NBA
LAKERS POUND HAWKS IN BIBBY’S DEBUT
There were two pretty important debuts in Los Angeles on Tuesday night. First, the LA Lakers welcomed Pau Gasol to his first home game at the Staples Center. And second, the Atlanta Hawks unveiled their new point guard, Mike Bibby.
It was the Lakers who punched the “Easy” button in this game, rolling past the Hawks 122-93. Atlanta, who is fighting for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, lost for the fifth straight time.
Kobe Bryant and newcomer Gasol both scored 23 points for the Lakers, who amassed a 73-37 lead at the half and coasted the rest of the way to the final buzzer. Lamar Odom did his part with 17 points and 15 rebounds for the 36-17 Lakers.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 18 points. In his first game for Atlanta, Bibby had just five points and three assists.
OTHER NBA GAMES
Seattle 108, Memphis 101
Sacramento 105, Portland 94
New York 113, Washington 100 (OT)
Minnesota 104, Philadelphia 88
Denver 124, Boston 118
Houston 93, Cleveland 85
Orlando 103, Detroit 85
Utah 119, Golden State 109
NBA NOTES
• Defense has won games all season for the Boston Celtics. So, when they tried to get into a run-and-gun shootout with the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, it didn’t turn out Boston’s way. The Celtics took 99 shots, but the Nuggets outshot them 51 percent to 44 percent. And Carmelo Anthony (29) and Allen Iverson (28) proved too much for the C’s D.
• Deron Williams continues to prove that he’s among the best at his position. On Tuesday, he scored 29 points despite taking just 14 shots—and he dished out 12 assists—as Utah beat Golden State.
NHL
PENGUINS THIRD-PERIOD RALLY STUNS PANTHERS
The Pittsburgh Penguins saved their best effort for last on Tuesday night. Trailing 2-
Colby Armstrong scored the Pens first goal 4:43 into the third period. Pittsburgh remained silent until Ryan Malone lit the lamp with the game-tying goal 16:40 into the third, and again with the eventual game winner at 19:37. The goals were Malone’s 18th and 19th of the season.
Evgeni Malkin assisted on two of the Penguins three goals to take over the NHL’s scoring lead with 79 points.
The win moved Pittsburgh into a first-place tie with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL’s Atlantic Division.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Toronto 3, Columbus 1
Calgary 4, Phoenix 1
St. Louis 5, Chicago 1
Nashville 5, Edmonton 4
Vancouver 3, Minnesota 2 – OT
Boston 3, Carolina 2 – OT
Ottawa 3, Philadelphia 2 – OT Shootout
Montreal 6, New York Rangers 5 – OT Shootout
FACTS OF THE DAY
WEST SUPREMACY
Only two NBA East teams would make the playoffs if their records were compared with the teams in the West.
Top East teams
Boston 41-10
Detroit 39-14
Others—all with worse records than the Top
Orlando 34-21 (.618)
Toronto 28-23
Top West teams
Phoenix 37-16
LA Lakers 36-17
San Antonio 35-17
Dallas 35-18
Utah 35-19
Houston 33-20
Denver 33-20 (.623)
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: KYLE KORVER, FORWARD, UTAH JAZZ
BIO NOTE: Korver has scored 3,765 points in his four-plus years in the NBA.
RECENT NEWS: Korver scored 12 points for Utah on Tuesday to help the Jazz win.
FAITH QUOTE: "I've seen a lot of guys have all this stuff, and they might be happy for a minute here or a minute there. But if something goes wrong they just go back down again. When you have God in you and when you're trying to live for Jesus you're much more stable. There's a bigger goal."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
KIDD DOES DALLAS, AGAIN
Jason Kidd will soon be wearing a Dallas Mavericks’ uniform again. It’s been 11 years since Kidd, who was selected by the Mavericks in the first round of the 1994 draft, has been decked out in their colors, but the time has come for him to do so again. The New Jersey Nets shipped Kidd off to Dallas on Tuesday in an eight-player deal. The Nets are sending Kidd, forward Malik Allen, and guard Antoine Wright, to Mark Cuban’s team in exchange for guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop, and forward-guard Maurice Ager. For some odd reason, New Jersey also gets Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell, who are both retired.
THE BIG RUNNER
He’s back and faster than ever. That’s what Shaquille O’Neal wants you to think. He’ll make his debut with the fleet-footed Phoenix Suns, and some are wondering if he can keep up with Mike D’Antoni’s offense. Will he be still taking the Diesel down court while the Suns are scoring and heading back on defense? The Big Runner says he’ll be ready as he and his new buddies take on LA and his old buddies on Wednesday.
HABS DON’T QUIT
So, you’re among the 21,273 folks who paid good money to got to the Bell Centre on Tuesday to watch a hockey game. You glance up at the scoreboard and notice that it’s eight minutes into the second period, and your hometown Montreal Canadiens are trailing the New York Rangers 5-0. You’ve got a big day at the office tomorrow, and you start to think about cutting out early. However, at 8:28 of the period, Michael Ryder puts the puck into the net, and it’s 5-1. You put your keys back in your pocket. About four minutes later, Ryder scores again, and not it’s 5-2. The third period starts and not much happens. The exit beckons. Then at 6:43 of the period, Alexei Kovalev scores to make it at least interesting. Now it’s 5-3. Before you can even settle into your seat—nine seconds later—Mark Streit buries a shot and now there’s a contest developing on the ice. It’s 5-4. Things grow more intense until the 15:38 mark when Kovalev scores again—and suddenly nobody’s even thinking about going anywhere. This game is tied. This had never happened before. After a scoreless overtime period, Saku Kolvu rewards your faithfulness with a shootout goal—and for the first time in nearly 100 years of Montreal Canadiens hockey, the Habs have come back from a 5-0 deficit to win a hockey game. It’s quite a happy ride home.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
TUESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
• He had nine seasons of 20 or more home runs as a major league catcher.
• He hit 298 home runs, leaving him fourth all-time among catchers.
• Holds major league records for most putouts (11,785) and chances accepted (12,988) among catchers.
• Made the All-Star team 11 times.
• Known as “The Kid.”
Quote: “Jesus has been in my heart my whole career, and He needs to be given the praise He deserves.”
WHO IS HE? GARY CARTER
WEDNESDAY’S MYSTERY PERSON
• He attended the University of Washington, where he ran for
• Played for the
• Rushed for
• Rushed for
• Retired early from his NFL career to become a pastor in Dublin, California.
• Currently pastor of The Well, a non-denominational church in that city.
WHO IS HE?
SPECTRUM RADIO
SS DAILY INTERVIEW
To hear today's interview, go to the Sports Spectrum radio home page. It can be found at www.sport.org.
THE TUESDAY GUEST
DAVID STEELE, television voice of the Orlando Magic
NBA teams have been jockeying for the advantage of late, trading players in order to stock up for the stretch run. Steele, who has been observing the NBA up close for a long time, takes a look at those recent deals—especially as it relates to Shaquille O’Neal. Also, Steele will discuss the effect of the Pau Gasol trade on the fortunes of the LA Lakers. And Steele has his idea of who will win the NBA title—and it probably isn’t who you think.
