NBA News [Archive] - Tapesh.Com an Iranian, Persian based Forum

RedWine

06-21-2006, 07:52 AM

Shortly after being traded to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004, Shaquille O'Neal's first visit to the American Airlines Arena in Miami drew a surprisingly large number of fans waiting outside in 90-degree heat to welcome him.

The whole thing turned into an impromptu rally with O'Neal addressing the crowd and promising to bring a championship to South Beach.

Promise delivered.

The Heat battled back from a fast start by the Dallas Mavericks, took control late in the second and early in the third quarters and held off a late rally for a 95-92 victory Tuesday night to wrap up the NBA Finals four games to two.

http://www.covers.com/images/2006/180x180/oneal_shaquille060611a.jpg

After dropping the first two games on the road, Miami won four straight games.

''I made that promise because of D-Wade,'' O'Neal said of teammate Dwyane Wade. ''I knew he was a special player. I knew we'd have a championship-caliber team.''

O'Neal, who finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, didn't have a big game in the clincher, but he didn't have to.

Wade, the obvious choice for the most valuable player award, led the way with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but this was the Heat's most-balanced game of the series, and perhaps of the playoffs.

http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/multimedia/archive/00265/Dirk_Nowitzki__link_265005h.jpg

Udonis Haslem (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Antoine Walker (14 points and 11 rebounds) each had a double-double and Alonzo Mourning came off the bench for eight points, six rebounds and five blocks in 14 minutes.

Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the series, but bristled when a questioner said he put the team on his back.

''I don't want to say I put this team on my back,'' he said. ''We did it together. Like coach [Pat Riley] said, it's been 15 strong.''

For the Mavericks, Game 6 was just another in a long line of frustrating performances recently.

Whether it was the pressure of having to win to stay alive, the Miami defense or a combination of the two, Dallas just couldn't make enough shots Tuesday. The Mavs were just 34-for-92 (37 percent) from the field for the game, including 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from three-point range.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 29 points and 15 rebounds, but had just two points in the fourth quarter.

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2006/06/11/heat.mavs.game2.ap/p1.mavericks.ap.jpg

''I am just so proud of our team,'' Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. ''I just told them how much I love them, through thick and thin.

''I think we've made a lot of progress this year. We got knocked out in the first round two years ago, the second round last year. We aimed high this year and I told them a lot of teams have to go through this.''

At 24, Wade has a championship ring and his performance is sure to keep the comparisons with Michael Jordan alive.

''No comparison,'' Wade said. ''The comparison is flattering, but at the same time I always stay away from them because there will never be another Jordan.''

This year's championship is the fourth for O'Neal and seventh for Riley (he won two as a player). O'Neal won his most recent title in 2003. Riley's last came in 1988.

''I said it and I meant it: I would give up all six [previous titles] for this one,'' Riley said. ''It's not being disrespectful to any of them that I won, but after 18 years of chasing you get tired. So this one gives me a sense of absolute freedom. It's very special.''

The Heat ran off four straight wins to become the third team to rally from an 0-2 deficit in the Finals -- the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers are the others -- and the first to do it since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the final round in 1985.

Even after sweeping the middle three games on it home court, Miami still was seen as the underdog in some quarters because the final two games would be played in Dallas.

Riley, though, set the mind-set of his team when he announced he had packed lightly for the trip.

''I packed one suit, one shirt and one tie,'' he said before the game. ''That's it.''

He won't need a suit for Game 7, but was in need of a change of clothes after getting his suit, shirt and tie drenched with champagne in the postgame locker room.

NBA FINALS

Dallas vs. Miami
Heat wins series 4-2
Game 1: at Dallas 90, Miami 80
Game 2: at Dallas 99, Miami 85
Game 3: at Miami 98, Dallas 96
Game 4: at Miami 98, Dallas 74
Game 5: at Miami 101, Dal. 100 (OT)
Game 6: Miami 95, at Dallas 92

donsaeid

06-21-2006, 03:24 PM

Go miami... :D hahaha... arman hala didi in spurset hichi nabod... jigare man bid in heat :D ba on ghoole siaheshon :D Shaq :D

RedWine

10-06-2006, 04:50 AM

He's 7-5, 260 pounds, with a 8-foot wingspan. He turned eighteen less than a week ago. He’s a shot blocker with a soft shooting touch. He comes from Iran, and he can grab the rim flat footed and dunk on his tippy-toes!

The natural reaction to “from Iran” is, “So he can’t play, right?” But he can. He’s still raw but not as raw as you might imagine.

Jaber Rouzbahani has been playing basketball for less than four years. He played Yao Ming in an Asian Tournament last year and held him to 15 points. (About half of what Yao was averaging in the tournament.) He also played at the (19-under) World Junior Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece last summer in front of NBA scouts averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds per game and an eye opening 7 blocks, leading the entire tournament.

Jaber (pronounced JAB-er) has been working with Ansar Alameen, a (NBA skill development) coach since moving to America. Alameen said, “His development since I’ve been working with him is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It really comes down to his attitude.”

Rouzbahani was brought over from Iran three months ago after acquiring the necessary visa. He is currently staying in the Bay Area and works out at Contra Costa College.

His caretaker/advisor/translator Hashim Alauddeen, who works for Lebron James’ agent Aaron Goodwin, has brought the kid over and taken him into his home.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/jaber/jaber005.jpg

“Jaber expected there to be a disco tech on every corner.” said Alauddeen describing Jaber's misconceptions about the US being similar to our misconceptions about Iran. "There are a lot of misconceptions, in Iran it’s obviously a different culture, there is a more traditional dress and public presentation there, but people are people".

Alauddeen, from the Bay Area, is a long time friend of Goodwin who met his Iranian wife while studying in Tahran.

“They would never have allowed me to bring Jaber here if it wasn’t for my wife.”, explained Alauddeen. Describing the pitch he made to Jaber’s family, “I told them that Goodwin represents LeBron James and helped him get a 100 million dollar shoe deal from Nike, they looked at me like I was crazy. For shoes?”

Jaber had a normal family upbringing with loving parents. His father is average height standing roughly 6 foot. While his mother is tall at about 5'11.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/jaber/jaber010.jpg

pituitary gland disorder as fellow draft prospect Pavel Podkolzine. Also known as “giantism”, it is a disorder related to the pituitary gland which is involved in growth. Left untreated people with this disorder often die from it in their 30‘s or 40‘s as their body cannot sustain the growth.

Unlike Podkolzine, Rouzbahani had his pituitary gland removed 2 years ago. Pavel however is currently taking medication to combat the disorder.

As with much of the world, basketball is an afterthought to soccer. In Iran, basketball is almost non-existant. There is one gym in the city where Jaber is from and it is used by the professional team. Growing up, Rouzbahani had heard of "Shaq" but didn't know what he did.

He had a chance to meet his favorite player (Shaquille O'Neal) on a chance meeting on a trip up to Portland. As the two biggest people for miles around, the two spotted one another from across a parking lot. Shaq walked the length of the parking lot to shake the big fella’s hand. Shaq said, "You're the big kid from Iran right?". When asked how he knew of Jaber, Shaq pointed to his head and said, "I know everything."

Jaber’s English is still in it's infant stages. Since coming to the US, one of the first English words he learned is "foul". Since not knowing the word was causing arguements in pickup games as opponents didn’t believe that he didn't know how to speak English. He’s still reluctant to call fouls, so his trainer tells him to continue going hard to the basket even after the foul.

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/jaber/jaber004.jpg

In Iran everyone plays soccer, and because of his size he was always the goalkeeper. When asked about how he started playing basketball, he said someone handed him a ball (smiling) and he liked the way it felt.

What about the thought of playing basketball for a living? (through Alauddeen) "I knew I would play for the rest of my life, but I didn't know I could get paid doing it."

Jaber comes from a city of 3 million in Iran called Isfahan which means "half of the world's beauty". It is a city widely known in the Middle East for it's beautiful scenery. There’s a famous bridge there called the See-o-Seh where people go to relax and walk around. It’s ironic that his first home in America is the Bay Area which is home to another beautiful and famous bridge: the Golden Gate.

In Iran, Jaber’s basketball development was slow. They lack the basketball fundamentals in coaching and the mindset is different compared to the kids here in the U.S. To give an example, Alauddeen explained that in Iran, if 9 kids show up to play and there's no tenth person to play full court, they all just go home.

RedWine

10-06-2006, 04:51 AM

Jaber has been playing in daily pickup games with former Georgetown center and 7-footer Wesley Wilson. “When Wesley started playing him a month ago he was killing him”, Alauddeen said. “Now, Jaber can play him head up.”

Seen in the photo below posting up against Wilson, Jaber would hit a shot from the top of the key to win this game and walked off the court with a big grin on his face.

Jaber is in the same boat with Pavel Podkolzine and Peter Ramos as he’s young and has great potential but still a big project. He is more raw than the others but defensively there is even more intrigue because of the development curve. He won't ever be a 20 game scorer, but he could be a big value to a team as a shot blocker.

Jaber has declared for the draft and will stay the course and hope to get drafted or worst case scenario hope to get picked up by a team as a free agent and put on IR for a few seasons to develop.

One “unnamed NBA team” has already inquired about hiding him, so apparently teams have interest. With his considerable upside, how could they not?

http://www.nbadraft.net/profiles/jaber/jaber009.jpg

So how high can he be drafted? It will probably depend on his progression between now and the draft, but he is obviously a long term project but with enormous potential rewards.

Just seeing him workout and play in a few pickup games, it’s tough to project where exactly he will be picked in the draft. With the language barrier, and the rawness, late first round is unlikely but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

When considering Jaber has only been playing for just over 3 years, and has only had intensive training for 2-3 months, one can't help but fantasize about his considerable upside. You could be looking at a future Yao stopper.

Right now his biggest obstacles are learning English (he speaks through his advisor Hashem) and developing his body and skills. He has tremendous size and runs the floor something like Ghorge Mueresan. However, expect it to improve.

When asked what he thinks about possibly being famous in America, he smiles and says, “I’ve already become famous in Iran.”

What stands out most about Jaber, besides the obvious size, is his positive attitude. He has an infectious smile and a great personality which shines through despite the language barrier.

Jaber will leave on Monday, accompanied by Alauddeen, for Atlanta to work out with Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the upcoming NBA draft.

Though he first picked up a basketball less than four years ago, his progression in the past few months is something that will surely peak the interest of the NBA come draft time.

The reach of International basketball continues to grow. Talk of this kid making the NBA is no “jibber-Jaber”.

jsmith

10-06-2006, 04:51 AM

albate ta oonja ke man khabar daram...in male parsaal ina bood...in agha dige baraye NBA bazi nemikone...ye moddat oomad ke bazi kone...va bere college ina ...vali pasesh dadan...:(

RedWine

10-07-2006, 11:25 AM

Nah azizam,esmesh hanouz touyeh list hast !!

DariushM

10-08-2006, 01:22 AM

wooow im impressed
hope he can make it to nba
red wine thanks for this great news
i would luv to see an iranian nba players

donsaeid

10-08-2006, 12:10 PM

age reza zade ghadde ino dasht ya in ghodrate reza zadaro :D vay vay :D ba in miraftim amricaro fath mikardim :D

DariushM

10-09-2006, 10:58 PM

age reza zade ghadde ino dasht ya in ghodrate reza zadaro :D vay vay :D ba in miraftim amricaro fath mikardim :D
loooooooool
are valla

abbas_agha

10-10-2006, 01:28 AM

jaber is an Iranian name?

