, Utah 77
Saturday May 11 Utah 105, San Antonio 75
Sunday May 12 Utah 101, San Antonio 86
Tuesday May 14 at San Antonio TBA TNT or TBS
Thursday May 16 *at Utah TBA TNT or TBS
Saturday May 18 *at San Antonio TBA NBC
nba.892dizel,
-> #879, vitez.koja># =>> 3-pt field goals: Starks 5-8
># => Starks je proradio!
># => Harper G 39 1-11 1-1
>
> E jos da je ovaj proradio... Ajmo Nju Jork, Nju Jork...
> Nece valjda da ispadnu svi timovi za koje ja navijam :)...
Valjda ce da zgaze Cikago i u drugoj utakmici na svom terenu,
a onda cemo da vidimo.
Od tri tima koja imalo volim iz NBA(Lakers,Phoenix i New York)
ostao je jos samo jedan. Na daj boze da i on ispadne.
nba.893dizel,
-> #886, schef> olaksati posao protiv Chicaga... Bar' se nadam. :) Ne volim kad
> pobeduje ekipa sa Hrvatom u njoj... :)
>
Moj covek!
Javi se u forum!
nba.894dizel,
-> #885, vpoznanovic> but missed a jumper and traveled in the final minute. John
> Starks also traveled before he made what would have been a
> game-tying 3-pointer.
>
Jel vidite vi ovo?
Pogodio trojku, ali napravio korake...
:((((((((((((((((((
> an 89-86 lead with 1:41 to go.
Vodili smo 3 razlike 1:41 pre kraja!!1
Sto sada ne krene Derek Harpera kao u onoj utakmici u sezoni
kad je New York razbio Cikago a Harper dao otprilike 11 trojki...
nba.895imangovski,
-> #879, vitez.koja>#=>> 3-pt field goals: Starks 5-8
>#=> Starks je proradio!
>#=> Harper G 39 1-11 1-1
>
> E jos da je ovaj proradio... Ajmo Nju Jork, Nju Jork...
> Nece valjda da ispadnu svi timovi za koje ja navijam :)...
S obzirom da je Golden State ispao jos pre play off-a;),zadnja
nada mi je sietl, a taj po svemuu sudeci nece ispasti tako lako;
4:0 protiv houston-a, nije lose. Bice 4:2 protiv Jute.
nba.896imangovski,
-> #886, schef> =- E jos da je ovaj proradio... Ajmo Nju Jork, Nju Jork...
> =- Nece valjda da ispadnu svi timovi za koje ja navijam :)...
>
> Eh decki decki, sam' se vi nadajte... :) Ima da gledamo finala
> Chicago - Orlando na istoku i Seattle - Utah na zapadu i UBEDEN sam
> da ce sampion da bude ili Orlando ili Seattle! Chicago nece uspeti
> obe ove ekipe da bije. Licno mislim da ce Seattle da prode u finale
> mnogo lakse nego Chicago na istoku te ce mu to olaksati posao protiv
> Chicaga... Bar' se nadam. :) Ne volim kad pobeduje ekipa sa Hrvatom
> u njoj... :)
Ja od celog tima Chicaga (kojeg mrzim) jedino volim Kukoca.
nba.897imangovski,
-> #877, lexus>=> Sta se desava sa San Antoniom.Ovo je drugi poraz od Jute, i to opet
>=> sa velikom razlikom (prvi put sa 20, a ovog puta sa cak 30
>=> razlike). Del Negro cele sezone nije promasivao, a sad sutira u
>=> stili 11-2... Robinson cas igra dobro, cas nema pojma...
>
> Desava se da su naleteli na Jazzere ;)
> Utah igra odlicnu odbranu protiv San Antonia i zasad uspeva :)))
> Mailman je zaustavio Robinsona na ovoj utakmici.
> A sto se tvoje konstatacije da Admiral cas igra dobro, cas nema
> pojma tice, u pravu si. I to nije samo ove sezone, nego stalno.
> Coveku se desava da se potpuno izgubi na terenu, ne prati akcije,
> zamisljen je... Sto rece Vlada Olic: "Robinson svira saksofon u mislima,
> umesto da prati desavanja na terenu." :)))))
Mnogo citas Nasu Borbu:) To mu se desava samo u play off-u i protiv Indiane.
nba.898lexus,
-> #897, imangovski=> Mnogo citas Nasu Borbu:) To mu se desava samo u play off-u i protiv
=> Indiane.
