NBA

[eazyberny]

viel glück fü die lakers

OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 18 (Ticker) -- Shaquille O'Neal blocked Nick Van Exel's jumper at the buzzer to help the Los Angeles Lakers overcome Gary Payton's ejection and win their second straight game.

O'Neal and Kobe Bryant scored 40 of the Lakers' 48 second-half points in a 100-99 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Payton and Warriors guard Speedy Claxton were ejected with 6:54 left in the third after getting into an altercation. The incident occurred after Claxton picked up a foul while trying to steal the ball from Payton.

The two collided after the whistle and Payton became enraged, pushing Claxton onto the scorer's table. It took several players and officials to separate the two as Payton was dragged to the floor by two referees during the scrum.

With Payton gone, Los Angeles looked more like the Lakers of last season. Bryant scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half and O'Neal finished with 31 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. But both made costly mistakes in the final minute that nearly cost the Lakers the game.

O'Neal missed two free throws with 1:03 remaining and the Lakers nursing a one-point lead. Los Angeles stopped Golden State on the ensuing possession, but Bryant was called for traveling with 19 seconds remaining.

However, the Warriors could not capitalize on the miscues. Nick Van Exel missed a floater in the lane and Kareem Rush was fouled with 3.9 seconds left.

Rush missed both free throws, but O'Neal grabbed the rebound. Perhaps concerned that he would be fouled, O'Neal put up a quick shot that missed everything. Bryant rebounded but stepped out of bounds with 1.3 seconds to go.

Jason Richardson scored 25 points and Robinson added 22 for the Warriors, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

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bearbeitet 19. Februar 2004 von eazyberny

[eazyberny]

Timberwolves Topple Kings

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 19 -- There were two distinct sounds at the Target Center - the uncharacteristic clanging of shots by the Sacramento Kings and the chants of "MVP" for Kevin Garnett.

Garnett collected 22 points and 24 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves welcomed back Wally Szczerbiak and defeated the Kings, 92-75, to move into a virtual tie for the best record in the NBA.

Last year's MVP runner-up to Tim Duncan and again among the leading candidates, Garnett posted his 16th straight double-double and sixth 20-20 game of the season. The NBA's rebounding leader gave Minnesota an overwhelming 60-34 advantage on the glass.

"I just wanted to come out aggressive," Garnett said. "When you're in the flow, it can be a defensive flow, an offensive flow, or it can be a rebounding flow. I was in a flow that I saw every rebound and where it was going, and just wanted it and went and got it."

Garnett's presence in the paint also rattled the Kings, who lead the NBA in scoring and shooting. They missed a half-dozen layups and all eight 3-pointers in the first half, falling into a 43-34 hole.

Szczerbiak, a sweet-shooting swingman, missed the first 53 games of the season with a strained plantar fascia tendon in his left foot. He came off the bench in the second quarter and had a pair of buckets.

"The first three possessions, it was boom-boom, boom-boom," Szczerbiak said. "I was like, `Wow, this is moving pretty fast.' But after that, I was fine. I got my wind, and it felt really good in the second half."

Szczerbiak also had a layup with 7:21 left that gave Minnesota a 74-68 lead and began a decisive 11-2 run. Amid chants of "MVP," Garnett capped the surge by finding Sam Cassell for a 3-pointer, making a short bank shot and sinking two free throws for an 83-70 bulge with 4:18 to go.

Cassell scored 18 points for the Timberwolves (39-15), who moved within percentage points of the Kings (38-14) for the league's best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

"They're a team that shoots 48-49 percent from the field and averages 105 a game," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. "When you hold a team 30 points below their average, you know you're doing something right."

All-Star Peja Stojakovic scored a pedestrian 15 points for Sacramento, which shot under 34 percent (30-of-89) and was held to its lowest total of the season. It had a four-game winning streak snapped.

"When you shoot 33 percent, the other team is going to get a lot more rebounds than you, especially when you're not a great offensive rebounding team to begin with," Kings coach Rick Adelman said.

The teams had gone to overtime their last four meetings, an NBA record. But the Wolves never trailed in this one, shooting 45.5 percent (35-of-77) overall and holding the Kings to 15 points in the fourth quarter.

also man kann sagen was man will aba die wolves sind heuer ein heisser kandidat...

und garnett, wenn der nicht mvp wird dann weiss ich nimma

was meint ihr?

wer kommt ins finale?

wer wird champion?

ich weiss die saison is noch lang und die play offs kommen auch noch, aba die t’wolfes sind heiss

[chinomoreno]

Die Wolves sind für mich momentan der Titelkandidat schlechthin. Mit einem Garnett in Topform kannst du sowieso sehr viel reißen, aber jetzt wo er noch mit Spre eine gute Ergänzung gefunden hat und Cassell und Szczerbiak auch sehr gut spielen, muss man die Timberwolves wirklich als absolutes Topteam und Titelanwärter Nr.1 sehen, außer die Lakers schaffen es noch quasi aufzuerstehen.

[eazyberny]

außer die Lakers schaffen es noch quasi aufzuerstehen.

naja schön wärs, aba die wolves habns sich echt verdiehnt

die lakers zur zeit leidr nicht...

wenn muss das scho ne ordentliche auferstehung sein...