RedWine

10-10-2006, 06:31 AM

Jaber is an arabic name !

RedWine

10-17-2006, 12:16 PM

خزانه داری آمریکا تحقیقاتی در باره این که آیا بازی بسکتبالیست های آمریکایی برای یک تیم در ایران قانون تحریم اقتصادی ایران را نقض کرده است یا خیر، آغاز کرده است.
بسکتبال یک ورزش محبوب در ایران است و سال گذشته بیست بسکتبالیست آمریکایی قراردادی با یک تیم ایرانی منعقد کردند؛ بسیاری از آن به عنوان نمونه ای ازچیرگی روابط ورزشی براختلافات سیاسی یاد کرده اند.

هم اکنون تنها دو بازیکن آمریکایی در ایران باقی مانده اند.

قانون تحریم آمریکا علیه ایران هر گونه معامله آمریکایی ها با ایران یا عرضه هر گونه خدمات به ایران یا دولت ایران را بدون داشتن مجوز مخصوص از اداره نظارت بر دارایی های خارجی آمریکا را ممنوع می کند.

اما دیپلماتها در ایران می گویند این مقررات هرگز پیش از این در باره ورزشکاران لازم الاجرا نبوده است.

آنها می گویند اگر قرار بود مفاد این قانون مو به مو اجرا شود دیگر هیچ دانشجوی آمریکایی یا حتی افراد دارای تابعیت دوگانه نمی توانست به تدریس زبان انگلیسی در ایران مشغول شود.

خزانه داری آمریکا شروع به برقراری تماس با بسکتبالیست های آمریکایی که برای یک تیم ایرانی بازی کرده بوده اند، کرده است و از آنان در باره جزییات قرارداد شان، این که چه آمریکایی هایی واسطه این کار بوده اند وهمچنین در باره سایر بازیکنان آمریکایی در ایران پرس و جو کرده است.

یک سخنگوی خزانه داری آمریکا گفت تحقیق در باره مواردی که ظن نقض قانون در آن می رود روالی طبیعی است اما وی نمی تواند این موضوع که تحقیقات ممکن است به گشودن پرونده هایی علیه افراد بدل شود را تائید یا تکذیب کند.

او گفت که جریمه احتمالی برای افراد خاطی ممکن است تا پنجاه هزار دلار برسد.

ولی یک مشاور تیم های بسکتبال در ایران می گوید بسکتبالیست های آمریکایی که اکنونمورد تحقیق قرار گرفته اند از این که با این کار خود قانون تحریم علیه حکومت ایران را نقض کرده اند، آگاه نبوده اند.

RedWine

10-31-2006, 10:55 AM

ORLANDO (AP) -- The fan who allegedly directed a racial slur at Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo was banned for the season Monday by the NBA and Orlando Magic.

Season-ticket holder Hooman Hamzehloui allegedly called Mutombo a "monkey" Thursday at a preseason game between the Rockets and the Magic. Mutombo -- a native of Zaire, which is now called the Democratic Republic of Congo -- yelled back at Hamzehloui and gestured from the court.

Hamzehloui was ejected from the game. The league said Hamzehloui is also barred from attending games at any NBA arena this season. Orlando said it will refund his season-ticket payment.

Mutombo said after the game he would go into the stands if it ever happened again, but told Houston television station KRIV on Monday that he has already forgiven Hamzehloui.

"I will not say that I am happy about it," Mutombo said about the NBA's decision to ban Hamzehloui. "It is out of my hands. I have done my job. I have forgiven him.

"Whatever the commissioner and the league does, that's not my area."

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said no action was taken against Mutombo and the matter was closed.

Hamzehloui sent Mutombo a letter of apology obtained by The Associated Press. In it, he promised $5,000 to the charity of Mutombo's choice and vowed not to attend any games until the 7-foot-2 center gave his blessing.

"I am by no means a racist, and if you only knew me better you would never begin to have those thoughts," Hamzehloui wrote. "What I am guilty of is poor judgment in the use of words while doing what I do to many of the visiting team's players, 'heckle them."'

Hamzehloui asked to meet with Mutombo to apologize in person.

Mutombo told KRIV that Hamzehloui's promise to make a charitable donation "meant a lot" to him but a personal apology was not necessary.

"I thoroughly respect you as a player and as a human being and my only motivation when I have my fun at the games is to 'get under the player's skin' no matter what color that skin happens to be," Hamzehloui wrote.

A message was left seeking comment from Hamzehloui late Monday afternoon.

RedWine

11-02-2006, 01:01 PM

The selection stays in the third seat of the ranking of the FIBA, after making history and obtaining the gold medal in the past World-wide of Japan.

The pupilos of Jose Vicente Hernandez follow behind the United States and Argentina, effective campeona Olympic, whereas the Spaniards are over selections like Lituania, Yugoslavia or Greece.

Spain obtained in Japan the Maxima score (50 points) in the competition that more weight along with has in the elaboration of the ranking the Olympic Games, which allowed ' colarsé him between the three best ones.

With respect to the féminas, the Spaniards locate themselves eighth in a classification, that also is led by the United States, reason why the North Americans are also the leaders in the combined one, where they tell to the results of boys and girls and in whom Spain occupies the fourth position

MASCULINE RANKING FIBA

1. The United States 832,2 ptos.
2. Argentina 720.0.
3. SPAIN 619.0.
4. Yugoslavia 508.0.
5. Lituania 460.0.
6. Greece 429.0.
7. Italy 418.0.
8. France 343.0.
9. Germany 282.0.
10. Australia 279.0.

FEMININE RANKING FIBA

1. The United States 1.030,0 ptos.
2. Australia 860.0.
3. Russia 843.0.
4. Brazil 556.0.
5. France 357.0.
6. Czech Republic 304.0.
7. Cuba 297.0.
8. SPAIN 294.0.

COMBINED RANKING

1. The United States 1.862,2 ptos.
2. Australia 1,139.0.
3. Russia 1,005.0.
4. SPAIN 913.0.
5. Argentina 882.4.

RedWine

11-07-2006, 05:35 AM

The basketball always has been a source of very profitable inspiration for the scriptwriters of Hollywood. The fever by the films on the sport of the basket began in 1938, with the opening of a titled tape ' Campus Confessions' and in which it appeared Hank Luisetti, the creator of the launching at a hand and one of the most influential players of first half of Century XX. In the Fifties the documentary ones followed one another on basketball, and a director of the talent and fame of Robert Altman (MASH, Cookiés Fortune or the game of Hollywood) even dared to submerge in 1952 this sport with ' King Basketball'.

The commercial explosion of the basketball in the rooms of cinema took place in the seventy, with the opening of films like ' Maurié, ' Shirt/Skins', ' The Gambler' (with Paul Sorvino and James Woods), ' Mixed Company', ' One on Oné (with Melanie Griffith), ' Coach' or ' Fast Break' (with the ex- player Bernard King like protagonist).

But the first great success at world-wide level took place in 1979, with the opening of ' The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh', titled in Spain ' Basket Music' and in which they appeared players like Juilus Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Connie Hawkins, Spencer Haywood, Bob Lanier or Norman Nixon. This amused musical comedy devastated in the rooms of cinema, and for many present stars as ' quarterback' Donovan McNabb or mísmisimo Shaquille O´Neal recognizes that it is his favorite film.

Alluvium of films after ' Hoosiers'

But if ' Basket Music' made history to the being the first great success is a film who must consider itself of head in the world of the basketball, ' Hoosiers' (based on the real history of trainer Marvin Wood, that in 1954 took to the modest Milan High School to gain the championship of the State of Indiana). He was released in 1986, and the boys of Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper arrived at the heart from all the spectators and critical, that continue it cataloguing like one of the five better sport films of history.

After ' Hoosiers' they arrived ' From Hair in Took, ' Pistol: The Birth of to Legend' (on the life of the spoiled Pete ' Pistol' Maravich), ' sky is Playground', ' Targets not know it meter' (with Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson and Rosie Perez), ' End Shot' (on the life of Hank Gathers, the player of Loyola Marymount that died during a party), ' The Air Up Theré (with Kevin Bacon and cameos of Bob McDoo), ' Hoop Dreams' (' To win of nobody it will manerá) (with Nick Nolte and stars like Shaquille O´Neal, Anfernee Hardaway or Bob Cousy. Also it participated in a stellar paper, Matt Nover, ex- player of the Murcia), ' Above the Rim' (with the rapero Tupac Shakur), ' Basketball Diaries' (with Leonardo I gave Caprio), ' Olvídate de París' (with a majestic interpretation of Billy Crystal and Debra Winger and cameos of Bill Walton, They give Majer to him, Kevin Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Isaiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer, Kurt Rambis, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley and David Robinson), ' the important Pride of the Celtics', Eddie (with Whoopie Goldberg and papers for John Salley, Rick Fox, Malik Sealy, Mark Jackson, Dwayne Schintzius and Greg Ostertag), ' Air Bud', ' There am got Gamé (with Denzel Washington, Rosary Dawson and Milla Jojovich and paper protagonist for Ray Allen in this film of Spike Lee)...

Space Jam Arrived

Another film that meant a commercial success on world-wide scale was ' Space Jam', released in 1996 and in which Michael Jordan was the draftee it stars of an equipment made up of Bugs Bunny and its friends (the Looney Tunes). Actor Bill Murray and players like Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Mugsy Bogues, Shawn Bradley, Patrick Ewing and Larry Johnson had their stellar papers. Its spectacular mixture of cartoons, Michael Jordan and basketball was irresistible for the fans to the cinema.

Indispensable curiosities

In 1972 it was released ' you do not remain atrás' (released as ' Just There am Said' in the United States). This film was directed by Jack Nicholson, and treats on the history of a popular player of the NCAA that considers to give the jump to the NBA, with the war of Vietnam and a sentimental relation like trasfondo. Another essential tape is ' Rebound', for many one of best the three sport films of history. It was released in 1996 and it treats, as a documentary, on the history of the greater legend of the street basketball, Earl ' The Goat' Manigault (a player that in the seventy lost its opportunity to be a star of the NBA by drugs).

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:29 AM

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the four major professional sports leagues of North America.

The league was founded in New York City, United States on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in the autumn of 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League. The league's several international and individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, New Jersey.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4481/nationalbasketballassoc8xc.png (http://imageshack.us)

The Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by the owners of the major sports arenas in the Northeast and Midwest United States, most notably Madison Square Garden in New York City. Although there had been earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues, including the American Basketball League and the National Basketball League, the BAA was the first league to attempt to play primarily in large arenas in major cities. During its early years, though, the quality of play in the BAA was not obviously better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance the 1947 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won its 1948 title, followed by the 1948 NBL champion Minneapolis Lakers who won the 1949 BAA title. On November 1, 1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers which the NBA now regards as the first game played in the league's history.

Following the 1949 season, the BAA agreed to merge with the NBL, expanding the National Basketball Association to seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as large arenas and smaller gymnasiums and armories. In 1950, the NBA consolidated to eleven franchises, a process that continued until 1954, when the league reached its smallest size of eight franchises, all of which are still in the league (the Knickerbockers, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, Royals/Kings, Pistons, Hawks, and Nationals/76ers).

