Tag: New Jersey Nets

Kobe misses first 15 shots but bounces back at end

Kobe Bryant never had endured a game quite like the one he had Saturday afternoon.

Bryant was shut out through the first three quarters, missing his first 15 shots  from the field.

But after that frigid shooting start, Bryant rebounded to hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to lead the Los Angeles Lakers’ 88-85 victory over New  Orleans.

Bryant scored all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a historically struggling 3-for-21 shooting effort against the Hornets.

He missed his first seven 3-pointers before finally sinking his game-winning shot. It was the worst start to a game in Bryant’s career, having previously missed his first 13 shots against the Spurs on Dec. 28, 2010.

“I couldn’t put the ball in the ocean,” Bryant told reporters after the game. ”But I’m stubborn. You have to have that kind of attitude, that kind of determination or stubbornness. That’s what gets teams over the hump to win multiple championships.

“If I were to miss that shot, everybody would have killed me.”

Bryant, 33, ranks third in the NBA with an average of  38.6 minutes per game. He said the extended minutes caused by the league’s compact 66-game has caused  him to be fatigued and the results were seen in Saturday’s game.

“Fatigue might have something to do with it, but I had good shots,” Bryant told ESPN Los Angeles. “You figure ways to work through it. I have a great team here and a lot of support. I really pushed myself defensively tonight to get after the guys, so sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit of the offense and the stamina that you have to defend. That’s what we believe is going to get us to the championship.”

Despite his struggles, Bryant’s big shot pulled the Lakers to the victory — even if he belonged more under the Duds lists than the Studs for Saturday’s action.     

STUDS

Los Angeles Clippers G Chris Paul: Went for 26 points and six assists after returning from an elbow injury earlier in the Clippers’ victory over Utah.

Los Angeles Clippers F Blake Griffin: Muscled for 24 points, eight rebounds, six assists and was a team-best plus-17 in the Clippers’ victory over Utah.

Philadelphia F Elton Brand: Notched 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and was plus-11 in the Sixers’ victory over Atlanta.

New Jersey G Deron Williams: Filled the box score with 19 points, six rebounds, 15 assists, three steals and was plus-5 in the Nets’ victory at Sacramento.

San Antonio F Tim Duncan: Went for 23 points (including 9 for 9 from the foul line), 11 rebounds, two blocks, two assists and was plus-7 in the Spurs’ triumph over Indiana — their seventh straight victory.

Atlanta F Josh Smith: Produced 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and was plus-2 in the Hawks’ loss at Philadelphia.

DUDS

Los Angeles Lakers G Kobe Bryant: Went 3 for 21 from the field after missing his first 15 shots with a turnover in the Lakers’ victory over New Orleans.

New York G Landry Fields: Clanked through a 2-for-8 shooting effort with six turnovers in the Knicks’ victory over Cleveland.

Cleveland G Lester Hudson: Hit 2 for 8 from the field with four turnovers and was minus-6 in the Cavaliers’ loss to New York.

Philadelphia C Spencer Hawes: Struggled through a 2-for-7 shooting night with four turnovers and was minus-3 in the Sixers’ victory over Atlanta.

Milwaukee G Monta Ellis: Went 2 for 12 from the field with three turnovers in the Bucks’ loss to Memphis.

Fired-up Richardson erupts for nine 3s, leads Saturday’s S&Ds

Here’s a warning for  rival fans who might taunt Orlando guard Jason Richardson: he listens.

After being berated by a rival fan early in the game, Richardson erupted for 28 of his 31 points in the second half to lead the Magic’s 99-94 victory at Milwaukee.

A courtside spectator yelled ”you’re washed up” at Richardson during the first quarter.

Richardson told  reporters after the game that he was listening — particularly after missing his first three  shots  during that first quarter.

“I’m a competitor,” Richardson told the Associated Press. “I love when people talk trash to me.”

But this particular taunt rubbed Richardson the wrong way.

“When you go past the line where I thought the guy did,” he said, “I had to show the guy I wasn’t.”

Richardson hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark the Magic’s comeback.

“People think that once you turn a certain age, you don’t have it anymore. You don’t have the certain style of play you used to play,” Richardson said. “I’m still young, so I had to show the guy I still had energy.”

Enough, that is, to lead Saturday’s Studs and Duds.

STUDS

Orlando G Jason Richardson: Erupted for  31 points in 25 minutes, including nine 3-pointers, and was a team-best plus-19 in the Magic’s victory at Milwaukee. Richardson was the second player to top 30 points in 26 minutes or less this season.