Našu Borbu čitam, ali ovaj citat je još iz starih brojeva Koša :)
Što će reći, Admiral još nije sazreo :)
nba.899vpoznanovic,
SIXERS FIRE COACH LUCAS, TWO ASSISTANTS
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia 76ers have a new owner, a new general
manager and soon will have a new head coach.
The 76ers announced on Monday that head coach John Lucas, along with
two assistants, will not return for the 1996-97 season.
Assistant coaches Ron Adams and Tom Thibodeau, who were coaches under
Lucas in San Antonio, were let go, but the club retained Sixers great
Maurice Cheeks, who will assist in the preparation for the NBA Draft
in June.
"I want to thank John and his staff for the contributions that they've
made to the 76ers over the past two seasons," said Brad Greenberg, the
team's general manager and vice president of basketball operations.
"However, as we continue to build the new Philadelphia 76ers, I've
decided to make a coaching change."
Greenberg, a former vice president of player personnel for the
Portland Trail Blazers, was named to replace Lucas as the 76ers'
general manager last Wednesday.
The Sixers were purchased by Comcast Cable Corp. from Harold Katz last
month and a front-office upheaval was expected after the Sixers
stumbled to an 18-64 record. Philadelphia is the first team in league
history to see its win total drop for six consecutive seasons.
The firing of Lucas ends what has been an dismal two seasons for
Philadelphia. The Sixers compiled a 42-122 record under Lucas. The
1995-96 team won just three more games than the expansion Vancouver
Grizzlies and posted the lowest win total in team history since the
infamous 1972-73 team went 9-73.
Lucas was hired as head coach and general manager in June 1994 after
two years as coach of the Spurs and he compiled a 24-58 record in his
first season.
This season, Lucas, 43, signed substance abuse offenders Richard Dumas
and Vernon Maxwell and then traded center Shawn Bradley to New Jersey
for underachieving Derrick Coleman. Maxwell averaged over 16 points
per game, but Dumas appeared in just 39 games and averaged 6.2 points
and the oft-injured Coleman played in only 11 games.
Lucas was the first overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft by the Houston
Rockets and played with six different teams during a 13-year career.
He was an All-American player in both basketball and tennis at the
University of Maryland and holds the NBA record for assists in a
quarter with 14 in 1984.
Lucas, who battled substance abuse himself, later founded a company
that runs a number of drug treatment centers. He owned the Miami
Tropics of the United States Basketball League and used the club to
give recovering addicts a chance to resume their pro careers.
Lucas become the sixth coach to lose his job since the end of the
season, joining Allan Bristow (Charlotte), Butch Beard (New Jersey),
Dick Motta (Dallas), Mike Dunleavy (Milwaukee) and Brendan Malone
(Toronto).
nba.900vpoznanovic,
KNICKS G DEREK HARPER EXPECTED TO PLAY ON TUESDAY
The New York Knicks are expected to have the services of guard Derek
Harper for Game Five of the Eastern Conference semifinal with the
Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Harper, who suffered a bruised right shoulder and a strained neck in
Sunday's Game Four loss, was re-evaluated today by the Knicks medical
staff.
Harper was hurt midway through the fourth quarter of New York's 94-91
loss and the injury was originally diagnosed as a separated shoulder,
but he returned and played the final three minutes.
The 35-year-old Harper scored 15 points in Sunday's loss. He is
averaging 10.6 points and 4.6 assists in the playoffs.
Also, reserve guard Willie Anderson was checked out after he was hit
in the face while trying to cover Michael Jordan. He is also expected
to be available for Tuesday's game.
nba.901vpoznanovic,
BULLS' KUKOC EXPECTED TO MISS THIRD STRAIGHT PLAYOFF GAME
Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc is expected to miss his third
straight playoff game Tuesday when the Chicago Bulls host the New York
Knicks in their Eastern Conference series.
Kukoc missed both weekend games at New York due to a lower back
injury. The Bulls split the two games and lead the best-of-seven
series, three games to one.