While contracting, the league also saw its smaller city franchises move to larger cities. The Hawks shifted from "Tri-Cities" (the area now known as the Quad Cities) to Milwaukee and then to St. Louis; the Royals from Rochester to Cincinnati, the Pistons from Fort Wayne to Detroit.

Although Japanese-American Wataru Misaka technically broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947-48 season when he played for the New York Knicks, 1950 is recognized as the year the NBA integrated with the addition of African American players by several teams including Chuck Cooper with the Boston Celtics, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton with the New York Knicks, and Earl Lloyd with the Washington Capitols. Today, more than fifty years later, the NBA is made up of players of many different races, with diverse backgrounds and cultures. The majority (80%) of NBA players today are African American.

During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships and established themselves as its first dynasty.

To encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954. If a team does not attempt to score a field goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped and the ball given to its opponent.

In 1956, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league in 1959 and became the dominant individual star of the 1960s, setting new records in scoring and rebounding. Russell's rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the great individual rivalries in the history of team sports.

Through this period, the NBA continued to strengthen with the shift of the Minneapolis Lakers to Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Warriors to San Francisco, and the Syracuse Nationals to Philadelphia, as well as the addition of its first expansion franchises.

In 1967, the league faced a new external threat with the formation of the American Basketball Association. The leagues engaged in a bidding war for talent. The NBA landed the most important college star of the era, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor), who together with Oscar Robertson led the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in his second season, and who later played on five Laker championship teams.

However, the NBA's leading scorer, Rick Barry jumped to the ABA, as did four veteran referees—Norm Drucker, Earl Strom, John Vanak and Joe Gushue.

The ABA also succeeded in signing a number of major stars, including Julius Erving, in part because it allowed teams to sign college undergraduates. The NBA expanded rapidly during this period, one purpose being to tie up the most viable cities. Following the 1976 season, the leagues reached a settlement that provided for the addition of four ABA franchises to the NBA, raising the number of franchises in the league at that time to 22.

The league added the ABA's innovative three-point field goal beginning in 1979 to open up the game. That same year, rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson joined the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, respectively, initiating a period of significant growth in fan interest in the NBA throughout the country and the world. Bird went on to lead the Celtics to three titles, and Johnson went on to lead the Lakers to five.

Michael Jordan entered the league in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls, providing an even more popular star to support growing interest in the league. By 1989, further expansion had raised the number of teams in the league to 27. During the 1990s, Jordan went on to lead the Bulls to six titles. 1991-1993,1996-1998

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8373/776pxnbaconferencesdivi9or.png (http://imageshack.us)

The 1990s also saw greater globalization. The 1992 Olympic basketball Dream Team, the first to use current NBA stars, featured Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson. A growing number of NBA star players also began coming from other countries. Initially, many of these players, such as 1994 NBA MVP Hakeem Olajuwon of Nigeria, first played NCAA basketball to enhance their skills. An increasing number, though, have moved directly from playing elsewhere in the world to starring in the NBA, such as 2002 NBA Rookie of the Year and 2006 World Championships MVP Pau Gasol of Spain, first pick in the 2002 NBA Draft Yao Ming of China, 2002 World Championships and Eurobasket 2005 MVP Dirk Nowitzki of Germany, and 2004 Olympic Tournament MVP Manu Ginobili of Argentina. Today, young players from the English-speaking world tend to attend U.S. colleges before playing in the NBA (notable examples are 2005 and 2006 MVP Steve Nash, a Canadian, and 2005 top draft pick Andrew Bogut of Australia), while other international players generally come to the NBA from professional club teams. The NBA is now televised in 212 nations in 42 languages.

In 1996 the NBA created a women's league, the Women's National Basketball Association, and in 2001 created an affiliated minor league, the National Basketball Development League, now called the NBA Development League.

In 1998 the NBA owners began a lockout which lasted 191-days and was settled on January 18, 1999. As a result of this lockout the 1998-99 NBA season was reduced from 82 to 50 games, which were all played in early 1999.

Today, the NBA has reached 30 franchises and continues to evolve as one of the premier sports leagues in the world.

On June 29, 2006, a new official game ball was introduced for the 2006-07 season, marking the first change to the ball in over 35 years and only the second in 60 seasons. Manufactured by Spalding, the new ball featured a new design and new synthetic material that Spalding claimed offered a better grip, feel, and consistency than the original ball. However, many players were vocal in their disdain for the new ball, saying that it was too sticky when dry, and too slippery when wet.

On December 11, 2006, Commissioner Stern announced that beginning January 1, 2007, the NBA would return to the traditional leather basketball in use prior to the 2006-2007 season. The change was influenced by frequent player complaints and confirmed hand injuries (cuts) caused by the microfiber ball. The Players Association had filed a suit in behalf of the players against the NBA over the new ball . As of 2006, the NBA team jerseys are manufactured by Adidas, which purchased the previous supplier, Reebok .

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:31 AM

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs always begin in late April, with eight teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs. The top three seeds for each conference are determined by taking the winners of the conference's three divisions and ranking them by regular season record. The remaining five seeds are determined by taking the five teams with the next-best records from among the non-division winning teams in the conference. However, the seeding system has one feature that is unusual in North American sports; division champions do not necessarily have home-court advantage in the playoffs. Although the playoff brackets are not reseeded, home-court advantage is based strictly on regular-season record, without regard to whether a team won its division.

Having a higher seed offers several advantages. Since the first seed plays the eighth seed, the second seed plays the seventh seed, the third seed plays the sixth seed, and the fourth seed plays the fifth seed in the playoffs, having a higher seed generally means you will be facing a weaker team. The team in each series with the better record has home court advantage, including the First Round. This means that, for example, if the team who receives the 6 (six) seed has a better record than the team with the 3 (three) seed (by virtue of a divisional championship), the 6 seed would have home court advantage, even though the other team has a higher seed. Therefore, the team with the best regular season record in the league is guaranteed home court advantage in every series it plays.

The playoffs follow a tournament format. Each team plays a rival in a best-of-seven series, with the first team to win four games advancing into the second round, while the other team is eliminated from the playoffs. In the next round, the successful team plays against another advancing team of the same conference. Thus, all but one team in each conference are eliminated from the playoffs. Since the NBA does not re-seed teams, the playoff bracket in each conference uses a traditional design, with the winner of the series matching the 1st and 8th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 4th and 5th seeded teams, and the winner of the series matching the 2nd and 7th seeded teams playing the winner of the series matching the 3rd and 6th seeded teams. In every round except the NBA Finals, the best of seven series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 5, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3, 4, and 6. For the final round (NBA Finals), the series follows a 2-3-2 pattern, meaning that one team will have home court in games 1, 2, 6, and 7, while the other plays at home in games 3-5.

The final playoff round, a best-of-seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and it is held annually in June. The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor, including coaches and the general manager, on the winning team receive a championship ring. In addition, the league awards an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award, which nearly always goes to a member of the winning team, though not by rule. There has been only one exception to date: Jerry West won the award in 1969 (the award's first season) even though his Los Angeles Lakers did not win the championship.

On August 2, 2006, the NBA announced the new playoff format. The new format takes the three division winners and the second-place team with the best record and rank them 1-4 by record. The other 4 slots are filled by best record other than those other 4 teams. This might be in relation to the 2006 playoffs when Dallas and San Antonio, the two best Western Conference Teams, faced each other in the semifinals. This new format ensures that the two best teams will not meet until the Conference finals.

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:34 AM

MIAMI - Just like in last year's NBA finals, the Dallas Mavericks couldn't find anyone capable of truly stopping Dwyane Wade from scoring. Yet this time, it didn't really matter.

Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 of his 23 points in the final quarter as the Mavericks held on to beat the Miami Heat 99-93 on Sunday in the first matchup between the teams since last season's NBA finals.

http://www.thesouthern.com/content/articles/2007/01/22/ap/sports/d8mq6ua80.jpg

Josh Howard had 25 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 22 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas, which improved its NBA-best record to 34-8 and is 20-1 in its last 21 games. Plus, the Mavs got some tiny measure of revenge over the Heat, who lost the first two games of last year's finals before rallying to win the title in six games.

"It wasn't perfect. It wasn't great," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "But a road game in our league, especially against the world champions, you can't discount that. We will take it."

Wade _ who suffered a left ankle injury in the first quarter, but returned and played 44 minutes _ finished with 31 points, six rebounds and six assists for Miami, but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with 5.8 seconds left.

Jason Williams had 17 points and Udonis Haslem, who missed his first eight shots, had 15 for the Heat.

"We still had an opportunity to win the game," Heat center Alonzo Mourning said. "When you put yourself in a position to win, you don't want to just settle for that. They don't keep stats for moral victories."

In the other NBA games Sunday, it was: San Antonio 99, Philadelphia 85; Phoenix 131, Minnesota 102; and Portland 99, Milwaukee 95.

The Heat were down by 13 early in the second half and their chances clearly didn't look good, especially with Shaquille O'Neal inactive for the 34th straight game because of his surgically repaired knee and Wade hobbling around after injuring his ankle by stepping on Nowitzki's foot late in the first quarter.

"A stupid play," Wade said.

But he returned after getting re-taped and somehow, Miami pulled into a 90-all tie with 3 1/2 minutes left.

Miami was within 76-75 after a three-point play by Wade with 10:44 left, but Stackhouse scored seven straight points to quell the rally, restore some Dallas breathing room and give the Mavericks an 83-75 lead.

Another jumper by Stackhouse with 5:34 left pushed the Mavs' edge to 90-84, but the Heat scored the next six points and tied it 2 minutes later when Wade hit a jumper.

"They're the world champions. ... You knew they were going to come back with a champion's heart," Stackhouse said.

Dallas scored the next six points, with Nowitzki and Howard scoring 26 seconds apart to put the Mavs back on top. Miami got back within 96-93 on a Wade layup with 57 seconds left, but the Heat wouldn't score again and wound up with their 10th home loss of the season _ matching the total from all of last year.

"We gave up a big lead, they tied it up but we didn't give up either," Johnson said. "They didn't give up. We didn't give up. That's what I think championship teams and championship organizations are all about."

Jason Terry had 11 points and 11 assists for Dallas, which outrebounded Miami 48-35. Antoine Walker had 11 points for the Heat.

Dallas never trailed in the game, which was only tied once after tipoff. The Mavs held a 16-5 rebounding edge in the first quarter _ Nowitzki had six boards that period alone _ and disrupted Miami's offense so much that the Heat managed three assists in the entire opening half.

And while Miami clearly improved after halftime, the Mavs' edge in rebounding and second-chance points (19-5) proved to be crucial.

"That's the bottom line," Heat interim coach Ron Rothstein said. "If we held our ground there I think I would be sitting up here really happy with a win."

Suns 131, Timberwolves 102

Shawn Marion had 17 points and 20 rebounds to help host Phoenix became the eighth team in NBA history to have two winning streaks of at least 13 games in a season. The Suns won a franchise-record 15 straight from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19.

Randy Foye led Minnesota with 25 points, including 5-for-6 on 3-pointers. Troy Hudson added 22 points and Trenton Hassell 20. The Timberwolves were without their top two scorers, Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis, both on one-game suspensions.

