The AP reports: Without Steve Nash, nobody got the ball inside to Shaquille O’Neal, and that made the Phoenix Suns a pushover. The Los Angeles Lakers scored 70 points in the first half and rolled past the Nash-less Suns 132-106 Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory. Kobe Bryant had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, while O’Neal had 12 points while taking just seven shots, and grabbed seven rebounds for the Suns in the former teammates’ first meeting since sharing MVP honors at the All-Star game… Lamar Odom had a team-high 23 points and Pau Gasol added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who own the NBA’s best record at 48-10 and lead the Pacific Division by 15 games over the Suns… Leandro Barbosa scored 18 points and Alando Tucker added 16 starting in place of Nash. Jason Richardson added 13.
Day: February 27, 2009
Ben Wallace hurt, Rockets beat Cavs 93-74
The AP reports: LeBron James missed shots, complained to the refs and went an entire game without an assist for the first time in his career. The Houston Rockets, meanwhile, showed they just might be contenders in the Western Conference with a 93-74 win over James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. Yao Ming scored 28 points and Ron Artest added 15 while harassing James on defense most of the night, leading the Rockets to their six consecutive win and ninth straight at home. “It is a big win,” said Yao, who hit 13 of 15 shots, despite Cleveland’s constant double-teams… James scored 21 points, but went 7-for-21 from the field with three turnovers… To make matters worse, forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in the second quarter and will miss 4-6 weeks, the team said.
InsideHoops.com notes: For the Rockets, Yao had 28 points and 8 rebounds but 0 assists and 5 turnovers. Von Wafer shot 5-of-10, including 4-of-6 three-pointers, for 19 points off the bench. Ron Artest had 15 but needed 15 shots to get it. Luis Scola shot 5-of-7 for 14 points and 9 rebounds. The Cavs, however, only shot 33.8%. They were a force on the offensive boards thanks to Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds, but shot badly. Mo Williams shot 8-of-18 for 21 points.
Joakim Noah talks with InsideHoops
Chicago Bulls big dude Joakim Noah is tall. And big.
He has long hair.
He also wears sneakers when playing basketball, which is impressive. I often do that, too.
With that introduction out of the way, here’s a new Joakim Noah interview from a regular contributor to InsideHoops.com.
–Jeff
Johnny ‘Red’ Kerr dies
The AP reports: Johnny “Red” Kerr, the former Chicago Bulls coach who spent more than three decades as a broadcaster for the team, died Thursday. He was 76. Kerr died at his home after a battle with prostate cancer, Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said. “His name was synonymous with basketball, both here in Chicago, and throughout the entire NBA,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. “Those that were fortunate enough to have known Johnny were touched by both his tremendous compassion for people, and his lifelong passion for the game of basketball. We will miss him greatly.”
Ben Wallace has broken right leg
Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Ben Wallace broke his right leg in today’s game against the Houston Rockets.
The AP reports: Wallace, guarding Yao Ming much of the game, left in the third quarter. He was playing his fourth game since missing Cleveland’s Feb. 18 win over Toronto with a right arm laceration that required 14 stitches.
TNT is reporting that the Cavs athletic trainer expects Wallace to miss 8-10 weeks.
We’ll update this blog entry when more is known. Probably again later tonight, with an official report from the Cavs sometime Friday.
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