Greatness up in the air
Kobe Bryant needed 22 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list and got them in the first 21 minutes. He looked like he was on his way to 50, a great way to celebrate his annual trip to his hometown. The Lakers held a 55-30 advantage in rebounds. Andrew Bynum (20 points, 20 rebounds) and Pau Gasol (16 and 11) looked like they were playing against children. And LA held a seven-point lead with less than five minutes to
Paul Pierce and Tony Parker, a pair of Finals MVPs, were named NBA Players of the Week on Monday. Pierce was the Eastern Conference winner, leading the Boston Celtics to a 4-0 week by averaging 22.0 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. Pierce, who won Finals MVP honors in 2008, scored 30 points Friday night as the Celtics rallied for a 91-89 home victory over the New York Knicks. Parker was the Western Conference winner, piloting the San Antonio Spurs to a 4-0
The Oklahoma City Thunder may have revenge on their minds. On Jan. 3, the Thunder took their only home loss of the season, a 103-93 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers. On Monday night, the Thunder visit the Trail Blazers in the NBA’s best game. There are just four teams with one home loss: Chicago (9-1), Oklahoma City (9-1), Portland (11-1) and San Antonio (13-1), which handled Oklahoma City in a 107-96 victory Saturday night. That was the opener of a five-game road
NEW YORK — Busy morning in Stu Jackson’s office, with another suspension announced in addition to the one given to Lakers coach Mike Brown. Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves won’t have a double-double Tuesday night or Wednesday night when the Wolves play a back-to-back set against Sacramento and Memphis. The Timberwolves forward was hit with a two-game suspension Monday by NBA vice president Stu Jackson “for driving his foot into the upper body and face of the Houston Rockets’ Luis Scola
NEW YORK — I alluded to this in yesterday’s power rankings: Coaches need to set examples, and coaches need to impart upon their players that the worst time to get a technical foul is in the fourth quarter. Mike Brown picked up two of them in rapid succession Saturday night in the fourth quarter of the Lakers-Jazz game, and today he is paying the price. NBA vie president of violence Stu Jackson announced that Brown has been suspended one game without pay and fined
Amar’e Stoudemire’s older brother was killed in a car crash in Florida early Monday morning. TMZ.com reported that Hazell Stoudemire, 35, died on the scene in Lake Wales after crashing into the rear end of a tractor trailer. Amar’e Stoudemire, the star forward of the New York Knicks, is not expected to play Monday night when the Knicks host the Utah Jazz. Hazell Stoudemire is Amar’e Stoudemire’s full brother. The NBA star also has a younger half-brother, Marwan Williams, whom he watched over
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder deserve the gushing praise that has been dispensed on their behalf, it would seem slightly premature to begin measuring for ring sizes. The Thunder are young and exciting. They have the youngest scoring champion in NBA history and he has a superstar guard as a sidekick. The third scorer has improved markedly from last season and unquestionably has star qualities. And none of those three – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – has yet to