Amare Stoudemire had 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting, Leandro Barbosa scored 20 points and Steve Nash added 16 points and 11 assists.

Spurs 99, 76ers 85

Tim Duncan had 17 points and 15 rebounds, and Brent Barry scored 23 points as visiting San Antonio coasted to its sixth win in eight games.

Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 20 points and Steven Hunter had 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. The Sixers dropped to 3-14 against Western Conference teams.

Trail Blazers 99, Bucks 95

Rookie Brandon Roy had a career-high 28 points including a late jumper that helped preserve host Portland's victory.

Zach Randolph added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 20 points.

Earl Boykins had 28 points for the Bucks, who had just 10 healthy players.

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:36 AM

Amare Stoudemire scored 25 points and the Phoenix Suns ran away from the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday, 131-102, to run their winning streak to 13 games.

Phoenix is two games from tying its franchise record for consecutive games won, a mark set earlier this season. Since starting the season 1-5, the Suns have won 31 of 34 games.

Sunday's game was no contest, as Minnesota played without its two leading scorers -- Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis. Both were serving one-game NBA suspensions.

The Suns scored 31 of 33 points at one stretch in the third period and led 102-71 going into the fourth quarter. Phoenix was able to hold many of its starters out during the fourth quarter.

Stoudemire's 25 points came on 11-of-14 shooting as the Suns shot 56.8 percent for the game.

Leandro Barbosa had 20 points off the bench. Shawn Marion had 17 points and 20 rebounds, and Steve Nash also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.

Minnesota got 25 points from Randy Foye, who hit 5-of-6 three-point tries.

Carmelo Anthony's suspension is over. Let the suspense begin.

The day after the NBA's leading scorer was banned for 15 games for fighting, the Denver Nuggets acquired seven-time all-star Allen Iverson, who was the league's second-leading scorer at the time, from the Sixers.

Can the two high-scoring superstars coexist?

Sure, Iverson said, insisting he's carried the load for so long in his career that he's ready to serve as wingman to the 22-year-old Anthony.

"I've never played with nobody that good," Iverson said.

Anthony hasn't, either, and he, too, swears there won't be any problems playing alongside A.I. After all, he thrived with the U.S. team at the World Championships last summer while playing with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Anthony, who returns from his 36-day absence tonight when the Nuggets face the Memphis Grizzlies in Denver, said in an open letter of apology to fans and the team yesterday that he'll return a better player and a better person.

"I have been going crazy for 36 days waiting to return," he wrote. "... I've spent the time working extremely hard... I've also spent time thinking about the huge responsibilities I have... I'm aware that a great deal is expected of me, and not just as a player."

Denver coach George Karl thinks it will work.

"They are both great offensive players," Karl said. "... I think great players like to play with great players."

Former Nuggets player Ruben Patterson, now with the Bucks, isn't so sure things will click.

"There's only one NBA basketball," he said. "I don't know how they're going to get all those shots off."

Nets' Jefferson faces surgery. New Jersey Nets forward Richard Jefferson will have surgery on his right ankle today, and will be sidelined indefinitely.

Yesterday's games

Mavericks 99, Heat 93

MIAMI - Jerry Stackhouse scored 16 of his 23 points in the final quarter as Dallas withstood Miami.

Josh Howard had 25 points for Dallas.

Dwyane Wade finished with 31 points for Miami, but missed a potentially game-tying three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left.

Wade played despite spraining his ankle with 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter. He was not sure of his status for tonight's game against the Knicks.

"It's pretty sore," he said. "I'll try to go home and ice it and hopefully it feels better."

Shaquille O'Neal was inactive for the 34th straight game because of his knee surgery. He has practiced and gone through conditioning drills.

Heat rookie Robert Hite, charged with driving under the influence early yesterday in Miami Beach, was not in the arena.

"I don't know anything about it. I don't know where he is," Heat interim coach Ron Rothstein said.

Suns 131, Timberwolves 102

PHOENIX - Shawn Marion had 17 points and 20 rebounds, then sat out the fourth quarter as Phoenix routed a depleted Minnesota squad.

The Timberwolves were without their top two scorers, Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis, both on one-game suspensions. Garnett was suspended for throwing a punch at Detroit's Antonio McDyess on Friday. Davis was suspended for leaving the bench early.

Randy Foye led Minnesota with 25 points.Amare Stoudemire had 25 to lead the Suns.

Trail Blazers 99, Bucks 95

PORTLAND, Ore. - Rookie Brandon Roy had 28 points to help Portland over shorthanded Milwaukee.

Earl Boykins had 28 points for the Bucks, who had just 10 healthy players.

Milwaukee was without forward Brian Skinner (stomach virus), Michael Redd (strained tendon), Mo Williams (shoulder sprain), Bobby Simmons (heel surgery) and Charlie Villanueva (tendinitis).

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:37 AM

Charting the NBA

Garnett is suspended for punch at McDyess

Kevin Garnett was suspended one game by the NBA on Sunday for throwing a punch at Antonio McDyess of the Pistons.

Garnett didn't play Sunday night when Minnesota visited the Suns. He leads the Timberwolves with 22.2 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. With 5:18 left in the fourth quarter of the Pistons' double-overtime victory Friday night, McDyess knocked Mark Madsen to the floor with a forearm shove.

Garnett then chucked the ball at McDyess, who charged at Garnett with his fist cocked. Garnett was poised to punch, too, and took a swipe at McDyess as he partially retreated.

Jefferson to have surgery

Richard Jefferson will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle today. The team gave no timetable for his return.

Jefferson had been bothered by ankle pain since before the season, and left a game against Miami on Nov. 10 after landing on the foot of Shaquille O'Neal . He has missed six of New Jersey's 40 games and is averaging 16 points and 4.5 rebounds.

Double dribbles

The Mavericks had a 19-5 advantage over the Heat in second-chance points.

The 76ers are 3-14 against Western Conference teams. They have lost 17 games decided by 10 or more points.

The Suns are the eighth team in history to have two winning streaks of at least 13 in a season. Phoenix won a franchise-record 15 straight from Nov. 20-Dec. 19.

Dallas is 29-2 when holding teams under 100 points and 27-1 when recording more assists.

RedWine

01-22-2007, 07:38 AM

Lakers backers were all smiles the last time these teams met.

That’s because L.A. topped Golden State 110-98 as 7-point road underdogs on Nov. 1, despite the fact Kobe Bryant wasn’t in uniform.

Ronny Turiaf paced the Lakers attack in Bryan’s absence, collecting a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Monta Ellis was the Warriors` top scorer, posting 22 points in just over 22 minutes of playing time.

The final score surpassed the posted total of 204 ½, marking the eighth consecutive Lakers-Warriors matchup that played over.

Davis returns

Warriors point guard Baron Davis returns to the lineup Monday after sitting out Saturday’s game against Cleveland.

Davis was forced to the sidelines because of a one-game suspension he received from the NBA for taking a swing at the Clippers’ Quinton Ross on Jan. 17. Davis leads the Warriors in scoring and assists, and without him Golden State lost 106-104 to the Cavs as 1 ½-point favorites.

Davis returns to the Warriors with a chip on his shoulder.

“There was no foul call on the play,” Davis told reporters of the incident with Ross. “I just think it was unfair that it was judged that way.”

Roster shakeup

Golden State liked what they saw from a pair of new starters on Saturday.

The Warriors pulled off an eight-player trade with Indiana on Wednesday, a deal that brought Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington to Golden State. The duo made their debut against the Cavs, and combined for 43 points and 19 rebounds.

“I like the pieces that we have now,” Warriors coach Don Nelson told reporters after the game with Cleveland. “That was a glimpse of the way we can play. Now it`s up to me to put guys in a position where they can succeed and not fail.”

Lakers struggling on defense

The Lakers defense reached a new low on Saturday night.

L.A. gave up 113 points in a loss to the New Orleans Hornets, the NBA lowest scoring team (90.5 points a night). New Orleans broke the 100-point mark a grand total of two times in its previous 21 games before lighting up the Lakers.

“Our defense is obviously not very good right now,” Lakers guard Maurice Evans told reporters. “We`ve got to learn to trust one another on both ends of the floor. I think that that`s evident in why we lose certain games, especially to teams that aren`t as talented as we are.”

The Lakers have allowed 106 points or more in four of their last five games, with the over/under going 4-1.

First-half struggles for Kobe

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant finished Saturday’s game with 23 points, but he took his time getting his act together in the loss.

Bryant scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half, after hitting just three free throws in the opening two quarters.

It was the second time this month Bryant failed to make a single field goal in the first half of a game, having done the same thing in Denver on Jan. 5.

“The first half isn`t a situation where I have to get the ball and start attacking and doing those sort of things,” Bryant told reporters.

Brown could play

Lakers center Kwame Brown could return to the lineup Monday, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times.

Brown has been out since Dec. 31 with a sprained ankle and is expected to start at center if he`s healthy enough to go on Monday.

“Phil (Jackson) will probably put Kwame in (against Golden State),” Lakers center Andrew Bynum, who was starting in Brown’s place, told the Times.

abadani69

01-22-2007, 05:55 PM

GO SUNSSSSSSSSS ALL THE WAYYYYYYYY

RedWine

01-23-2007, 03:43 AM

DENVER — Allen Iverson raced downcourt and floated an alley-oop lob that Carmelo Anthony shoved one-handed through the hoop for an arena-rattling jam, one that seemed to holler to all their doubters, "Take that!"

"We just wanted to show the whole world we could play together," Anthony said after the duo's triumphant debut Monday night. "We know there's a lot of doubt about that."

Anthony scored 28 points in his return from a 15-game suspension for fighting and Iverson added 23 in the Denver Nuggets' 115-98 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The two are out to prove two superstars can coexist.

So far, so very, very good.

Their pairing not only benefited each other but created open looks for everybody else. Their signature moment came with 6:39 left when Anthony soared for the alley-oop dunk that made it 103-82.

"I wanted to throw it up high so he could make 'SportsCenter,' " Iverson cracked. "No, it was a bad pass, honestly. He just showed what type of athlete he is — he went up there and got it."

After the basket, Iverson sauntered back downcourt, holding his right hand to his ear as the crowd roared.

"That's what it's all about. It's about the kids, and about the fans that love the game and the excitement of the greatest game in the world," Iverson said. "I'm enjoying myself. I know it's my 11th season, but this is a fresh start for me, and it feels like my first. I am having a great time and I love my situation here."

After receiving a resounding ovation during introductions, Anthony took the microphone and thanked fans, teammates and Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke for supporting him during his 36-day layoff.

"It's like a new beginning for us," Anthony said. "And we're going to give y'all something to cheer for."

The Nuggets delivered, jumping out to a 20-point first-quarter lead, never trailing and turning it on in the fourth quarter.

"They play well together," said Pau Gasol, who led Memphis with 23 points. "They had a chemistry from the first moment. They have fun together and help each other out.

"It's tough to have to guard one of them. It's worse to have to worry about two great players."

Iverson swears he's had his fill of carrying the load during his 11 NBA seasons and is eager to serve as wingman to the 22-year-old Anthony — and he showed it the first chance he got.

With 7:30 left in the first quarter, Iverson had a breakaway for an easy basket but flipped the ball instead to Anthony running alongside him for a finger-roll that rocked the Pepsi Center.