Kukoc hurt his back in practice Friday morning at the Berto Center,
the team's practice facility in Deerfield, Illinois. The injury
occurred when Kukoc made a quick stop during practice and team
physician Doctor John Heffron said such a problem is not uncommon
among basketball players.
Kukoc is averaging 11.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in five playoff games,
but has made just 1-of-24 shots from three-point range.
nba.902vpoznanovic,
Bulls backs back up the training room
DEERFIELD, Ill. (May 13, 1996 - 17:17 EST) -- Back-to-back-to-back.
The playoffs have become a pain for the Chicago Bulls.
First, Michael Jordan strained his back in the first round against
Miami. Then Toni Kukoc sprained ligaments in his back at practice last
Friday.
Now it's Scottie Pippen, who had back problems earlier this season,
who's hurting. He twisted it during the second quarter of Sunday's
94-91 victory over the New York Knicks that gave the Bulls a 3-1
series lead.
Who's the busiest man at the Berto Center, the Bulls' suburban
practice facility? Trainer Chip Schaefer.
"It's kind a coincidence we suffered three back problems through the
postseason. Hopefully they're behind us -- no pun intended," Schaefer
said Monday. "Each one of them is similar only in the sense of where
they are sore."
After consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday, there are other
physical concerns for the Bulls. Jordan, whose back has not affected
his play, has sore knees, as does Luc Longley. And Dennis Rodman has a
tender finger he jammed Sunday, although it is not serious.
Pippen has also been bothered by sore ankles, an ailing shoulder and
-- most especially -- by poor shooting in the series with the Knicks.
He's made only 24 of 76 field goal attempts.
Pippen's back should be OK for Tuesday night's Game 5. Whether his
offense will is another question.
"He was quite sore and tight yesterday as the game wore on," Schaefer
said. "This morning he came in and he was a little bit loose and had a
decrease in pain. He should be a lot better tomorrow."
Kukoc, also struggling with his shot, is expected to miss his third
straight game. His pain in the back is by far the most serious of the
three and he was to be re-examined by team physician Dr. John
Hefferon.
"He's really anxious to play again, but one of the concerns for Toni
is that he's unfairly comparing himself to some of the other back
injuries," Schaefer said.
"He's not being fair to himself and giving himself enough time. I know
he really wants to play. He wants to play tomorrow, but I don't know
that is the most prudent thing to do."
Jordan, Pippen and Kukoc weren't available for interviews Monday and
didn't practice. The Bulls had a light workout, mostly for reserves.
Earlier this season the Bulls had to place Pippen on the injured list
when nagging injuries affected his performance. Now there's no such
luxury or time.
"We're hoping it's not a setback, back to late February and March when
he had a number of things happen," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said.
"When Scottie is not functioning at his offensive best, it's still
very important to have him out there, because of the defense and the
things he does as a whole."
Jackson's concerns were as much about his aging team's energy level as
its bumps and bruises.
"Dennis played about 100 minutes this weekend. You think about it with
a weekend back-to-back and all of a sudden it's Tuesday and it's three
games in four days," Jackson said.
"What is important is that these guys have the energy and the active
ability to play."
Rodman celebrated his 35th birthday Monday. Rodman showed off a
Russian doll he received as a gift and also presented Jackson with a
ball cap that featured him, Jordan and Pippen. Rodman said he planned
a big party Tuesday night to celebrate his birthday, if the Bulls win.
He reiterated he'd like to return to the Bulls next season. "The world
tour is continuing," he said. "If I'm not here, I'll go somewhere
else, but I'd love to stay in Chicago."
nba.903vpoznanovic,
Raptors seek financing for land
TORONTO (May 10, 1996 - 23:17 EST) -- The Toronto Raptors say they are
almost ready to start building their new basketball arena, but they
still need financing to buy the land and won't give details about the
timing of the plan.
"I'm not giving you a sense of when we're going to start digging,"
said Jay Cross, who heads the group trying to put together the $180
million Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto. "We're there in every
technical sense. All of the agreements are settled."
But, Cross added, there are a few details to be worked out. The
Raptors still don't own the land and they are still trying to line up
financing.