[Marcelinho]

Giricek spielt jetzt bei den Utah Jazz

[eazyberny]

der anfang der auferstehung in la?

L.A. Lakers 116, Philadelphia 88

Lakers Lambaste Sixers in Win

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 (Ticker) -- The All-Star Game was just a tune-up for the dominant return of the Los Angeles Lakers' tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

O'Neal collected 29 points and 13 rebounds and Bryant scored 28 points and handed out seven assists as the Lakers rolled to a 116-88 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers.

O'Neal was named the MVP of Sunday's All-Star Game after posting 24 points and 11 rebounds. He could have shared the award with Bryant, who scored 20 points in 36 minutes.

The duo has been unstoppable since the break, with O'Neal averaging 27 points and 13.3 rebounds and Bryant posting 31.7 points, 8.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds in three games.

"We looked at each other (during the break)," O'Neal said. "We know we need to turn it up and we know how to get it done."

"I don't know if we are more in sync now than we were at the beginning of the year," Bryant said. "We don't have all the pieces of the puzzle."

O'Neal was unstoppable in the second quarter, scoring 16 points of Los Angeles' 32 points. He scored five points during a 17-6 burst the Lakers used to open the period for a 44-27 lead.

The Sixers pulled within 59-51 at halftime, but O'Neal helped the Lakers take control for good in the third quarter with seven points, four rebounds and two assists.

Los Angeles made 11-of-19 shots while holding Philadelphia to 7-of-19 from the floor in the period and had an 87-70 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.

Rick Fox scored seven of his 11 points in the third and Gary Payton finished with 13 points and six assists as Los Angeles cruised to its sixth win in seven games, despite playing most of the fourth quarter without O'Neal and Bryant.

The Lakers posted their highest score of the season by dominating inside as they scored 61 points in the paint and held a 52-37 rebounding advantage.

"We went out and played pretty good basketball," O'Neal said. "We need this win. We just want to take care of business on our end and pick it up before we get into the playoffs."

Kenny Thomas had 22 points and 12 rebounds and Glenn Robinson scored 19 points for the Sixers, who shot 40 percent (31-of-76) from the floor and lost for the 13th time in 18 games.

All-Star Allen Iverson was held to 16 points on 3-of-18 shooting as Philadelphia fell to 2-2 under interim coach Chris Ford.

LETS GO LAKERS!!

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bearbeitet 21. Februar 2004 von eazyberny

[eazyberny]

Shaq’s Best?

NEW YORK -- A month after the 2002 NBA finals, writer Elliott Kalb found himself sitting next to the legendary Jerry Rice on a shuttle bus heading out to a celebrity golf tournament. Kalb turned to Rice and asked, "Are you an NBA fan?" "Yes, a big one," replied Rice. "Who’s the greatest NBA player of all time?" Kalb went on to ask. "MJ, of course," was his response. When Rice asked Kalb’s opinion, he gave him an answer of someone who has watched NBA basketball for more than 30 years. He confidently answered, "Shaquille O’Neal." Rice’s jaw dropped. Another celebrity golfer began yelling at Kalb, "There isn’t a player alive or dead who is close to Michael Jordan."

Welcome to Kalb’s new book, Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball?

The ultimate NBA historian and authority in armchair athletes’ disputes, Kalb interweaves numbers, facts and anecdotes to flesh out the central question in every sports fan’s mind: Who’s the Best? His choices are provocative [Michael Jordan isn’t #1], framed by discussions with unorthodox sources and respected NBA experts, players and coaches.

Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball? is an informed, opinionated, and irreverent study of the NBA’s greatest players. The book utilizes a running dialogue with some of the greatest minds in the game; as well as offering never-before-seen documentation of some of the superstars greatest achievements.

As the NBA named a "50 Greatest List" back in 1996, the media and fans have clung to that outdated list, in which the great players are not ranked. Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Basketball? is meant to update that list to include the great stars like Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant who made their mark since that original list was introduced.

"I have spent a lifetime asking questions of various players, coaches, writers and executives connected with the NBA," says Kalb. "For this book, I have canvassed the opinions of some of the most respected experts in NBA history."

The author's reputation as a numbers cruncher notwithstanding (he is the stat geek for ABC and ESPN and, before that, compiled NBC's pro hoops stats for 15 years), his choices turn out to be, in their own way, as subjective as anyone else's. But Kalb promises to inform his choices with the weight of statistics, and, to a certain extent, he does.

The book name is "Who's Better, Who's Best." Here's the top 10:

1 Shaquille O'Neal

2 Wilt Chamberlain

3 Michael Jordan

4 Bill Russell

5 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

6 Larry Bird

7 Magic Johnson

8 Oscar Robertson

9 Tim Duncan

10 Bob Cousy

quelle

wer sind eure all-time-top 10?

bearbeitet 24. Februar 2004 von eazyberny

[chinomoreno]

1. Michael Jordan

2. Wilt Chamberlain

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

4. Karl Malone

5. Magic Johnson

6. Larry Bird

7. Charles Barkley

8. John Stockton

9. Shaquille O'Neal

10. Hakeem Olajuwon

bearbeitet 25. Februar 2004 von chinomoreno

[eazyberny]

lakers verlieren knapp gegen die "shorthanded" kings

101-103

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 (Ticker) -- A major difference between the top two teams in the Pacific Division is that the Sacramento Kings can win without key players in the lineup and the Los Angeles Lakers can't.