Marcus Camby had 17 points and 17 boards and J.R. Smith scored 19 points for the energized Nuggets, who raced to a 38-18 lead after one quarter and led 59-47 at the half.

Notes

• G Dwyane Wade was held out of Miami's game against New York because of a sprained ankle. He wasn't in uniform, and his status is day to day.

Also missing for the Heat was reserve G Robert Hite, charged with driving under the influence early Sunday in Miami Beach. Hite apologized and is "acutely aware of the seriousness of the incident," Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement.

• Charlotte C Primoz Brezec has a bulging disc in his lower back and will miss seven to 10 days.

• Atlanta F Josh Smith was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making obscene gestures to the crowd as he left for the locker room following a second-quarter ejection Saturday night in the Hawks' loss at Charlotte. Smith raised both middle fingers to the crowd as he was about halfway through the tunnel, apparently reacting to being heckled by fans.

• PG T.J. Ford was not in uniform for Toronto's game against Charlotte because of a sore right ankle.

RedWine

01-23-2007, 03:44 AM

MIAMI (AP) -Playing without their two All-Stars, the Miami Heat scored a franchise-record 27 consecutive points Monday night and beat the New York Knicks 101-83.

Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal watched from the bench as Miami raced to a 29-3 lead after 8 1/2 minutes. The Knicks missed 10 consecutive shots as their 3-2 lead became a 26-point deficit, while the Heat started 13-for-19 and outscored New York 14-0 in the paint at the outset.

Miami did it with a makeshift lineup. Wade decided shortly before the game to rest the left ankle he sprained Sunday in a loss to Dallas, and O'Neal missed his 35th consecutive game as he nears a return from knee surgery.

Jason Williams scored 20 points for Miami.

The Knicks cut the deficit to 15 by halftime and briefly to six in the fourth quarter. Williams hit a pair of 26-footers late to prevent a collapse by Miami.

Jason Kapono fueled the Heat's early run and scored 22 points. Udonis Haslem added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Gary Payton had 13 assists, his highest total since joining the Heat in 2005.

New York's Stephon Marbury sat out the second half because of a sore left knee.

Spurs 93, Celtics 89

BOSTON (AP) - Tim Duncan remained unbeaten against Boston, finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds to lead San Antonio.

Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each scored 15 points for the Spurs, who have won 18 straight against the Celtics and nine in a row in Boston. The Celtics last beat the Spurs on Jan. 8, 1997, the season before Duncan entered the NBA.

Duncan shot 7-of-17 from the field and 7-of-7 from the free throw line as the Spurs won their third straight and eighth in 10 games. His 10 second-quarter points helped San Antonio outscore Boston 30-14 after falling behind 24-20 through one.

Delonte West led Boston with 27 points and Al Jefferson added 26. The Celtics have lost eight straight and are 2-14 without star guard Paul Pierce, out since Dec. 22 with a stress reaction in his left foot.

Pacers 98, Bulls 91

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Jermaine O'Neal had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Indiana beat Chicago to snap a four-game skid and win for the first time since making an eight-player trade last week.

Darrell Armstrong had 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Pacers. The 38-year-old point guard was making his second start of the season in place of injured Jamaal Tinsley.

Ben Gordon scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half for the Bulls. Luol Deng had 18 points and eight rebounds.

Two of the newcomers acquired by Indiana from Golden State, Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, made solid contributions. Dunleavy had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and Murphy had seven points and eight rebounds in his first start for the Pacers.

Magic 90, Cavaliers 79

CLEVELAND (AP) - Grant Hill scored 22 points, Dwight Howard added 18 with 13 rebounds and Orlando snapped a five-game losing streak by beating listless Cleveland.

Hill, who missed Orlando's previous game with a dislocated pinky, only scored two points and played less than six minutes of the fourth quarter. But he did enough in his first 27 minutes on the floor to give the Magic an 11-point lead entering the period.

Jameer Nelson had 11 points, Keith Bogans made three 3-pointers and Darko Milicic added nine rebounds for Orlando, which ended a six-game skid in Cleveland.

LeBron James had 18 points for the weary Cavaliers, who just completed a seven-game trip out West and were playing their fifth game in seven nights.

Raptors 105, Bobcats 84

TORONTO (AP) - Chris Bosh scored 20 points and Jose Calderon had a season-high 19 points and 11 assists to lead Toronto over Charlotte.

Andrea Bargnani added 14 points for the Raptors, who played without starting point guard T.J. Ford (sore right ankle). Calderon has played well with Ford hobbled in recent games.

The Raptors outscored the Bobcats 21-8 in the third, when Charlotte shot just 4-for-18.

Gerald Wallace had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, who had won five of seven. Raymond Felton had 19 points and eight assists after missing two games with an ankle injury.

Bargnani, the No. 1 pick in the draft, finished 5-for-10 from the field. Adam Morrison, the third pick, went 1-for-6 for just three points.

RedWine

01-23-2007, 03:44 AM

NBA: LA Lakers 108, Golden State 103

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Kobe Bryant's 42 points on 11-for-22 shooting helped lift the Los Angeles Lakers over Pacific Division rival Golden State, 108-103, Monday.

Off the bench, Maurice Evans scored 14 points for the Lakers, who avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season. Brian Cook scored 13 points, Smush Parker had 11 and Andrew Bynum added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Al Harrington scored 30 points for the Warriors, who lost their third straight. Monta Ellis scored 16 points off the bench. Mickael Pietrus had 14 points and 14 boards. Stephen Jackson added 13 points.

abadani69

01-23-2007, 07:34 PM

Phoenix 127, Washington 105

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns made Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards look more like pretenders than contenders, putting the so-called "Phoenix Suns of the East" in their place with a 127-105 thumping Tuesday night.

Nash scored 27 points on 11-for-13 shooting and added 14 assists in the Suns' 14th straight win.. Phoenix led by 21 after the first quarter and won for the 30th time in 32 games in a matchup between the NBA's two highest scoring teams.

Arenas, who has compared his team's high-octane offense to the Suns', scored 31 points, but he started 1-for-6 and the game was essentially over before he got going. When he finally made his second field goal, it only served to cut the Suns' lead to 24. The Wizards cut the lead to 13 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Suns responded with a 6-0 run to put the game firmly out of reach.

Arenas scored 54 against the Suns in an overtime victory at Phoenix last month, but the Suns arrived only two hours before tipoff that day because they had been stranded in Denver by a blizzard. Arenas considered that game as payback for getting cut last summer from the U.S. national team, on which Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni serves an assistant.

abadani69

01-23-2007, 07:36 PM

All I can Say SUNS are the best.GO SUNSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

abadani69

01-23-2007, 07:42 PM

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns made Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards look more like pretenders than contenders, putting the so-called "Phoenix Suns of the East" in their place with a 127-105 thumping Tuesday night.

Nash scored 27 points on 11-for-13 shooting and added 14 assists in the Suns' 14th straight win. Phoenix led by 21 after the first quarter and won for the 30th time in 32 games in a matchup between the NBA's two highest scoring teams.

Arenas, who has compared his team's high-octane offense to the Suns', scored 31 points, but he started 1-for-6 and the game was essentially over before he got going. When he finally made his second field goal, it only served to cut the Suns' lead to 24. The Wizards cut the lead to 13 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Suns responded with a 6-0 run to put the game firmly out of reach.

Arenas scored 54 against the Suns in an overtime victory at Phoenix last month, but the Suns arrived only two hours before tipoff that day because they had been stranded in Denver by a blizzard. Arenas considered that game as payback for getting cut last summer from the U.S. national team, on which Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni serves an assistant.

The Suns shot a season-high 60.8 percent, had assists on 35 of their 48 field goals and had five players in double figures before halftime. Nash was 7-for-7 from the field and had eight assists in the first half, and his best move was a baseline hesitation step that got him past Brendan Haywood for a three-point play.

Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said before the game he was so excited he didn't sleep well the night before. His players looked just as edgy, starting 3-for-15 from the field. Nash had back-to-back alley-oop assists to Shawn Marion in the second quarter, helping the Suns to a 76-51 halftime lead.

Caron Butler led a 9-0 Wizards run in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 19, and Butler's steal and dunk narrowed the deficit to 15 later in the period. But every time Washington threatened to make a game of it, the Suns would respond with a fast-break layup or a 3-pointer.

Marion finished with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting, and Raja Bell also had 21 points for the Suns, who were opening a five-game road trip.

Butler added 24 points for the Wizards, who had won a Verizon Center-record 10 straight at home to move atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Notes

D'Antoni said he didn't think Arenas was burning bridges with his revenge games against coaches from the U.S. national team. "Not from me -- I think it's funny," D'Antoni said. "I think he's having fun with it. Whatever it takes to motivate you. You would think making about $80 million might motivate you, but if it takes something else that's fine, too. But he's a good guy. I'm sure he's disappointed in what happened this summer, but it happened. Somebody was going to get ticked off. You can't take everybody, so it was either him getting 50 on me or LeBron (James) getting 50. Somebody's going to get 50." ... Phoenix didn't lose its intensity with the big lead -- Amare Stoudemire and D'Antoni were called for technical fouls for arguing in the second quarter. ... The Wizards hadn't lost at home since Dec. 9.

abadani69

01-24-2007, 09:07 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- Amare Stoudemire scored 26 of his 30 points in Phoenix's big second half, and the Suns beat the New York Knicks 112-107 Wednesday night for their second 15-game winning streak of the season.

Barely a month after establishing the longest winning streak in franchise history, the Suns equaled it by turning things around after a sluggish first half in the second night of a back-to-back.

Steve Nash finished with 22 points and 14 assists as the Suns scored 63 points in the second half after an un-Sunslike 49 in the first two periods. Shawn Marion added 20 points, Leandro Barbosa had 15, and Stoudemire grabbed 11 rebounds.

Phoenix became the first team to have two separate 15-game winning streaks in the same season since the Los Angeles Lakers had streaks of 19 and 16 in a row during the 1999-00 season. The Suns will go for a franchise-record 16th straight win Friday night at Milwaukee in the third game of a five-game trip.

Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, 23 in the fourth quarter in an attempt to keep New York close. Eddy Curry added 25 points for the Knicks, but only four in the final 33-plus minutes. He also left with an injury in the final quarter of New York's second straight loss.

The Knicks were already without starting point guard Stephon Marbury, who missed his first game of the season because of left knee tendinitis.

One night after scoring 76 points in the first half at Washington, the Suns didn't reach that total until the final 2 minutes of the third quarter -- right as they were taking control of the game.

Even with Stoudemire scoring 16 points in the third, New York was down just four after Nate Robinson's 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining in the period. But James Jones answered with a 3 and Barbosa converted a three-point play after a steal to give Phoenix a 74-64 lead with 2:31 to go. Stoudemire added a basket and Barbosa had five more points before period's end, making it 81-68 headed to the fourth.

Jones nailed a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth, extending the lead to 17 with under 10 1/2 minutes remaining. Adding injury to insult, Curry hobbled off the court and into the locker room with a strained left calf after his basket early in the period and did not return.

The Suns committed four turnovers in the first three minutes of the game. Even when they did get going, they couldn't contain Curry, who scored 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first quarter to give New York a 25-24 lead.