Los Angeles Clippers G Chris Paul: Tallied  18 points, 14 assists, five rebounds, two steals and was plus-28 in the Clippers’ victory at Charlotte.

New York G Jeremy Lin: Another night, another big performance as he directed the Knicks’ fourth straight victory. Lin tallied 20 points, six rebounds, eight assists, was plus-5 and hit a couple of clutch foul  shots to lead the Knicks’ victory at Minnesota.

Minnesota F Kevin Love: Went for 32 points and 21 rebounds — his second 30-20 of the season and sixth of his career — in the Trail Blazers’ loss to New York.

Portland F LaMarcus Aldridge: Notched 33 points and 12 rebounds and was plus-1 in the Trail Blazers’ overtime loss at Dallas.

DUDS

Charlotte F Reggie Williams: Clanked through a 1-for-12 shooting effort with two points and was minus-17 in the Bobcats’ loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Milwaukee G Brandon Jennings: Went 3 of 14 from the field with three turnovers and was minus-9 in the Bucks’ loss to Orlando.

New Jersey F Marshon Brooks: Struggled with a 2-for-10 shooting night, scored seven points, had six turnovers and was a team-worst minus-19 in the Nets’ loss to San Antonio.

Sacramento G Tyreke Evans: Hit 1 for 9 from the field with four turnovers and was minus-9 in the Kings’ loss to Phoenix.

New Jersey F Shawne Williams: Clanked through a 1-for-9 shooting night and was minus-14 in the Nets’ loss to the Spurs.

Holt in middle, players in trouble

Peter Holt has been in a shouting match with Chris Paul, and he’s been called “unrelenting.”

“You haven’t felt enough pain yet,” Holt told player representatives, according to one report.

Holt, the most prominent owner in the NBA’s labor dispute, is carrying on a Spurs tradition. The late Angelo Drossos was known for a few fights, too.

But this isn’t Holt’s nature, and this isn’t an accurate portrayal of what has happened, either. He has strong views because of his franchise’s small-market status. Yet he’s mostly been by David Stern’s side as a consensus builder, and the result has gotten a new bloc of hard-line owners to agree to a deal that is now in front of the players.

This should scare the players.

Holt is a reasonable one.

If Drossos is looking down on these negotiations, he’s applauding. He was a creative and tough Spurs CEO, and he would admire Stern for what he has done. The players are now stuck in a half-court trap in which their best option is a painful one.

Drossos would have done the same. He once argued for a system that would allow only one-year contracts, and he long ago came up with an idea that is the basis of nearly every discussion going on today. Drossos was the father of the salary cap.

“The influence and power he had,” Stan Albeck said a few years ago, “absolutely dominated meetings. Spurs meetings, league meetings.”

Albeck felt that firsthand. When Albeck wanted to leave the Spurs to sign with New Jersey, Drossos squeezed players out of the Nets in return.

Hill Country Holt hasn’t been the same. He had the qualities needed to make a franchise work in a small market, such as money, patience and politics. But he’s been tie-less and pretension-less, delegating to those he trusted.

Holt isn’t built for meetings. With the Spurs, his attention often fades when talk turns to details. But now, at Stern’s side, more active than any owner, Holt has been working through marathon meeting after marathon meeting.

The spat with Paul was a fluke; Stern wasn’t there then, out with an illness. Holt has probably been “unrelenting,” but that isn’t a negotiating negative. And the “pain” quote was secondhand.

Holt’s role, instead, has been as a facilitator, trying to keep his peers in line. He’s doing what Jerry Colangelo once did for Stern, and Stern likely chose Holt because he wanted the perception Holt provided.

Holt’s Spurs have been successful winning games, yet continue to struggle making a profit. So the large-market owners understand, and the small-market ones believe he’s looking out for them.

Stern needed such a partner. Whereas he once was a one-man consensus, Stern now faces more than a dozen new owners, many of whom have wanted an even more radical economic model. Stern needed someone to engage them and pull them along.

Stern got that from Holt. While the players bristle at a 50-50 split, there was an undercurrent among owners such as Phoenix’s Robert Sarver who wanted even more. Now, if the players reject the current offer this week, Sarver will get his wish. The owners’ next proposal will go lower.

Drossos would have been ready to do the same. Holt, instead, waits to continue a process that has been both exhausting and exhilarating. The way this often goes, Holt will likely have to fly to New York a few more times; the owners’ ultimatum doesn’t necessarily mean the negotiations are over.

Still, the owners’ stance is one that could be seen coming a year ago. And as they force the players into a corner, a sign of their resolve has stood next to Stern throughout.

Holt, a symbol of small-market angst, is working the middle.

bharvey@express-news.net