NBA
BRYANT’S 52 KEYS LAKERS WIN OVER MAVS
If you’ve ever played basketball in a game where they kept score and the outcome mattered, you’ve dreamed of having that magical game when you were unstoppable. You’ve imagined scoring some outrageous amount of points—maybe 30—and leading your team to a win.
But the idea of scoring 50 points in a game for most mere mortals seems totally out of the realm of possibility. Enter Kobe Bryant, who on Sunday had another of those dream games when he scored more than 50 points—52 to be exact—to lead his team to yet another victory. Bryant scored nearly half of the Lakers’ points as they edged the Dallas Mavericks 108-
But here is what is most remarkable. This was not some once-in-a-lifetime game in which the basket was as big as the Pacific Ocean for Kobe. No, this was the 22nd time he has scored 50 points or more in his career. Twenty-two times!
On Sunday, Bryant scored 22 of his points in the fourth quarter and then added eight more in overtime. Bryant was 15 for 27 from the floor, and he made 20 of his 27 free throw attempts. He also had 11 rebounds and four assists just for good measure.
Other people did play in the game, notably Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Dallas. Erick Dampier (16 points, 17 rebounds) and Jason Kidd (15 points, 11 assists) also had double-doubles for Dallas.
Pau Gasol helped out his superstar buddy with 17 points and 14 rebounds for he 42-18 Lakers. Dallas is now 39-21 on the season.
OTHER NBA GAMES
Sacramento 120, Miami 109
Golden State 110, Portland 104
Houston 103, Denver 89
Cleveland 95, Chicago 86
Boston 98, Atlanta 88
Indiana 128, Milwaukee 106
San Antonio 93, New Jersey 83
Washington 101, New Orleans 84
Charlotte 110, Toronto 98
Seattle 111, Minnesota 108 (OT)
NBA NOTES
• East is East and West is West, and they are miles apart in the NBA. Look at the No. 8 team in each conference. In the East, it’s New Jersey with a record of 26-
• Houston was very good with Yao Ming. And they are very good without him as well. On Sunday, the Rockets ran their winning streak to 15 games, tying a team record. They have won three straight games since Yao went down with a stress fracture. Next up on their schedule: Indiana, Dallas, and New Orleans.
NHL
PANTHERS BACKUP GOALIE STYMIES ISLANDERS
A total of 53 shots were fired at Florida Panthers backup goaltender Craig Anderson on Sunday. None reached the net behind the little-used Anderson!
Florida 1, New York Islanders 0.
Anderson registered his first shutout of the season and third of his career to lead his team to victory. The Islanders sent a team-record 29 shots at Anderson in the second period—but could not break the backup.
Florida’s David Booth scored the game’s only goal—a wrister in first period.
Florida has struggled of late (3-5-3), but not as much as the Islanders who have now dropped four of their last five games.
OTHER NHL SCORES
Chicago 4, Vancouver 1
Detroit 4, Buffalo 2
Minnesota 2, Los Angeles 1 – OT
New York Rangers 5, Philadelphia 4 – OT Shootout
Edmonton 4, Columbus 3 – OT Shootout
Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 2 – OT Shootout
FACTS OF THE DAY
50-POINT GAME FACTS
Number of 50-or-more games in NBA history: 379
50 points: 65 times (Bryant, six)
51 points: 65 times (Bryant, four)
52 points: 50 times (Bryant, three)
53 points: 41 times (Bryant, two)
54 points: 16 times (Bryant, none)
55 points: 23 times (Bryant, one)
56 points: 21 times (Bryant, one)
57 points: 17 times (Bryant, none)
58 points: 12 times (Bryant, one)
59 points: 10 times (Bryant, none)
60 points: 9 times (Bryant, one)
61 points: 10 times (Bryant, none)
62 points: 8 times (Bryant, one)
63 points: 6 times (Bryant, none)
64 points: 3 times (Bryant, none)
65 points: 4 times (Bryant, one)
66 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
67 points: 4 times (Bryant, none)
68 points: 2 times (Bryant, none)
69 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
70 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
71 points: 2 times (Bryant, none)
72 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
73 points: 3 times (Bryant, none)
78 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
81 points: 1 time (Bryant, one)
100 points: 1 time (Bryant, none)
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAY'S FEATURE: LUKE RIDNOUR
BIO NOTE: In his NBA career, Ridnour has 1,721 assists and 3,128 points in 339 games.
RECENT NEWS: On Sunday, Ridnour scored 13 points and had seven assists to help the Sonics beat the T-Wolves.
