Players need to be ready to pass, shoot or dribble ... fans need to know the scores, stats and rumors. Your daily roundup of last night's action in the Association:Welcome to another season in the NBA, and the NBA Triple Threat, your daily source of scores, stats, and rumors.
Spurs receive rings, beat Blazers Game 1 of the Spurs' title defense wasn't always pretty (big shock there), but San Antonio still controlled things throughout in defeating Portland 106-97. The Spurs lead by as much as 16 in the second quarter, but let the Blazers crawl back to within two late in third quarter. From there though, San Antonio took control to finish off night one of the title defense. Too bad Spurs fatigue has already set in.
Shane Battier saves Rockets' bacon Those who wondered about the Rockets' mental toughness were partially vindicated, as only the heady play of Shane Battier and a no-call allowed the Rockets to escape with a 95-93. First, Battier hit a three with a man in his face to give Houston a three point lead with 2.5 seconds left. Then, Battier fouled Kobe before he got a shot off, forcing Kobe to hit the first free throw and miss the second on purpose. He did so, and in attempting to grab the rebound, was apparently fouled by Rafer Alston. There was no call though and the Rockets held on. All of that occurred after the Lakers went on a 12-0 late to tie it up. Houston fans should be happy with the win, but concerned with how hard it became after being up 12 with 1:36 to play.
History repeats itself: Jazz defeat Warriors It wasn't really close either, with Utah prevailing 117-96. Once again, Golden State could not stop the Utah inside, with the Jazz outrebounding the Warriors 56-37. For those interested, Marco Belinelli finished with six points.
Best Lines
- Tim Duncan, SA: 24 pts, 10-15 FG, 13 rebs (6 off)...Plus a 2 year contract extension and a ring. Just a normal day in the life of Tim Duncan.
- Carlos Boozer, Uta:32 pts, 15 rebs...Yet, Boozer might still be underrated. A nice 16 and 9 night from Paul Millsap as well.
- Kobe Bryant, LAL: 45 pts, 8 rebs, 4 ast
Rumors du Jour
- Grunfeld denies Kobe for Arenas rumors...I'm not really sure how that benefits either team, save for the fact Kobe is much better defensively. Of course, we all know there's no chance the Lakers could get full value for Kobe.
- Randy Foye out indefinitely...Another major injury like this and the worst team of all-time talk becomes legit.
- Heat not done trading...Which player or type of player do you think would help the Heat the most?
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