Mike Bibby hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds as the Kings pulled out a 103-101 victory over the Lakers.

In both meetings between the rivals, one team has been short-handed. In Sacramento's blowout win on Jan. 16, the Lakers were without Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone and were in the midst of their worst stretch of the season.

In this one, the Kings were without Chris Webber, Brad Miller and Bobby Jackson. But Sacramento has not missed a beat without the injured players, winning four in a row and six of seven games since the All-Star break.

"It just means how we played good as a team, how we trust each other and how much confidence we have in the guys that didn't have the opportunity to play before," Kings forward Peja Stojakovic said.

"Obviously, it's just a great win," coach Rick Adelman added. "Every win we can get at this point, especially with Bobby, Brad and Webb out ... it's a huge step for us."

Sacramento got big performances from Bibby and Stojakovic in Tuesday's win over New York and the duo was clutch again. Bibby scored a season-high 31 points and Stojakovic led the Kings with 37.

Bibby and Stojakovic combined to shoot 12-of-21 from the arc, with Bibby's last two 3-pointers making the difference. He gave Sacramento a 100-98 lead with 89 seconds left, then extended the advantage to five points with 45 seconds to play.

Bryant led the Lakers with 35 points. He hit a clutch 3-pointer with 37 seconds to play, but had a potential game-winning 3-pointer bounce off the rim as Los Angeles had a five-game winning streak snapped.

"I got a good look, but it was short," Bryant said. "It was a broken play. It was a great look. I will take that shot any day."

After scoring 18 points in the third quarter to get the Kings within 81-80, Stojakovic had just five in the final period. All of them came during an 8-1 spurt that gave Sacramento a 92-86 lead with 6:38 remaining.

O'Neal countered with six of his 24 points in an 8-2 burst, capping it with a dunk over former Laker Vlade Divac to forge a 94-94 tie with 3:45 left.

After Bryant's layup made it 96-94, Anthony Peeler's three-point play put Sacramento in front with just over two minutes to play. But O'Neal, who was 6-of-13 from the free-throw line, missed a pair before Bryant made two for a 98-97 edge with 98 seconds remaining.

The Kings clinched their sixth straight winning season, beat the Lakers for the fourth time in six meetings and opened a six-game lead in the division. They shot 48 percent (36-of-75) from the field, including 12-of-24 from the arc.

"It's a case of hot shooting," Los Angeles guard Kareem Rush said. "We missed a couple of open shots that we would have normally hit. Guys usually don't go 7-for-11 and 5-for-10 from the 3-point line."

bearbeitet 27. Februar 2004 von eazyberny

[Kobe o´Neal]

leider die sucktown queens dürften ihnen bis dato nicht liegen.wird zeit das webber zurückkommt mit dieser mimose haben sie wie schon mehrmals in den playoffs vorgezeigt hoffentlich keine chance.

ps mir persöhnlich ist es lieber die lakers verlieren heute als mitte märz weil da bin ich live vor ort im stapels center

[eazyberny]

ps mir persöhnlich ist es lieber die lakers verlieren heute als mitte märz weil da bin ich live vor ort im stapels center

ich kenn dich zwar nicht aba dafür hasse ich dich

will auch live dort hin!!!!

mitte mai sind dann ja scho playoffs, mal schaun wie weit sie da kommen

dere

bearbeitet 27. Februar 2004 von eazyberny

[quaiz]

Da ich die NBA schon lange nicht mehr verfolge würde mich interesieren was aus Tony Kukoc wurde weis nicht ob man den Namen so schreibt.

Er war mal bei den Bulls.

Wie alt ist er jetzt ?

Und wie sieht es mit dem Comeback von Rodman jetzt aus ?

[chinomoreno]

Toni Kukoc dürfte jetzt 36 oder 37 Jahre alt sein und spielt derzeit für die Milwaukee Bucks. Nach seiner Zeit in Chicago war er bei den Sixers in Philadelphia und in Atlanta, wo er für die Hawks auf Korbjagd ging.

Über Rodman's Combackabsichten weiß ich nicht viel, weiß nur, dass er einige Zeit in der ABA gespielt hat und die Nuggets an ihm interessiert waren.

bearbeitet 27. Februar 2004 von chinomoreno

[quaiz]

Ich weis es nervt aber wollte Barcley nicht auch ein Comeback starten ?

[chinomoreno]

Ich weis es nervt aber wollte Barcley nicht auch ein Comeback starten ?

Keine Ahnung, wo hast du das aufgeschnappt? Ich weiß jedenfalls nichts davon, er hat doch wegen seinen kaputten Knien aufgehört, da glaub ich nicht, dass er wiederkommt, könnte mich aber auch irren.