denz Recreational

To force a decisive seventh game in the NBA finals series, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 89-67. Last Thursday’s game will be only the second time in 16 years that the series has gone the full distance.

Boston, whose score was their lowest ever in a finals game, played most of the game without Kendrick Perkins who injured his knee in the first quarter. They were unable to close the gap after trailing by 20 after the first half.

In addition to Bryant’s contribution, Spanish forward Pau Gasol contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Ron Artest weighed in with 15 as the Lakers, the defending champions, avoided a third consecutive defeat, having led the series 2-1.

They were 10 points ahead after the first period, doubled their advantage in the second and the margin was 25 after the third as the Celtics, the team with the second-best away record of the season, just ran out of steam. Their top scorer was Ray Allen with 19 points, while Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo all reached double figures.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson was delighted at the prospect of coaching the first series decider of his career. “It’s really a high-tension situation; players have come down to putting a lot on the line at this particular point. It’s not about the coaching at that point. They’ve already got it in them. It’s about who comes out and provides the energy on the floor.”

The Lakers are seeking their 16th NBA title, while Boston is in search of a record 18th crown.

As I have seen in the Sports News earlier, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal made their first public appearance together as Cleveland teammates.

The Cavaliers’ troubled guard, who is dealing with personal problems as well as legal issues pending from a recent arrest on weapons charges, was kept away from Cleveland’s intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday, a workout that served as the Cavaliers’ debut of James and O’Neal.

James and O’Neal played on opposite teams one last time. O’Neal, acquired in an offseason trade, played for the Gold while James led the Wine. O’Neal was unofficially 6 of 8 from the field, dropping at least four short jumpers and one layup when he got behind the Wine’s defense. The 7-foot-1 big man is settling into his new home, but he’s still learning about some of his new teammates.

Earlier in the day, O’Neal and James mugged for the cameras and generally clowned around during the team’s media day, which was postponed after two hours on Monday because of a power outage. James and O’Neal rapped some lyrics together and lifted guard Mo Williams off the ground during a photo shoot.

With an agreement for Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov to purchase controlling interest of the team, the fortunes of the New Jersey Nets changed dramatically. The Nets have gone from the franchise with the biggest debt in the league to the franchise with the richest owner. And with that, the team’s chances of finally getting to Brooklyn have increased. The move to New York has faced two obstacles: financing and an eminent domain hearing set for Oct. 14. The financing was the bigger obstacle of the two, and that doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore, with Prokhorov agreeing to acquire 45 percent of the new Barclays Center.

New Jersey has a promising young core with All-Star Devin Harris and big man Brook Lopez, but could have put itself in a better position this summer by trimming some roster fat with a buyout or two and acquiring additional building blocks. That, of course, would have required a willingness to spend. Given the Nets’ financial situation, they didn’t sign a single free agent.

In fact, Nets fans have never liked current owner Bruce Ratner. From Day 1, many have believed that Ratner’s reasons for buying the team in 2004 had little to do with basketball. His main reason for owning a team, according to his detractors, was to develop 22 acres in Brooklyn with an arena as the centerpiece.

Even if the financial handcuffs were immediately taken off, it’s too late to add an impact player for this season without sacrificing future cap space. Which means this season’s focus likely will be developing the youngsters and proving to future free agents that they can contend for a championship in Brooklyn with the Nets’ supporting cast. With Prokhorov, the Nets will have an owner who cares about hoops and should allow Thorn, to do what it takes to fully rebuild the team.

The annual event of Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony and this is always elicits a pilgrimage of the basketball community to this small city in southwest Massachusetts. But the event has never had and probably never will have the buzz that this year’s ceremony did. The enshrinement of Michael Jordan brought more people, more attention and more buzz than Springfield or the Hall of Fame has ever seen. A night which usually doesn’t see much fanfare beyond the world of basketball turned into something more like the Academy Awards.

Well, that should be no surprise because Jordan’s presence has had that effect since his days in Chapel Hill. Whether or not you agree that Jordan was the greatest player in history, you can’t deny that there has never been a player who has influenced more aspiring players around the world than he has. On the court, he was the ultimate combination of talent and competitiveness, the ultimate showman and the ultimate winner. Off the court, he was the ultimate spokesman and marketer of the game. To this day, Jordan’s highlights elicit an emotional response and they drew oohs and ahs from the Symphony Hall crowd before he was introduced.

According to the news, Tiger Woods moved into contention at The Barclays at Liberty National in New Jersey with a third-round 67 on Saturday. The American improved on his first two rounds of 72 and 70 to move to within five shots of compatriots Paul Goydos and Steve Marino at the top of the leaderboard. Consecutive birdies at the fifth, sixth and seventh holes set Woods up for an impressive round, and although he dropped a shot at the par-four 10th, two more birdies moved him onto four under for the tournament.

While Marino claimed he would not look over his shoulder for Woods, he told the official PGA Tour Web site. “You know, I’m sure he’s probably going to play pretty well tomorrow. He always seems to play well on Sundays. But I can’t control what he does. I can only control what I do and I feel like if I play well, being five ahead of him, I shouldn’t really have to worry about him.” Marino added.

Poulter also had to make do with a 70, ending his round in disappointing fashion with bogeys on the 16th and 18th, although he did birdie the 17th. Americans Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar were the other two players on four-under.

News said this morning that Detroit has fired Coach Michael Curry after they suffered a losing record and an NBA play-offs first-round sweep in his first season in charge. Pistons went 39-43 and then endured four one-sided losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the post-season. The Pistons began last season with big hopes but failed to recover from the loss of All-Star point guard Chauncey Billups, who joined Denver in November. [Read more...]