Cross said the 187 documents required to close the land deal have all
been negotiated between the various parties including the Raptors,
Canada Post, which is selling the land, neighboring landowner Marathon
Realty, stadium sponsor Air Canada, the City of Toronto and Metro
governments.
The Raptors have also retained two investment firms, ScotiaMcLeod and
Prudential Securities, to scout the market for long-term financing for
the 22,500-seat basketball and hockey stadium.
The NBA franchise will likely seek backing from a syndicate of
insurance companies, rather than banks, because the insurance firms
offer longer-term arrangements to lock into recent low interest rates.
But before that can happen, lawyers from the parties involved in the
land deal have to cross-reference copies of the agreements and sign
them.
"That's going to take a few more days," Cross said.
The documents are "closing in escrow," he explained, meaning the deal
is put together in a file and given to an agent who keeps track of all
the papers and determines when everything is complete.
"When that happens I can't predict at this stage," Cross said.
Rumors of financial difficulties have swirled around the Raptors'
stadium project for months because Toronto City Council rushed through
its approval of the project so construction could have started by now.
That hasn't happened, and the Raptors have already paid one penalty
for not beginning construction last year. They face another if they
don't start digging before next fall.
nba.904vpoznanovic,
WEST VIRGINIA'S SIMPSON, COPPIN STATE'S MOTT JOIN NBA DRAFT LIST
Greg Simpson, a junior guard who was kicked off West Virginia's
basketball team after a hit-and-run accident, and Coppin State junior
forward Terquin Mott announced Monday that they beat the deadline and
have applied for the NBA draft on June 26.
College underclassmen and high school players had until midnight
Sunday to apply for the draft. The NBA is expected to release the
complete list of underclassmen who applied for the June draft either
Wednesday or Thursday.
Simpson, 22, of Lima, Ohio, sent a letter via Federal Express to the
NBA in New York on Friday, the day he was kicked off the team by coach
Gale Catlett, The Dominion Post reported.
Simpson still has a scholarship at West Virginia but his goal right
now is playing in the NBA, said Robert Mihlbaugh, Simpson's lawyer in
Ohio.
The 6-foot-1 Simpson averaged 13.2 points, 3 rebounds and 2.1 assists
a game in 23 games for the Mountaineers in 1995-96, their inaugural
Big East season.
On May 6, Simpson was sentenced to two days in jail and fined $260
after pleading no contest to leaving the scene of an accident, driving
with a suspended license and crossing the center line.
The May 2 accident was the latest in a string of violations for
Simpson dating back to his days at Ohio State, where he was Big Ten
freshman of the year before transferring to WVU for this season.
In December, Simpson was jailed for two days for driving without a
valid license in Cambridge, Ohio. Prosecutors dropped charges of
possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Ohio State officials tried unsuccessfully to revoke Simpson's
scholarship after he was accused of getting into a
punching-and-kicking incident with one woman and striking another
woman.
Mott, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference player of the year, spent
two years at La Salle before transferring to Coppin State. He has
indicated that he is leaving open the possibility that he could return
for his senior season.
Mott was a third-team GTE Academic All-America selection last season,
averaging 19 points and 7.4 rebounds while leading Coppin State to a
19-10 record. Mott shot 63.8 percent from the field to rank fifth
nationally.
"He wants to test the waters because of his family situation,'' Coppin
State coach Ron Mitchell said. "His mother passed away recently, and
he feels he needs to take care of his family.''