Curry scored five consecutive points early in the second quarter, part of a 9-0 burst that extended the Knicks' lead to 36-26 on Renaldo Balkman's dunk with 8:53 left in the period. The Suns finally slowed Curry with double- and even triple-teams, and got their running game going late in the half, using a 14-2 spurt that gave them a four-point advantage on Boris Diaw's jumper. Marion's layup on the fast break with 0.8 seconds remaining made it 49-46 at halftime.

Notes

The other teams with two 15-game winning streaks are the 1996-97 Utah Jazz (both 15); the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20, 16); and the 1946-47 Washington Capitals (17, 15). ... Phoenix improved to 10-0 on the road and 19-1 overall against East teams. The last team to start 10-0 on the road in interconference games was Utah, which opened 11-0 in 1994-95. ... Phoenix has won six of the last seven meetings. New York's only victory in that span was a 140-133 triple-overtime win on Jan. 2, 2006.

abadani69

01-26-2007, 09:39 PM

Raja Bell scored 27 points to lead all five Phoenix starters in double figures, and the Suns set a franchise record with their 16th straight victory by beating the scrappy Milwaukee Bucks 98-90 on Friday night.

Shawn Marion grabbed 23 rebounds and Steve Nash had 16 assists for the seemingly unstoppable Suns, who have won 32 of 34 overall. They had a 15-game winning streak earlier this season, a run that ended with a 144-139 overtime loss to Washington on Dec. 22.

The victory gave Phoenix a tie for the 10th-longest winning streak in NBA history and the longest since the Los Angeles Lakers reeled off 19 straight wins in 2000. Phoenix, which struggled to put away the short-handed Bucks, plays at Cleveland on Sunday in the fourth stop of its five-game road trip.

The Suns, now 19-1 against the East, improved to 11-0 on the road against the Eastern Conference, the best mark since the 1994-95 Utah Jazz went 11-0.

Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points, Nash had 18, Marion 11 and Boris Diaw 11 for Phoenix. Nash, the two-time MVP, also committed eight turnovers.

Milwaukee, which has lost six straight and 11 of 12, was led by Charlie Bell with 21 points. Earl Boykins had 18 points, Ersan Ilyasova 13, Ruben Patterson 11 and Andrew Bogut 10.

Charlie Villanueva, who returned after missing 11 games because of right shoulder tendinitis, didn't start but finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Phoenix extended its lead to 83-71 early in the fourth after Milwaukee went nearly four minutes without a point and missed its first six shots to start the quarter. But the Bucks kept plugging away, in part by outscoring Phoenix 23-11 on second-chance points.

Charlie Bell's two free throws cut the Suns' lead to 91-87, and Stoudemire was whistled for an over-the-back call that led to Bogut hitting the first of two foul shots with 1:57 left.

Nash hit a 16-foot jumper, but Bogut answered with a hook shot in the lane to make it 93-90. After Stoudemire was called for a charge, Ilyasova decided not to try a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but couldn't get a shot off on his drive and was whistled for a shot clock violation.

Raja Bell hit a 3 from the corner, his seventh of the game, off Nash's 16th assist to give Phoenix a 96-90 lead with 19.9 seconds left to seal the victory.

The Bucks, without their starting backcourt of Michael Redd and Mo Williams, simply didn't have the firepower to overcome Phoenix, even on an off night.

Milwaukee, which scored the most points any team has against Phoenix this season in regulation in a 122-116 loss on Dec. 1, tried slowing the pace and playing defense. But the Bucks shot 36 percent from the field for the third quarter, including 2-of-8 from Boykins.

In the first half, the Suns went more than four minutes without a field goal spanning the first and second quarters. A few minutes into the second, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni had finally seen enough.

Bell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 32-20, but the Bucks reeled off three straight 3s of their own that forced Phoenix to call a timeout with D'Antoni stomping on the court and gesturing to his players to get to the bench.

The Bucks briefly took the lead, 47-45, but Raja Bell hit another 3 and Phoenix clung to a 52-50 halftime advantage.

Notes

The game was NBA.com's first "GameDay Live" experience, which followed each teams' game-day activities, including shootarounds, media sessions and pregame speeches. ... D'Antoni said he hasn't given up trying an eight-man rotation, even though Jumaine Jones played only 4 minutes at New York on Wednesday and 7 minutes the night before at Washington. "It's a start," said D'Antoni, smiling. Marcus Banks was the eighth man against Milwaukee and played 7 minutes. ... The Bucks' bench outscored the Suns' reserves 28-10.

abadani69

01-28-2007, 06:26 PM

Now more than halfway to a once-thought-untouchable record, the Phoenix Suns aren't focused on their winning streak.

Steve Nash simply won't allow it.

Nash scored 23 points and kept Phoenix's high-energy offense purring with 15 assists as the Suns extended their winning streak to 17 games -- the NBA's longest in seven years -- by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-100 on Sunday.

Phoenix's 17-game streak is tied for the fifth longest in NBA history, and with three more victories the Suns would match the second-best streak, a 20-gamer by the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks.

And, if they keep it up, the Suns could soon challenge the Los Angeles Lakers' record of 33 straight wins in 1971-72.

"The way they're playing right now, they're unbeatable," LeBron James said.

Nash isn't convinced.

"People don't talk about the 33-game streak, they talk about who won the championship that year," Nash said, noting the Lakers won the league title in '71-'72. "I don't feel unbeatable. We've got a lot of improving to do."

Shawn Marion added 23 points, Amare Stoudemire 22 and Leandro Barbosa had 19 for the Suns, who improved to 34-4 since opening the season 1-5. Phoenix, which had a 15-game win streak earlier this season, also matched a franchise record with its ninth straight road win and is 20-1 vs. Eastern Conference teams.

The Suns haven't lost since Dec. 28 at Dallas, and with the way their running and sharing the ball right now, it's going to take a special effort to beat coach Mike D'Antoni's speedy squad.

"No matter what you do defensively, he's going to find a way to counter it," James said. "No matter how you try to stop him, he's got the weapons. That's a heck of a team."

James scored 30 points and Drew Gooden 19 to lead the Cavaliers, who were within four points going into the fourth. However, they couldn't match the Suns' blazing up-and-down pace and managed just 13 points in the final 12 minutes on 5-of-22 shooting.

With Nash on the bench getting some rest, the Suns led 91-87 after three periods before opening the fourth with a layup from Marion and consecutive 3-pointers from James Jones and Barbosa to make it 99-87 with 8:09 remaining.

The Suns' quick burst all but finished the Cavs. They went 5:40 of the fourth before scoring their first field goal on a steal and dunk by James, who missed Cleveland's previous game with a sore right big toe that's still bothering him.

Nash's made a twisting reverse layup, and moments later, fed Marion for a 3-pointer -- Phoenix's 13th -- to make it 107-94 with 3:44 remaining. Nash, the league's assists leader and the center of the Suns' universe, didn't have a turnover in 35 minutes.

"He runs the ship," James said. "He makes shots and gets other guys great open looks. He's dangerous."

The Suns were playing their fourth game in a five-game road trip, but they didn't look tired or bored by their success. Instead, they were focused throughout and will look for their 18th consecutive win on Monday in Minnesota.

"We just have the swagger," Marion said. "I don't think it's the streak. This is more about us and the thought that we can't lose. We've got 17. Now we have to focus on getting the next one."

Cleveland got just four points from center Zyrdunas Ilgauskas, who was rendered useless by Phoenix's speed. Larry Hughes had seven points on 3-of-13 shooting and never got into any rhythm.

James injured his toe on Cleveland's recent West Coast trip, and it was sore enough that he missed his first game of the season on Friday in Philadelphia. James said he may need to sit out a few more.

"I really have to get off of it," said James, who appeared annoyed when coach Mike Brown sat him briefly in the fourth. "If that means taking some games off, I'm going to have to do that because it's definitely a problem."

Notes

The Suns had five players in double figures for the 19th time. ... The Washington Capitols (1946-47), Boston Celtics (1959-60) and San Antonio Spurs (1995-96) also won 17 in a row. ... Following the game, James was scheduled to be the guest of honor at a celebrity roast called, a "Toast to the King." James was to sit upon a throne while being grilled by comedic jesters Cedric the Entertainer and Paul Rodriguez among others. Cavs team clown Damon Jones was also on the program. "I'm one of the keynote speakers," he said. "But I'm going to leave the comedy to the comedians." ... The Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game win streak is the longest among teams in the four major pro sports, bettering the 2003-04 New England Patriots (21), baseball's 1916 New York Giants (26) and the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins (17).

abadani69

01-28-2007, 06:26 PM

Michael Finley was often the No. 1 option in his 8 1/2 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. It's a different story in San Antonio, where he comes off the bench and is well down the list.

But Finley got the ball with the game on the line Sunday as the Los Angeles Lakers swarmed Tim Duncan, and his 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime gave the cold-shooting Spurs an improbable 96-94 victory.

"It looked like it was going in, but I didn't know until it went in," Finley said with a smile. "It was just a normal shot for me. We wanted Tim to create for himself, first of all. If he wasn't able to, he was supposed to kick it out to a teammate, as he always does."

Duncan found Finley, who shot from well beyond the arc and hit nothing but net on his long jumper over Lamar Odom, helping the Spurs avoid their first regular-season sweep at hands of the Lakers in nine years.

"Mike stepped into it and it was just an incredible shot," Duncan said. "Those are the kinds of shots we want him to step up and take."

Finley, who entered averaging 7.7 points, scored 17 on five 3-pointers in 10 attempts along with another basket.

"Some things we planned, some things we didn't, but that was just the fortuitous circumstance that he knocked down the shot," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Sometimes, you've just got to be lucky."

Vladimir Radmanovic's 3-pointer as time expired didn't come close. Kobe Bryant, who had 31 points, six rebounds and seven assists, was unable to get open, leaving it up to Radmanovic to try the final shot.

"They're just going to set two guys on me -- and the guy taking the ball out," Bryant said. "I tried to make cuts off of that accordingly, and I just wasn't able to get a good look."

The Spurs won despite shooting a season-low 33.7 percent (32-of-95). But they made their last two shots to go 5-of-8 in overtime, when Tony Parker scored seven of his 19 points.

"We just couldn't make a shot," said Manu Ginobili, who had 21 points and seven rebounds. "Even in the overtime, when they made their first four shots, we stuck with it. It's great to win like this."

Duncan's layup with 20 seconds to play gave the Spurs a 93-92 lead, but Bryant's 20-foot jumper over Bruce Bowen with 7 seconds left put the Lakers on top, setting the stage for Finley.

San Antonio entered having shot 47.4 percent with a low of 37.5 percent in a game against Charlotte in November.

"We played a great game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We competed with a good team and we carried the day. We probably carried the lead for 45 minutes in that game. That's the way to play -- we just didn't finish it the right way."

The Lakers shot 42.7 percent, but were outrebounded 53-44. And free throws were a major factor -- the Spurs went 22-of-24 from the foul line while Los Angeles was 18-of-31.

Duncan had 21 points, 14 rebounds, a season-high nine assists and three blocked shots to lead the Spurs (32-14), who have won nine of their last 12.

Odom had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Andrew Bynum added 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Radmanovic had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers (27-17), who have lost four of their last five.

Baskets by Radmanovic and Bynum on assists from Bryant to start the overtime gave the Lakers a four-point lead, but Parker scored seven straight San Antonio points before two free throws by Ginobili put the Spurs on top 91-90 with 1:13 left.

