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Post by Son Goshin on Nov 11, 2004 15:53:03 GMT -5
lol, yea! that was one of the lowest scoring games since the inception of the shot clock
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Post by rjxsapri® on Dec 25, 2004 19:49:27 GMT -5
The brick wall came tumbling down Saturday.
But that didn't stop the Miami Heat from beating the Los Angeles Lakers in Shaq vs. Kobe I.
With Shaquille O'Neal watching from the bench after fouling out late in the fourth quarter, Dwyane Wade and Eddie Jones scored four points each in overtime and the Heat beat the Lakers 104-102 to extend their winning streak to 11 games, equaling a franchise record.
The Heat survived despite a season-high 42 points by Kobe Bryant. But the Lakers' star was held scoreless in overtime, missing three shots including a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
O'Neal fouled out with 2:15 left in the fourth period after getting 24 points and 11 rebounds in his much-ballyhooed first game against the Lakers since being traded to the Heat last summer.
O'Neal tied the game by dunking off a missed shot with three minutes left, but picked up his sixth foul 45 seconds later when Bryant drove toward the basket.
Bryant drew O'Neal's fifth foul in similar fashion with 4:04 to play.
When asked last Monday what would happen if Bryant drove the lane, O'Neal replied: "When you've got a Corvette that runs into a brick wall, you know what's going to happen."
The Corvette won, but the Lakers lost.
Wade, who had 29 points and 10 assists, scored with 2:06 remaining to give the Heat a 104-99 lead. The Lakers drew within two points when Lamar Odom made his second 3-pointer of the overtime with 1:11 to play.
But neither team scored after that. The Lakers got the ball one final time with 3.4 seconds to play, but Bryant couldn't come through.
A pregame tribute to O'Neal was shown on the videoboard before he was introduced to a standing ovation that lasted about 40 seconds. Bryant stood in front of the Lakers' bench and clapped throughout.
O'Neal and Bryant acknowledged each other briefly before the opening tipoff.
"It was a general acknowledgment. You recognize your competitor and prepare for battle," Bryant said at halftime. "It was a little weird seeing him in a different uniform."
O'Neal and Bryant were teammates for eight chaotic seasons with the Lakers. Despite their obvious disdain for each other, nearly unbearable at times, the Lakers won three championships and reached the NBA Finals a fourth time during their last five years together.
O'Neal demanded a trade three days after the Lakers were beaten by the Detroit Pistons in the Finals last June. Phil Jackson was told the same day his services as coach were no longer desired.
Bryant, meanwhile signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract to stay. With Jackson and O'Neal out of the picture, the Lakers immediately became Kobe's team.
Once the game began, there were few indications Bryant and O'Neal had a past, much less such an acrimonious one.
Jones, another former Laker, had 18 points and seven rebounds. Udonis Haslem had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Miami.
Odom scored all eight Los Angeles points in overtime and equaled a season high with 24 points. Odom, who came to the Lakers in the O'Neal trade, also had 11 rebounds.
Chucky Atkins had 12 points and seven assists, and Chris Mihm had 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers.
With the game tied at 94, Wade missed two shots in the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime and drawing a grimace from O'Neal in front of the Miami bench.
A basket by Bryant and a 3-pointer by Atkins put the Lakers on top 71-63, matching the largest lead of the game. The Heat went on a 10-2 run to tie it before Bryant made two spectacular shots to finish the third quarter, putting Los Angeles ahead 77-73.
Bryant challenged O'Neal on the first two Los Angeles possessions. O'Neal blocked Bryant's shot the first time; Bryant made a pullup jumper the second.
Bryant made his first three 3-point shots, giving him 11 points and the Lakers a 17-9 lead less than 3 1/2 minutes in. Los Angeles was 5-of-5 from 3-point range at that stage.
O'Neal was relatively quiet until making two thunderous dunks, giving the Heat a 40-37 lead. The Lakers led 56-54 at halftime.
O'Neal was traded for Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant. Butler, a starter, didn't play against his former team, having been suspended for swinging at New Orleans guard Dan johnsonau.
Notes: The Lakers have played at home on Christmas every year since Staples Center opened in 1999. ... The Heat haven't lost since Dec. 4, when they were beaten at Denver. They go for their 12th straight win Monday at home against Atlanta. ... Jumaine Jones started in place of Butler and scored nine points.
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Post by Son Goshin on Jan 6, 2005 11:05:01 GMT -5
oh yes, what a spectacular game. i knew this game would be good when shaq went up agaisnt kobe for the first time
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Post by rjxsapri® on Feb 12, 2005 11:06:02 GMT -5
There will be no NBA career scoring record for Karl Malone. No championship ring, either.
The Mailman is retiring, having come up short in his quest for both during his 19-year career.
The 41-year-old Malone will announce his retirement Sunday, the Jazz said Friday, deciding against making one more run at an NBA title. He will hold a news conference Sunday at the Delta Center - the arena where his 1997 and 1999 league MVPs are celebrated with signs below the upper deck.
Soon, a giant No. 32 Malone jersey will hang above the court.
"Even though he never won a championship, he had an outstanding career," said Jerry Sloan, Malone's coach for 15 seasons in Utah. "He played a lot of times when he shouldn't have. He did whatever he could to try to win, and I think that kind of thing is overlooked a lot these days in the game of basketball."
Malone's agent, Dwight Manley, said Malone was "very serious" about returning to action with the San Antonio Spurs before he decided to retire.