nba.905vpoznanovic,
Orlando (99) At Atlanta (104)
Orlando
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Scott F 41 3-12 0-0 0 5 5 2 2 0 4 8
Grant F 44 14-17 1-2 9 11 20 1 2 2 0 29
Oneal C 37 7-17 5-17 1 7 8 4 3 1 1 19
Anderson G 36 2-9 0-0 2 3 5 2 3 0 0 5
Hardaway G 37 10-19 9-11 2 2 4 11 3 3 1 29
Shaw 21 2-7 1-2 0 2 2 2 4 0 2 7
Koncak 8 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0
Bowie 12 1-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 2
Wolf 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Bonner Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Royal Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Thompson Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 39-84 16-32 15 32 47 22 20 6 10 99
(.464) (.500) Team Rebs: 14 Total To: 11(19 PTS)
Atlanta
Rebounds
Player Pos Min Fgm-Fga Ftm-Fta Off-Def-Tot AST PF St To PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===
Augmon F 28 4-8 5-6 1 4 5 4 0 1 4 13
Long F 42 5-9 1-2 1 6 7 5 3 0 2 11
Laettner C 30 6-11 5-7 1 5 6 2 5 1 1 17
Smith G 45 12-31 4-6 4 2 6 2 2 2 0 35
Blaylock G 39 5-9 0-1 1 4 5 11 4 0 2 14
Rooks 18 2-4 1-2 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 5
Henderson 5 0-2 0-0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0
Ehlo 24 3-4 0-0 1 3 4 1 3 1 1 7
Jordan 9 1-1 0-1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
Boyce Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Bullard Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Norman Dnp - Coach'S Decision
Totals 240 38-79 16-25 9 26 35 25 24 5 12 104
(.481) (.640) Team Rebs: 15 Total To: 12(14 PTS)
Orlando 29 18 36 16 - 99
Atlanta 44 23 15 22 - 104
Blocked Shots: Orlando - Scott, Oneal, Anderson. Atlanta - Smith 2,
Rooks, Ehlo.
3-Pt. Field Goals: Orlando 5-21 (.238), Scott 2-8, Anderson 1-6, Hardaway
0-3, Shaw 2-4. Atlanta 12-23 (.522), Long 0-1, Smith 7-14, Blaylock 4-7,
Ehlo 1-1.
Technicals: None.
Officials: Ed T Rush, Joe Derosa, Dan Crawford.
A - 12,645. T - 2:18.
nba.906vpoznanovic,
HAWKS HAND MAGIC FIRST PLAYOFF LOSS
ATLANTA -- Steve Smith scored a career playoff-high 35 points and the
Atlanta Hawks hit 12 3-pointers Monday to stave off the Orlando
Magic's plans for another playoff sweep.
Atlanta's 104-99 victory over Orlando narrowed the Magic's series lead
to 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The loss was the first
for Orlando in the playoffs after the Magic swept Detroit three
straight in the first round and won the first three games from
Atlanta.
Horace Grant had 29 points and 20 rebounds and Penny Hardaway also
scored 29 for the Magic.
Orlando center Shaquille O'Neal, who hit just 5 of 17 free throws and
missed four straight in crunch time, put the blame on his own
shoulders.
"Tonight was my fault," said O'Neal, now hitting just 42 percent from
the line in the playoffs. ``I don't make excuses for missing shots. I
just missed them. I wasn't concentrating, but I will be concentrating
Wednesday."
O'Neal virtually guaranteed the Magic would win Wednesday's Game 5 in
Orlando.
"Winning at home makes it sweeter," he said. "I'll be ready to send
all the crybabies home."
Atlanta's Christian Laettner, who scored 17 points and helped limit
O'Neal to 19, isn't so sure about O'Neal's promise.
"We kept plugging along," Laettner said. "They turned it up a notch
and we turned it up a notch. We'll do it again for the next game."
Smith, who hit seven 3-pointers, scored 23 of his points in the first
half when Atlanta built a 67-47 lead. But Orlando came out flying in
the third quarter and outscored the Hawks 30-9 in the first nine
minutes to take a 77-76 lead.
"They're a good team and they made a good run, but the thing is to be
able to withstand it," said Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens. "I thought that
our players showed a lot of poise during that stretch because it's
real easy to slide under. We wanted the game badly and I thought we
played real well. The effort that was given by the team was
tremendous."
Smith hit a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper as the Hawks started the
fourth quarter with a 12-5 run to regain a 94-88 advantage.
A hook shot by O'Neal pulled Orlando within 98-97 with 1:31 remaining.
After Grant Long hit a corner jumper for Atlanta, O'Neal missed a pair
of free throws and Smith converted a jumper in the lane with 40
seconds left to give Atlanta a 102-97 advantage.
"A lot of people were writing us off and we weren't going to just lay
down because they are a great team," said Smith. "It was definitely a
gut check for us. We just have to keep doing what we're doing."
What the Hawks did a lot of was go to Smith, who was 12 of 31 from the
field, including 7 of 14 from 3-point range.
