Bryant\’s contract extended 3 years in Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) loses the ball against Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen (lower L), forward Kevin Garnett (L) and center Kendrick Perkins in the fourth quarter of their NBA basketball game in Boston, Massachusetts January 31, 2010. Allen was called for a foul on the play. (Xinhua/Reuters)
The Los Angeles Lakers have extended Kobe Bryant\’s contract for three more years, the NBA team said on Friday.
General manager Mitch Kupchak said the reigning NBA champions have secured Bryant and Pau Gasol to be with the team for the coming years.
Spain\’s Gasol signed his extension to last through 2013-2014 season. The contract could be worth as much as 64.7 million dollars depending on 2011 salary cap terms.
Bryant, who has helped the Lakers win four NBA championships, is averaging 27.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season.
Howard powers Magic to 97-82 win over Mavericks
Dwight Howard dominated inside with 17 points, 20 rebounds and five blocked shots, and his Orlando teammates converted 14 of 24 attempts from 3-point range as the Magic atoned for an earlier loss to Dallas with a 97-82 victory over the Mavericks last night.
Reserve Mickael Pietrus had 24 points, making all six of his 3-point attempts, and Vince Carter added 19 points to help the Magic win for the 14th time in 16 games.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points for the Mavericks, whose three-game winning streak ended. Jason Terry and J.J. Barea had 16 points apiece for Dallas.
Nuggets 109 Trail Blazers 92
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Nuggets rebound from a tough week to beat Portland.
Nene added 22 points and Chauncey Billups 21 for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in a seven-game stretch that saw them drop from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race.
Andre Miller scored 24 points to lead Portland, which had won its four previous games, including a win over New York on Wednesday that clinched a spot in the playoffs for the Trail Blazers.
Martell Webster added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 for Portland, which lost for the 13th time in its last 14 games in Denver. Portland\’s only win in that span came on Dec. 16, 2007.
Raptors bury Clips to boost playoff hopes
Memphis Grizzlies guard O J Mayo shoots under pressure from Dallas Mavericks forward Erick Dampier (right) in Memphis, Tennessee, on Wednesday. The Mavericks won 106-102 in overtime.
THE Toronto Raptors opened up a two-game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-92 on Wednesday.
Chris Bosh scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Andrea Bargnani added 21 and eight rebounds as the Raptors (37-37) used a big second half to put some breathing room between themselves and the ninth-placed Chicago Bulls.
Toronto trailed 74-75 with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter before outscoring the Clippers 40-17 over the remainder of the game.
\”We knew we had to make adjustments and come out and play the second half correctly,\” Bosh told reporters. \”There wasn\’t much said, we just addressed the problems.\”
Elsewhere in the National Basketball Association, it was: Cavaliers 101, Bucks 98; Hawks 109, Lakers 92; Bobcats 103, 76ers 84; Thunder 109, Celtics 104; Heat 98, Pistons 81; Suns 116, Nets 105; Mavericks 106, Grizzlies 102 (in overtime); Timberwolves 108, Kings 99; Wizards 96, Hornets 91; Spurs 119, Rockets 102; Trail Blazers 118, Knicks 90; and Jazz 128, Warriors 104.
In Toronto, Sonny Weems boosted the Raptors with 15 of his 17 points coming in the second half.
Weems, a second-year player who was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, made all eight of his field goal attempts and added five rebounds.
Toronto, which snapped a three-game home losing streak, has won four straight over the Clippers and seven of the past eight meetings.
Chris Kaman had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, while forward Drew Gooden recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Los Angeles, which lost its third successive game and fell to 27-48 on the season, was again without point guard Baron Davis who is having trouble with back spasms.
\”I thought the first half we played hard and we made a little run there,\” Kaman said.
\”We\’ve got to give them credit. They deserved to win, they\’re fighting for that last playoff spot and they wanted it more than we did.\”
In Cleveland, Mo Williams made four free throws in the final 12.8 seconds as the Cavaliers held on for a 101-98 win over the vastly improved Milwaukee Bucks, who showed they might be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
LeBron James scored 23 points and Williams 21 for the Cavs, who have won 10 of their past 11 and are closing in on the league\’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
John Salmons scored 28 points and Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who attempted just nine free throws – none in the fourth quarter – to 45 for Cleveland.
In Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 points and got plenty of help off the Atlanta bench in a win over Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant scored 28 points but only eight in the second half as Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season. The Lakers won twice on a five-game road trip and missed a chance to possibly clinch the Pacific Division title before heading back home.
James set to miss Worlds
LeBron James has a busy summer ahead. Maybe too busy to play basketball.
Cleveland\’s superstar said on Wednesday night that he\’s \”probably not playing\” for Team USA this summer at the World Championships in Turkey. James, who was a captain on the US team that won a gold medal at the Beijing Games in 2008, is eligible for free agency after the season and is scheduled to film a movie.
His crammed itinerary may make it impossible to play for his country for the third time. James also was a member of the 2004 Olympic team in Athens.
\”I\’ve got a really, really, really, really, really busy summer,\” James said about an hour before tip-off against the Milwaukee Bucks. \”I would love it if I had the opportunity and the time to play to represent my country and go out there and do that. But there\’s a lot of things I need to take care of first.\”
So will he play?
\”It\’s very, very shady right now,\” he said. \”I\’m probably not playing. There are a lot of decisions I need to make this summer before I decide to get back out on the court.\”
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said he won\’t worry about who is playing until July, when the Americans report to training camp. He was already aware that players such as James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh might be unavailable while dealing with free agency.