Bryant, who scored six points in the extra period, put the Lakers ahead again by making a jumper with 1:01 to go.

Bryant made two free throws with 5:09 left in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a 75-66 lead, but the Spurs scored 10 of the next 11 points on two 3-pointers by Ginobili, a basket by Duncan and two free throws by Parker to tie it at 76 with 1:19 to play.

A free throw by Odom gave the Lakers a one-point lead, but Bowen's first basket in seven attempts -- a 3-pointer with 54.1 seconds to go -- put the Spurs on top by two.

Ginobili made a foul shot to give the Spurs a three-point lead before Radmanovic's 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left tied it at 80.

Robert Horry, who made several winning shots during his 6 1/2 seasons with Los Angeles, missed a 3-pointer over Bryant from the left corner with about 5 seconds left. The Lakers got the rebound and called a timeout before Ginobili blocked Bryant's potential winning 20-footer as time expired.

Notes

The game was the opener of an eight-game road trip for the Spurs. They are 16-6 away from home. The Lakers open an eight-game road trip of their own Tuesday night in New York. They're 8-11 on the road. ... The Lakers played without C Kwame Brown and F Luke Walton, both sidelined with sprained ankles. Walton, injured Friday night, is expected to be out at least a week. Brown hasn't played since Dec. 31, but hopes to return during the upcoming road trip. ... The Lakers beat the Spurs 106-99 and 100-96 earlier this season. ... Bowen committed his first three fouls -- all on Bryant -- in the first 70 seconds of the third quarter. ... Bynum picked up a technical foul early in the third quarter.

RedWine

01-30-2007, 03:41 AM

Team Streak Dates Final record How they fared Notable
1. Los Angeles Lakers 33 Nov. 5, 1971- Jan. 7, 1972 69-13 Won NBA Finals 4-1 over New York Set mark for wins in a season, later broken by '95-96 Bulls
2. Milwaukee Bucks 20 Feb. 6-March 8, 1971 66-16 Won NBA Finals 4-0 over Baltimore Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar unstoppable
3. Los Angeles Lakers 19 Feb. 4-March 13, 2000 67-15 Won NBA Finals 4-2 over Indiana Shaq led league in scoring en route to MVP award
4. Boston Celtics 18 Feb. 24-March 26, 1982 63-19 Lost Eastern Conference finals 4-3 to Philadelphia Bird, Ainge, Carr, Ford, McHale all future NBA coaches
4. Chicago Bulls 18 Dec. 29, 1995-Feb. 2, 1996 72-10 Won NBA Finals 4-2 over Seattle Was No. 4 in Bulls' string of six titles in eight years
4. New York Knicks 18 Oct. 24-Nov. 28, 1969 60-22 Won NBA Finals 4-3 over Los Angeles Hobbled Willis Reed inspired Knicks in title clincher
streak over
17: Suns winning streak that ended Monday night in Minnesota
Streak started: Dec. 29, a 108-86 win over the Knicks in Phoenix
How it ended: Kevin Garnett, that's how. The Minnesota forward scored 44 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves past the Suns 121-112. Minnesota shot a scalding 59 percent from the field.
Road warriors: Before Monday, Phoenix had won nine straight on the road.
Beast to the East: Of the 17 wins, 11 came against Eastern Conference teams. The Suns are 20-1 this season against the East.
Previous best: The Suns won 15 straight games from Nov. 20 to Dec. 19, marking the 15th-longest streak in NBA history.
What they're saying
"In so many ways, the Suns are light years ahead. For the NBA, they've made general managers and coaches reassess the way they're playing the game. It took a complete outsider, Mike D'Antoni, to come back to the United States after almost 20 years in Italy for this to truly take shape. Free of the narrow thinking so many of his NBA peers had been conditioned to honor, he believed basketball to be a game of quickness and guile, spacing and shooting."
— Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
"The Suns are not just a winning hoops team — the NBA produces a 60-win caliber club every year — they are also a beautiful basketball ballet. All six of their core players love to run — Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa — and Nash directs the ball more like a center halfback in soccer than a point guard. The most open player closest to the basket — or standing just beyond the three-point arc — is rewarded.
"It's a simple formula: Sun. Run. Fun."

http://www.azstarnet.com/ss/2007/01/30/166812-1.jpg

abadani69

01-30-2007, 07:50 PM

Kobe Bryant was suspended one game without pay by the NBA on Tuesday for striking San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face.

With his Los Angeles Lakers in New York to play the Knicks, Bryant requested an "immediate hearing" with the league office to appeal the suspension. But his request was denied because it would have deviated from standard procedure, and Bryant was still slated to miss the game Tuesday night.

"This is not the process that we use at the NBA. Certainly, in theory, given the fact that the Lakers were in New York, we could have heard an appeal. But again, we never have, as it's not part of our process," said Stu Jackson, the league's chief disciplinarian for on-court actions. "He does have the right to an appeal at a later date. If he were to win that appeal, he would get his money back."

Bryant's absence left the Lakers without their leading scorer when they opened an eight-game road trip.

"I've been waiting to play here. It's always been a fun place for me to play here, and I'm surprised. Shocked, by it, actually," Bryant said after the morning shootaround. "I unintentionally caught Manu Ginobili. What do you say? It's a basketball game. You unintentionally catch people with elbows every once in a while."

Players association spokesman Dan Wasserman said a letter was sent on Bryant's behalf to the league office requesting the hearing, and that Bryant volunteered to review the videotape and talk to commissioner David Stern or the "appropriate league official."

"I'm blown away by it. I really am," Bryant said. "It just makes no sense."

The play occurred with 2.7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 96-94 overtime loss to the Spurs on Sunday.

"It's just unintentional," Bryant added. "I felt horrible about it. It's just basketball, it happens."

Jackson disagreed, and offered the NBA's explanation on a conference call.

"Some of the determining factors were the fact that there was contact made with Ginobili above the shoulders and the fact that this particular action by Kobe was an unnatural basketball motion. Following a shot, he drove a stiff arm in a backward motion and struck Ginobili in the head," Jackson said. "We did not view this as an inadvertent action."

No foul was called on the play.

"This blow was so swift in real time that it's understandable why, in fact, an official would have missed the contact," Jackson said. "In our view, this was not an attempt to draw a foul."

Bryant is averaging 28.4 points, 5.5 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

Bryant scored 40 points in his only visit last season to Madison Square Garden, which he called his favorite place to play. Sasha Vujacic started in his place to the disappointment of a sellout crowd that booed when it was announced during pregame introductions that Bryant was not with the team because of the suspension.

"We have one appearance in Madison Square Garden," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said earlier Tuesday. "People obviously look forward to this game because Kobe last year was being chanted 'MVP!' on this court during the course of a game in which he had a great game. The crowd obviously likes him here and likes to watch him play. To miss this game cheats the fans."

Last season, Bryant was suspended for two games without pay for elbowing Mike Miller of the Memphis Grizzlies in the throat -- but Stu Jackson said that incident was not a factor in Tuesday's penalty.

abadani69

01-30-2007, 07:50 PM

The Cavaliers put their foot down and told LeBron James to rest his sore toe.

The All-Star forward was advised by the club's medical staff to rest his sprained right big toe and he was inactive for the Cavaliers' game Tuesday night against Golden State.

James got hurt during a Jan. 19 game at Denver and he has aggravated the injury by playing in four games since. He missed Friday's game at Philadelphia, but decided to play on Sunday against Phoenix in a nationally televised game and tweaked his toe in the fourth quarter.

On Monday, James said he was contemplating sitting out a few games to get his toe fully healed. After being advised by team doctors, coach Mike Brown said the club decided to take the decision to play or not out of James' hands.

"Any time you have a player like that you worry about him trying to do too much," Brown said. "At times you just have to tell him, 'No.' If that's the best thing for him long term and the team, so be it."

James is listed as day-to-day on the team's injury report and Brown said it's too early to rule him out of any upcoming games.

"If it was a playoff game, we'd suit him up," Brown said.

The Cavaliers have gone 7-2 in the nine career games their superstar has missed with injuries since 2003.

James was not available for comment before the game. On Monday he said the injury had been nagging him.

"It isn't something I've had in a long time," James said. "When you have a sprain there's not much treatment you can do. It's not like you can get the swelling to go down by icing it. It's a sprain, so it's something that's going to nag on and nag on if you keep playing on it."

After facing the Warriors, the Cavaliers play at Miami on Thursday before hosting Charlotte on Friday and Detroit this Sunday.

With the Cavaliers in a slump -- they've dropped seven of 10 -- Brown shook up his lineup by replacing point guard Eric Snow with rookie Daniel Gibson.

Snow had started 139 straight games dating to the end of the 2004-05 season, and although he wasn't happy with the decision, he promised to support Gibson.

"My job all along has been to try and get him ready," Snow said. "It's fortunate for him and unfortunate for me. In no way, shape or form am I going to do anything but try to help this team win."

Brown has been searching from more production at the point, and feels now is the time to see if Gibson can provide some.

"It's about out time to shake it up a little bit," he said. "Daniel's played well offensively and he's played well defensively. It will be good to get him a look."

abadani69

01-30-2007, 08:20 PM

Playing without the suspended Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers' late rally fell short in their season-high third straight loss, 99-94 to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night

Eddy Curry had 27 points and nine rebounds and Stephon Marbury scored 22 points for the Knicks, who led most of the game but never pulled away. David Lee grabbed 13 rebounds and Jamal Crawford added 17 points.

Bryant was penalized one game without pay earlier Tuesday for hitting San Antonio's Manu Ginobili in the face late in the Lakers' overtime loss to the Spurs on Sunday.

Without his 28.4 points per game, the Lakers shot only 43.5 percent and lost for the fourth time in five games.

Lamar Odom had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers. Vladimir Radmanovic added 18 points and nine boards and Smush Parker scored 14 points.

The Lakers trailed by seven with 1 1/2 minutes remaining, but closed to 96-94 on Radmanovic's 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. Curry made two free throws 10 seconds later, and after Maurice Evans' 3-pointer rattled out, Los Angeles got the ball back after Jamal Crawford turned it over.

However, Jared Jeffries blocked Brian Cook's 3-point attempt and New York put it away with three more free throws.

It was a rough way for the Lakers to start an eight-game Eastern trip, their longest since playing eight straight on the road from Dec. 9-20, 1989. Bryant will be back Wednesday when Los Angeles visits Boston.

He hoped to play Tuesday, seeking an immediate hearing at the league office during the afternoon since he was already in New York. But that request was denied, since normal NBA policy is for the player to serve his suspension and hope to get his money back later if he wins his appeal.

Bryant and the Lakers were surprised by the penalty, and the fans at Madison Square Garden, where Bryant scored 40 points last season, were bummed themselves. There were mostly boos when Bryant's absence was announced during pregame introductions.

The Lakers were already without Kwame Brown for most of the season and recently lost starting forward Luke Walton to a sprained right ankle.

The Knicks were without starting forward Quentin Richardson, who has a sprained right elbow. Recently demoted Jeffries returned to the lineup and scored 14 points, including a three-point play with 4:17 left to spark a 9-2 run after Los Angeles had pulled within a point.