"That's what we need out of Steve, he gave us great offense," said
Atlanta's Mookie Blaylock, who had 14 points and 11 assists, including
four 3-pointers of his own.
The Hawks came out firing in the first period, hitting 16 of 23 shots,
including 7 of 10 from 3-point range, and set a club record for points
in a quarter with 44. Smith scored 16 points in the quarter, including
four 3-pointers, as the Hawks built a 44-29 lead.
Laettner scored 11 of his 17 points in the first quarter for Atlanta.
Atlanta led by as many as 22 points, 63-41, after a jumper by Grant
Long with 2:56 left in the second quarter.
The Hawks held a 71-52 advantage with 10:32 left in the third quarter
before the Magic went on a 25-5 run. Hardaway scored 11 points and
Grant added seven in the spurt. O'Neal's layup with 3:16 left capped
the run and gave Orlando a 77-76 lead.
The Magic outscored the Hawks 36-15 in the quarter and held an 83-82
advantage, but Smith hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and
Atlanta led the rest of the way.
"They had nothing to lose, we just weren't up for the challenge," said
Orlando's Grant, who hit 14 of 17 shots from the field. "But the great
thing about this league is we can redeem ourselves."
"You got to tip your hat to the Hawks, it was a great game," said
Hardaway.
Orlando starters Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott combined for just 13
points on 5 of 21 shooting from the field.
The Magic know they can do better.
"I think we'll close this out Wednesday night," said Grant. "It leaves
a bitter taste in your mouth, but we're veterans. We're going back
home. We're going to take the attitude that we took in the first two
games."
nba.907vitez.koja,
-> #894, dizel#=>> but missed a jumper and traveled in the final minute. John
#=>> Starks also traveled before he made what would have been a
#=>> game-tying 3-pointer.
#=> Jel vidite vi ovo?
#=> Pogodio trojku, ali napravio korake... :((((((((((((((((((
Davali tvoji omiljeni Hrvati (tj. HRT) izravan prijenos, a ja ti
ne budi šovinista pa gledaj, pa se nervirah :)... Ali nije mi Starks
nešto bio kriv, više Juing što napravi onako glupe korake i što je
ostavio Veningona samog kada je Rodman krenuo na ulaz (krenuo da lupi
Rodmanu bananu, k'o da je ovaj ne znam kakav strelac, pa mu nije dosta
taj koji ga je čuvao - Oukli valjda). Ipak dao je par važnih poena na
kraju, samo da je ovo uradio kako valja bio bi ubedljivo igrač meča.
Njujork je odigrao jedno 5 min. fantastične odbrane protiv Čikaga
(najjače petorke) što pokazuje da se može, ali da li i svih 48 min?
Eto Džordana su dugo držali na 25 poena uz očajan šut, ali ipak dade
na kraju ona bacanja.
#=>> an 89-86 lead with 1:41 to go.
#=> Vodili smo 3 razlike 1:41 pre kraja!!1
#=> Sto sada ne krene Derek Harpera kao u onoj utakmici u sezoni
#=> kad je New York razbio Cikago a Harper dao otprilike 11 trojki...
Onaj Sejli (ex-Detroit iz "onog" Bed Bojsi doba) je napravio tako
kvaran i grub faul nad njim da je to bilo tužno... Posle se vratio,
ali se ispostavilo da bi bilo bolje da nije :(
Valjda će da dobiju sledeću...
Od sve muke moraću da navijam za Čikago, za Orlando nikako ne mogu...
sk
nba.908vpoznanovic,
Juče se desilo dosta značajnih stvari u NBA ligi... obratite pažnju...
MAGIC RETIRES FOR THIRD TIME
LOS ANGELES -- Magic Johnson, who returned with glowing triumph to
the NBA after a 4Ż year absence but saw the season end in controversy
and disappointment, retired again Tuesday, saying he was returning to
his business interests.
The new Magic was a bulked-up power forward who challenged the like of
Dennis Rodman.
"I am ready to give it up. It's time to move on. I am going out on my
terms, something I couldn't say when I aborted a comeback in 1992,"
Johnson said in a statement released through his agent, Lon Rosen.
"I was satisfied with my return to the NBA, although I would have
hoped we (the Los Angeles Lakers) would have gone further into the
playoffs," he said.