"I can tell you he's given a tremendous amount of thought to this decision, but the specific details are best left to him to make on Sunday," Manley said.
Jazz owner Larry Miller said he spoke to Malone on Thursday night and left it up to Malone on when he wanted to hold his retirement news conference. Miller said he promised Malone not to get into details about his 18 years with the Jazz until Sunday, when the emotional owner will help Malone say goodbye in the city where he started his NBA career in 1985.
And now that his playing career will officially be over, Miller said the next step is to retire Malone's number.
"The earliest it will be is the beginning of the next season," Miller said. "We'll let him choose the timing."
Malone has scored 36,928 points, just 1,459 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record.
Malone spent all but one of his 19 seasons with the Jazz, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent before last season. He made the move so he could make one more run at the ring that eluded him in trips to the NBA Finals in 1997 and '98.
Malone made it to the finals again with the Lakers, but came up empty. Detroit beat Los Angeles in five games.
Malone teamed with guard John Stockton for 18 seasons with Utah to form one of the NBA's greatest duos, leading the Jazz to the finals twice but losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls each time.
"I'm not as surprised as I am sad to see one of the best who ever played finally decide to hang them up," said Jazz guard Howard Eisley, a teammate of Malone's on the Western Conference championship teams.
Malone had been talking with the Spurs about signing on for one last playoff run, but decided against it.
"We had a great meeting with him (last week) and he was wonderful," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before San Antonio's game at New Jersey on Friday night. "He felt real good about himself and he felt in another week he would be ready to go. Mentally, you could tell he didn't have the same juice, and I think he made a good decision."
Malone will end his career with the same number of seasons as Stockton, the NBA's career leader in assists and steals who retired in 2003 after 19 seasons, all with the Jazz.
Sloan said it was appropriate that Malone would return to Utah to retire.
"He had a great career here and did a terrific job for the Jazz," Sloan said.
Malone joined the Lakers at a greatly reduced salary before last season in an attempt to win a title by playing with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. He missed 39 games during the regular season after injuring his right knee, and was hurt again during the playoffs. He was limited in Games 3 and 4 against the Pistons and missed Game 5.
"We've had one year with him and everyone in the organization, from the front office staff, fellow players, coaches, everyone really enjoyed having Karl around for that year," Lakers spokesman John Black said. "He was a real addition to our team last year in helping us get to the NBA Finals."
Malone opted out of his $1.65 million contract following last season, making him a free agent. He and his family live in Newport Beach, Calif. They also have a home in Salt Lake City.
Manley said in October that his client wasn't ready to play, but if he returned, it would only be with the Lakers.
That changed late last year after Malone was accused by Bryant of making a pass at Bryant's wife. Malone, through Manley, denied the accusation and apologized to Bryant and his wife for any remarks she might have considered inappropriate.
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Post by Son Goshin on Feb 14, 2005 13:30:17 GMT -5
yea, i heard about that, kinda sad. reggie miller is supposed to retire after this season too, and it doesn't seem like the pacers are going to win a championsh this year. but i think they'll both definitely get into the hall of fame. they'll never be remembered as much as michael jordan, larry bird, and magic johnson, but they are all great players and deserve to be in the hall of fame
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Post by SSJ4 Gogeta on Apr 9, 2005 0:47:48 GMT -5
Hell Yes Yes YES Lakers kick the crap our of Seattle Super Sonics
117-94
~Top Performers~
Caron Butler
PTS REB AST 31 7 4
Kobe Bryant
PTS REB AST 42 2 5
Jumaine Jones
PTS REB AST 13 12 5
~overall Stats~
LA Lakers Name Min FG 3Pt FT Off Reb Ast TO Stl Blk PF Pts C. Butler 42 10-19 2-3 9-9 3 7 4 1 1 0 4 31 J. Jones 39 6-14 1-3 0-0 1 12 5 0 0 0 3 13 B. Grant 27 4-6 0-0 2-3 3 5 4 0 1 1 4 10 C. Atkins 23 2-5 1-1 0-0 0 1 3 1 0 0 5 5 K. Bryant 40 15-22 7-11 5-6 1 2 5 3 2 1 2 42 D. George 12 0-3 0-1 2-2 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 V. Divac 20 1-2 0-0 1-2 2 4 4 2 0 0 4 3 T. Brown 27 2-6 0-1 2-2 0 2 4 1 2 0 2 6 L. Walton 6 1-4 0-2 0-0 2 4 2 0 0 0 0 2 S. Vujacic 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 B. Cook 1 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 S. Medvedenko DNP - Coach's Decision Totals 240 42-82 12-23 21-24 13 39 31 8 6 2 26 117 Percentages: .512 .522 .875 Team Rebounds: 6
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Post by Son Goshin on Apr 9, 2005 14:14:06 GMT -5
it doesn't mean to much though becuase the lakers are out of playoff contention. but guess who's finally back in it? DA BULLS!! can you believe they are the 4th seed in the east! if it weren't for the new playoff setup, the bulls would be the third seed since their record is better than boston's. and if the bulls were in the west, they'd have the 8th seed! what can i say, they're just good.
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Post by SSJ4 Gogeta on Apr 9, 2005 16:35:15 GMT -5
yeah I know I have looked at the Laker Schedule and I say there going to finish 39-43 if they can keep it up and Continue to beat Dallas (after already beating them 108-103 and 100-95) and beat Sacramento ( like last time 115-103) but the Teams that I say are defiently tgoing to playoff are the Denver (44-31), Houston (45-31), Chigaco (43-32)
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