The Lakers shot only 37 percent in the first half and trailed by eight with 3 1/2 minutes left, but scored nine straight points to take a 41-40 lead on Radmanovic's jumper with 25 seconds left. Jeffries hit a 3 with 3.2 seconds remaining to give New York a two-point halftime lead.

The Knicks closed the third quarter with a 13-5 spurt to open a 73-64 advantage on Marbury's 3 as time expired.

Notes

The Knicks snapped a three-game skid against the Lakers. ... Steve Francis was back on the Knicks' bench but remained inactive. He had been away from the team recently, working out in Houston while rehabbing his injured right knee. ... New York native Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's career scoring leader who is now a Lakers assistant working with their big men, received a standing ovation when he was shown on the overhead video board during a first-half timeout.

abadani69

02-02-2007, 08:38 PM

Amare Stoudemire earned a spot on the All-Star team Thursday afternoon and validated the decision hours later.

Stoudemire had 24 points and a career-high 23 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-87 Thursday night.

"I've worked hard the last year and during the offseason, strengthening the muscles in my knee," said Stoudemire, who along with Steve Nash and Shawn Marion were added to the All-Star team as reserves.

Leandro Barbosa scored 25 points, Boris Diaw had 16 and Nash added 13 points and 11 assists for the Suns, who won for the third time in 13 regular-season games against the Spurs.

Phoenix, which had its franchise-record 17-game winning streak snapped Monday in Minnesota, has won 10 straight at home and 36 of 40 since starting the season 1-5.

Included in those first six games was a 111-106 overtime loss in San Antonio in Stoudemire's season debut.

"The team that played those guys in early November is not even close to being the same team today," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Manu Ginobili scored 32 points for the Spurs, who have lost two straight. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker each added 20 for San Antonio. Duncan also had 18 rebounds.

"We had a really tough game against a difficult team (Utah on Wednesday) and today we played a team that runs fastest in the league," Ginobili said. "It's hard to keep up with them. But I don't believe we lost because of being tired. They made key shots. We didn't."

The Spurs took a 78-77 lead on Ginobili's 3-pointer with 8:09 to play. But Stoudemire was fouled on a layup for a three-point play and Barbosa added a 3-pointer to give the Suns an 83-78 lead.

San Antonio closed to 85-84 when Parker hit a long jumper with 5:22 to go. But Diaw scored four points and Barbosa added his second 3-pointer to key a 10-2 run, with Nash adding a free throw after the basket when he was fouled away from the shot, that put Phoenix ahead 95-85 with 2:22 remaining.

"I don't think we were worn out," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They played better than us. They made some shots down the stretch. We didn't make shots. They got away from us once in a while in transition but overall we did a pretty good job."

AP - Feb 2, 1:25 am EST
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The Suns rallied from a three-point halftime deficit, opening the third quarter on a 15-3 run aided by the Spurs' 1-for-10 start from the floor.

Barbosa scored four straight points, Stoudemire added a long jump shot and Marion had a layup as the Suns took a 65-56 lead with 6:56 left in the third.

Parker scored four straight points and Ginobili added a 15-footer to cap an 8-0 run as San Antonio pulled within 65-64 just 90 seconds later.

Phoenix responded with a 7-0 run of its own only to see the Spurs score the quarter's final six points and cut the Suns' lead to 72-70 at the end of three.

Duncan scored six early points and the Suns missed nine of their first 10 shots as the Spurs opened an 18-7 lead with 4:00 left in the first quarter.

Marion hit a 3-pointer and Stoudemire added a layup off an offensive rebound and a 17-foot jumper with 30 seconds left as Phoenix pulled within 22-16 at the end of the period.

"I don't know what happened," Barbosa said. "We didn't start the way we are supposed to start, but at the end of the game we did a great job and we won."

Duncan scored 10 points in the first quarter but missed seven of his final nine field-goal attempts.

"We played pretty well," Duncan said. "There were just too many mistakes for us. I also missed a whole lot of stuff close to the basket that they were able to transition with. They just turn those things into points very quickly."

Notes

The Suns have not lost consecutive games since losing four straight November 3-9. ... Ginobili finished two points shy of his season high. ... Phoenix guard Raja Bell left the game with 9:09 left in the first half with inflammation in his left knee and did not return. ... Stoudemire was assessed a technical after a collision with Ginobili with 9:07 remaining. Ginobili drove toward the basket, leaped to shoot and caught Stoudemire in the groin with a knee as Stoudemire delivered a hand to the Spurs' guard's face. "I think they're on purpose," Stoudemire said of Ginobili's leading knees. "He's a flopper and likes to cause contact." Said Ginobili, "I think I was in motion before he came. I had of course no intention of hurting anybody." ... Nash has double-digit assists in 13 of 14 games including 10 straight.

RedWine

02-05-2007, 03:39 AM

PHOENIX, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Mehmet Okur scored the game-winning basket Saturday night as the Utah Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, 108-105.

The game-winner came with 5.1 seconds remaining and gave Utah its third win in three games against the Suns this season.

Utah had a 58-49 at halftime lead, and an 86-81 advantage after three quarters.

Okur had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Deron Williams had 28 points and 10 assists. Matt Harpring had 12 points and three rebounds; and Andrei ***ilenko added 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots for the Jazz, who have split their last four games.

Amare Stoudemire led the Suns with 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Nash had 22 points and 10 assists. James Jones had 16 points and three rebounds; and Boris Diaw added 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks for Phoenix, which had a 10-game home win streak broken.

abadani69

02-05-2007, 09:43 PM

Amare Stoudemire scored 36 points and the Phoenix Suns withstood Carmelo Anthony's first career triple-double and the loss of Steve Nash to beat the ailing Denver Nuggets 113-108 Monday night.

Leandro Barbosa added 20 points for the Suns, who overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit. His 3-pointer gave the Suns a 100-95 lead with 4 minutes remaining, and the Nuggets never recovered despite staying in the game until the final seconds.

Stoudemire, who grabbed 13 rebounds, added a three-point play for a 103-95 lead with 2:42 left, and he won a key jump ball with Anthony, tipping it to Shawn Marion in the closing minute with the Suns ahead by five.

Anthony, who had 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, pulled the Nuggets to 109-106 with a three-point play with 13 seconds left.

But Marion (19 points) and Raja Bell (18) each sank two free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal the win for Phoenix, which had lost two of three after winning 17 straight.

Bell played despite a swollen knee. Nash aggravated his right shoulder injury in the first half and sat out after halftime, finishing with nine points and seven assists in 17 minutes.

Nene scored 27 points for Denver and J.R. Smith added 18.

abadani69

02-07-2007, 12:15 AM

With Steve Nash out, Leandro Barbosa stepped in and delivered.

Amare Stoudemire scored 36 points and Barbosa added 23 of his 25 after halftime to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 109-102 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime Tuesday night.

Phoenix was missing two-time MVP Steve Nash, who sat out with a shoulder injury that kept him out of the second half in Monday's 113-108 win over Denver.

Barbosa stepped in at point guard, tallying seven assists and six rebounds, and hitting key shots in the second half.

"Barbosa really came out in the second half and picked it up," Stoudemire said. "He's been there all season long for us."

Stoudemire scored the first five points of the extra period and Barbosa knocked in back-to-back 3-pointers as the Suns held off the Blazers.

Zach Randolph had 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting, and Brandon Roy added 27 points and five assists for the Blazers, who lost their third straight.

Portland missed a very good opportunity to win the game in regulation. With the score tied at 96, Travis Outlaw drove to the hoop but missed a layup with 4 seconds left.

"I told Travis after the game you've got to power that shot to the basket," coach Nate McMillan said. "I couldn't believe it when I saw him get a path to the basket but it didn't go in. You can't finesse a shot like that."

Stoudemire, coming off a 36-point, 13-rebound game against Denver, also had nine rebounds, just missing his fourth straight double-double.

Raja Bell had 15 points and six assists, and Shawn Marion had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, who are 18-7 on the road this season.

Ime Udoka and Outlaw each had 10 for the Blazers. Point guard Jarrett Jack had nine points and six assists.

The Suns looked at times like they might run away with the game. They led by as many as 13 in the first quarter and had a 40-26 lead in the second, but Portland closed the gap, getting within 48-45 after Jack converted a three-point play.

Phoenix led by four at the half and started fast in the third, leading 73-61, but the Blazers went on a 14-4 run to get within two.

"We just didn't have constant knowledge of what we were doing without Steve (Nash) in there," Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said.

Randolph, who made his first eight shots, cut the lead to 85-84 with a three-point play at 5:52 in the fourth, and Martell Webster tied the game at 87 with a 3-pointer.

Barbosa stole the inbound pass and then scored on a rebound put-back of a Stoudemire miss. The next time down the floor he swished a 3 to extend the lead to five points.

Randolph was fouled following a Roy miss and converted two free throws with 57.3 seconds left to tie the game at 93.

Barbosa knocked in a 3 from the corner with 38.9 seconds left to give the Suns a 96-93 lead, but Udoka took a pass from Roy and hit a wide-open 3 for the Blazers.

Notes

Portland made 27 of 30 free throws. ...The Blazers wore a black band on their jersey for former team executive Stu Inman, who died last week at 80. ... Blazers starting center Joel Przybilla played six minutes and didn't score. Przybilla, who signed a 5-year, $32 million deal before the season, is averaging just 2.1 points and 4.0 rebounds this season. ... Phoenix has won six straight against the Blazers for the first time since Nov. 15, 1994 to Nov. 14, 1995.

abadani69

02-11-2007, 04:48 PM

Sasha Pavlovic scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, picking up the slack for LeBron James, and the Cleveland Cavaliers shut down Kobe Bryant in the final minutes for a 99-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Pavlovic, suddenly a major cog in Cleveland's offense, finished with 21 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas 17 and Anderson Varejao 12 -- 11 in the fourth -- as the Cavaliers improved to 20-7 at home with their second straight solid effort.

James had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but he deferred to Pavlovic and others down the stretch, and Cleveland's supporting cast came through. James was outscored 25-7 by Bryant in the second half, but the All-Star forward got to crown the Cavs' win with a soaring dunk in the final seconds.

Bryant scored 36 points to lead the Lakers, who went 3-5 on an eight-game swing through the bitterly cold East. Bryant scored Los Angeles' first 14 points in the final period, but with Larry Hughes guarding him, he didn't score again in the final 3:39 after making two free throws to tie it 81-all.

Vladimir Radmanovic scored 12 points and Lamar Odom 11 for the Lakers, whose bench was outscored 46-15.

Varejao made two free throws for the Cavs -- the NBA's worst team from the line -- with 3:20 to go and James followed by making a pair for his first points of the second half to make it 85-81 with 2:59 left.

The Lakers, who led by three points entering the fourth, got within 86-85 on Smush Parker's jumper before James drove and passed to Varejao, who sunk a 17-footer to put the Cavaliers ahead by three.

On the Lakers' next trip, Hughes slapped the ball out of Bryant's hands and it was picked up by Pavlovic, who raced to the other end and was fouled by Parker while making a layup. Pavlovic, who came in averaging 14 points in his last six games, completed the three-point play to put the Cavs ahead 91-85.

With the Cavs paying extra attention to Bryant, none of the other Lakers stepped up and when Varejao made a three-point play with 47 seconds left the Cavaliers were up 93-87 and on their way to a second straight impressive victory after beating M