Rosen said that Johnson's retirement had nothing to do with his
health. The Lakers were apparently unaware of Johnson's decision and
had no immediate reaction to his retirement.
Magic's announcement surprised the team, which was given no advance
warning of the move.
"From the time he came to this team almost 17 years ago, Earvin
Johnson has been a very special part of our lives," Lakers executive
vice president of basketball operations Jerry West said in a
statement.
"While this is a sad day, it's one that we always knew would come, and
I would rather look at it remembering all the great moments he brought
to this team and our fans. Obviously, we wish him the best in his
future endeavors, and will look forward to having him around as he was
the past 4Ż years before his comeback."
Lakers owner Jerry Buss said in a statement, "We want what is best for
Magic."
"We supported him in his return, and we support him again in his
retirement. Despite the disappointment he and our organization felt
during the playoffs, the special relationship Earvin continued to have
with fans everywhere, myself included, had to make this past season a
rewarding one for him."
Johnson, 36, would have been a free agent on July 1 and there was
speculation if he would return to the Lakers or leave for another
team. But only 10 days ago, in a news conference after the Lakers were
eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Houston
Rockets, Johnson said he wanted to play next season.
"This is where I want to be, I'm a Laker," Johnson said May 3. "I'm
looking at the Lakers as No. 1."
Johnson first retired just before the start of the 1991-92 season
after learning he had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS.
He unretired before the start of the 1992 season and played in
preseason games before objections from several NBA players about
playing with him, most notably Karl Malone, led to his second
retirement.
He returned to the Lakers on Jan. 29, collected 19 points and 10
rebounds his first game, and helped fuel a surge that led the team
into the playoffs.
Johnson played in 32 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 14.6
points, 6.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds. The Lakers won 20 of those
games. He was dominant at times, playing mostly at power forward, but
looked his age at others.
But he wasn't entirely happy with his role on the team, wanting to see
more action at point guard than power forward and hinting he would
welcome offers from other teams.
Johnson, who gave up a percentage of the Lakers when he came back,
said he will continue to cheer for the Lakers. "This team has a great
future and I will be excited to sit courtside and root them on to a
championship very soon. In announcing this decision now, I wanted to
give the Lakers every advantage in planning their future and securing
one of the much-talked about free agents this summer."
Rosen's release to the press said Johnson will return to his business
interests, which include Magic Johnson Theatres and a building-land
development company.
Besides the first-round playoff loss to Houston, the season ended in
controversy when Johnson was suspended for three games after bumping
referee Scott Foster. The bumping incident came just days after
Johnson had admonished younger teammate Nick Van Exel for pushing a
referee.
The Laker season seemed to disintegrate with infighting. Starting
forward Cedric Ceballos jumped the team for a few days, unhappy with
his playing time. At one time, Johnson said he had trouble relating to
the younger players.
The Rockets eliminated the Lakers in four games, winning the series
finale 102-94. Johnson, who scored eight points in the game, sat the
final five minutes on the bench as the Lakers were unable to overcome
a five-point deficit. Coach Del Harris said he wanted to go with
younger legs.
After that defeat, Johnson said he wanted to come back. "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," he said.
Apparently, something happened in the ensuing 10 days. After a team
meeting on May 3, Johnson said, "As of today, I want to play next
year. I can't go out like this, I don't want to. This is not my style,
this is not what I came back for."
Stay tuned.
nba.909vpoznanovic,
Bravo Toni!
KUKOC GRABS NBA'S SIXTH MAN AWARD
Chicago Bulls forward Toni Kukoc was named the winner of the NBA's
Sixth Man award on Tuesday.
Tony Kukoc was third on the Bulls in scoring, assists and 3-point
field goal percentage.
Kukoc received 45 of 113 votes from a nationwide panel of writers and
broadcasters. Portland center Arvydas Sabonis, was second with 24
votes, and New Jersey Nets center Jayson Williams was third with 14
votes.
The 6-foot-11 Kukoc averaged 13.1 points and four rebounds in 81 games
this season. He becomes the first Chicago player to win the award.
Kukoc has missed the last two games of the Bulls' Eastern Conference
semifinal series with the New York Knicks because of a back injury and
is not expected to be in uniform Tuesday night for Game 5.