FAITH QUOTE: "I try to meet with as many people as I can and do Bible studies. It is good for me to be around people who are strong spiritually, who are growing in the Lord and who can help me develop in that and just love the Lord."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Imagine being 23 years old. You’ve been at your profession for about four years now, and you’ve proved that you are very good at what you do. You work for about seven months of the year, and you get the rest of the year off. And your employer just informed you that you are going to make $670,000 this year. Wouldn’t you be upset? Of course, with that information, we’d say, “No! I’d be ecstatic.” But that’s not the way things work in the skewed world of professional sports. This young man is not an engineer or an accountant or a veterinarian. No, he’s a baseball player, and in the world of sports it’s not how much money you make that apparently brings joy to a heart—it is how much money you make in relation to someone else who might make more. Now, any 23-year-old can live an unusually comfortable life on $670,000, even after taxes. And the expected happiness that hefty paychecks can bring should follow. But sports figures have been conditioned to complain if they feel in any way that someone who might not be as good is getting more. It’s a reality most working people have to quietly deal with every day, and they don’t have 670,000 pictures of a president to help make them feel better. Prince Fielder, you are good, but to imagine that you are “not happy” about your contract is very hard for most people—especially in this economy—to understand.
TIGER OCHOA
Lorena Ochoa is doing her best Tiger Woods impersonation on the LPBA circuit. Over the weekend, the lady with two straight Player of the Year awards on her shelf at home in Mexico obliterated the field at the HSBC Women’s Championship in Singapore. She beat her nearest competitor, Annika Sorenstam, by 11 strokes, and she was 20 under par for the tournament. The victory was her 18th career victory, and the trip to Singapore paid off as Ochoa brought back a check for $300,000 with her.
DOUBLE BACK FLIP
That’s two backflips for Carl Edwards so far in 2008, and suddenly he is atop the Sprint Cup standings. He held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win on Sunday, but he might not be able to hold off NASCAR officials. Apparently, as they were inspecting Edwards’ car after the race, they found that the lid was off his oil tank box. How many times have we all done that? So now Edwards will have to await his penalty for that infraction, and it could cost him the points lead.
SPRINT CUP STANDINGS
With two races in the books, Kyle Busch leads the Sprint Cup standings. The racers head next to Las Vegas for the UAW-Dodge 400 on Sunday, March 2.
Driver Points Hometown
1. Carl Edwards 491 Columbia, MO
2. Kyle Busch 470 Las Vegas
3. Ryan Newman 450 South Bend, IN
4. Kasey Kahne 444 Enumclaw, WA
5. Kevin Harvick 428 Bakersfield, CA
6. Greg Biffle 427 Vancouver, WA
7. Jeff Burton 421 South Boston, VA
8. Martin Truex Jr. 371 Mayetta, NJ
9. Elliott Sadler 368 Emporia, VA
10.Dale Earnhardt. Jr. 261 Kannapolis, NC
Other notables:
11. Tony Stewart
12. Kurt Busch
14. Jimmie Johnson
16. Matt Kenseth
22. Jeff Gordon
38. Sam Hornish Jr.
INSIDE SPORTS SPECTRUM
Do you read Sports Spectrum magazine? If you do, you’ll be able to identify the following athlete featured in the March-April edition of the magazine, which is arriving in mailboxes across the country this week.
MONDAY’S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
• He started his coaching career at George Fox College
• He has won back-to-back NCAA baseball titles
• His son plays for him at Oregon State University
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON?
FRIDAY’S SPORTS SPECTRUM FEATURE
• She and her husband are world-class runners.
• She once ran a mile in 4:28.
• She graduated from Stanford with a degree in human biology.
• She and her Olympic-bound husband were married in 2005.
CAN YOU NAME THIS SPORTS PERSON? SARA HALL
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
A Christian athlete who is now officially one year older.
MATT DIAZ
Outfielder, Atlanta Braves
Born: March 3, 1978, Portland, Oregon
Matthew Edward Diaz, 30 years old
Known by his family as “MattE”
Has a brother, Jonny Diaz, who is a Christian recording artist.
His father, Ed, is a spring training chaplain for the Detroit Tigers. His mom, Gwen, is an author and inspirational speaker.
SPORTS 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 MONDAY GUEST
DAVID BAKER, commissioner, Arena Football League
For some, football never takes a break. Folks like that can take advantage of a little different brand of pigskin action with the Arena Football League, which is now playing in arenas across the land. Baker will talk about the new season, and he will discuss his son, Same, who played the big version of football for USC last season and could be a high draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