Kukoc, who started 20 games this season, was third on the team in
scoring, assists and 3-point field goal percentage at 40.3 percent (87
for 216).
The 27-year-old Croatian scored a career-high 34 points against the
Miami Heat in a 100-92 win April 4 and had 24 points and a season-high
10 assists as Chicago beat the Denver Nuggets 108-87 March 15.
Kukoc averaged 15.7 points and 5.4 rebounds last season, but lost his
starting job this year after the Bulls acquired Dennis Rodman from San
Antonio.
Kukoc was the Bulls' second-round pick in 1990, but did not join
Chicago until the 1993-94 season. He was a member of three European
championship teams and was named the Player of the Year three times.
Kukoc helped Croatia to the silver medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics.
nba.910vpoznanovic,
NBA Sixth Man award voting
The following is the voting for the NBA's Sixth Man award:
45 -- Toni Kukoc, Chicago Bulls
24 -- Arvydas Sabonis, Portland Trail Blazers
14 -- Jayson Williams, New Jersey Nets
11 -- Sam Cassell, Houston Rockets
9 -- Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers
5 -- Chuck Person, San Antonio Spurs
2 -- Chris Gatling, Miami Heat
2 -- Dell Curry, Charlotte Hornets
1 -- Steve Kerr, Chicago Bulls
nba.911vpoznanovic,
NBA Sixth Man award winners
1995-96 -- Toni Kukoc, Chicago
1994-95 -- Anthony Mason, New York
1993-94 -- Dell Curry, Charlotte
1992-93 -- Cliff Robinson, Portland
1991-92 -- Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1990-91 -- Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1989-90 -- Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1988-89 -- Eddie Johnson, Phoenix
1987-88 -- Roy Tarpley, Dallas
1986-87 -- Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1985-86 -- Bill Walton, Boston
1984-85 -- Kevin McHale, Boston
1983-84 -- Kevin McHale, Boston
1982-83 -- Bobby Jones, Philadelphia
nba.912vpoznanovic,
SONICS SIGN KARL FOR ANOTHER YEAR
SEATTLE -- The Seattle SuperSonics guaranteed the final year of coach
George Karl's contract on Tuesday, two days after the club swept the
defending champion Houston Rockets out of the playoffs.
Karl had one year remaining on his contract and there had been
speculation that he would not be back if the team fared poorly in the
playoffs. Despite successful regular seasons, Seattle had been
eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 1994 and 1995.
But the Sonics, who won a franchise-record 64 games this season,
knocked off the Sacramento Kings in the first round before the
four-game sweep of the Rockets.
"George and his staff have done a superb job," Sonics president and
general manager Wally Walker said. "The team has made positive
progress in so many ways this season and we are delighted to recognize
our coach's role in that progress."
Walker also said the team will discuss a contract extension in the
offseason.
The 45-year-old Karl joined the Sonics midway through the 1991-92
season and has compiled a 266-104 record with the club. In four full
seasons, he has guided Seattle to the best record in the NBA during
that span and two appearances in the Western Conference finals.
"I'm happy to be staying in Seattle and happy that the ownership and
Wally made this decision at this time," Karl said. "It allows me, our
staff and our team to really focus on the present and the task at
hand, which is bringing an NBA championship to Seattle."
Karl, who also coached the Golden State Warriors, has a career record
of 385-280. Had he not returned to Seattle, he had been mentioned as a
candidate for the vacant coaching job with the Charlotte Hornets.
nba.913vpoznanovic,
BICKERSTAFF TO REMAIN AS NUGGETS COACH
DENVER -- Denver Nuggets coach Bernie Bickerstaff says he will return
next season as the team's coach, ending speculation he may step down
after the team's disappointing season.
But Bickerstaff said Monday he has spoken with Charlie Lyons,
president of owner Ascent Entertainment Group, and will continue to
coach the team while also handling his duties as team president.
"I'm just too much of a competitor to walk away from the franchise,"
Bickerstaff said. "I don't do that because times are tough. I don't
mind the critiquing or any of those things. I know what I'm about as a
coach."
The Nuggets were 20-12 under Bickerstaff at the end of the 1994-95
season, but fell to 35-47 this past season and missed the playoffs.