Associated Press
MLB and CBA extend contract for training of players and coaches
Jim Small (right), vice president of MLB Asia, and Lei Jun, chairman of the Chinese Baseball Association, shake hands after signing the strategic partnership contract in Beijing on Wednesday. (China Daily/HighTeam)
If Jim Small is to be believed, China could be crowned world baseball champions in the very near future.
Small, vice president of MLB Asia, said at a strategic partnership signing ceremony between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chinese Baseball Association (CBA) on Wednesday that not that long ago nobody believed Chinese swimmers would win at the Olympics or Chinese athletes would excel at the Winter Games.
\”There is no reason to doubt that in the near future some of the world\’s best baseball players will be Chinese,\” Small said. \”It will take some time but it\’s definitely going to happen.\”
MLB and CBA extended their cooperation for another four years to help grow baseball in China despite the fact the game has been kicked out of the Summer Olympics, for now.
During this coming four-year period, MLB will help the CBA in training players, coaches and umpires, with an aim to further spreading the US pastime in the world\’s most populous nation.
The cooperation between the two organizations started in 2002 and both sides are happy with the results and they should be.
The Chinese national team, coached by Jim Lefebvre, who recently became the San Diego Padres\’ hitting coach, shocked the baseball world by beating Chinese Taipei at the Beijing Olympics and repeated that feat at the World Classics. The team also took a South Korean team that beat the US to 12 innings in a 1-0 loss at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
\”MLB is prepared to do whatever it takes to help develop baseball in China. We plan to bring the team to the United States in July in preparation for the Guangzhou Asian Games,\” Small said. \”But as to who manages the team next, it\’s up to the CBA.\”
Baseball is still a medal sport at the Asian Games and the Chinese pro league is set to swing away later this year.
\”The partnership with MLB since 2002 has borne a strategic significance with Chinese players going to play in the US and national team coaches getting training from MLB experts,\” Lei Jun, chairman of the CBA, said.
\”We did achieve some progress (the two wins over Chinese Taipei) but that\’s not much compared with the real strength of other Asian countries as well as the world\’s power teams.
\”The road of baseball development has been and will still be bumpy. That\’s why we need the help of MLB,\” Lei said.
\”Our goal (of the partnership with CBA) is to have baseball reach a significant level in the world\’s largest country,\” Small said.
For that, Small said there were two areas of focus.
That is to make the game more visible and more popular through road shows, the setting up of clubs at college campuses, the continuation of the Play Ball! Program in 120 schools and increased TV coverage in China. The other focus is to increase the level of play in China through MLB providing coaches and inviting the national squad to the US for training each year.
Small said a MLB Development Center was set up in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, last September to target potential national team talent.
\”The result of the long and important partnership between MLB and CBA for the past 10 years is nothing short of astonishing,\” Small said. \”Several players went to play in the pro leagues in the US, the national team grew and most surprising is that more people play baseball today than before.
\”The passion in kids we have seen shows that, no doubt, China will reach the goal of becoming a strong baseball nation,\” Small said, adding MLB\’s ultimate goal was to make the game a Chinese sport.
\”Our goal is to not to have a foreign coach; it is to be played by the Chinese, coached by the Chinese and umpired by the Chinese.\”
On Saturday, the MLB Baseball Park will be held at the Beijing Solana, where people can go and experience the excitement of playing the game.
\”The ballpark is a fine form of spreading the sport. The CBA will send national team players or local outstanding players to get involved in the project in order to let more people know about baseball,\” said Shen Wei, secretary-general of the CBA.
Yao Ming watches Rockets-Wizards game
Yao Ming (L) and Shane Battier of Houston Rockets look on during the NBA game between Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards in Houston, south United States of America, March 30, 2010. (Xinhua Photo)
Rockets top Knicks, 116-112
Toney Douglas (C) of New York Knicks is blocked during the NBA games against Houston Rockets in New York, the United States, March 21, 2010. Houston Rockets won the match 116-112. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
North beat South 133-121 in CBA All-Star
The North Team beat the South 133-121 at the 2009-2010 All-Star Game of the Chinese Basketball Association league (CBA) at the packed 13,000-seat Wukesong Arena, a gala that was undoubtedly the best ever in the 15-year CBA league history.
It was quite an enjoyable game for the audiences at the stadium that hosted the basketball competitions of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and also the biggest All-Star arena in the history.
The star players took the All-Star as an experience of fun rather than a competitive high-scoring match in an unprecedented way.
Following the dance steps of the cheer leaders, the players delivered their hobbies, background or talents during the pre-game show-ups. Top votes receiver of each team, Zhang Qingpeng of the Liaoning Panpan and Wang Zhizhi of the Bayi Fubang, even sung lyrics when they emerged from the dazzling lime-lights and deafening music.
The cloak, apple, ladder, mask and etc. were used in the Dunk Slam contest, which was more like an innovation contest rather than a slam skill show-off.
Two-time All-Star player of the National Basketball Association of America (NBA), Stephon Marbury of the Shanxi Zhongyu introduced more no-look pass, alley-hoops and mid-court 3-pointers into the Game, which won him the Most Valuable Player award of the All-Star.
\”I didn\’t expect anything before the game. I just wanted to have fun here. But I do think I made some impact on this game,\” Marbury said.
Marbury, who had 30 points, was pitched minutes into the game when his North starting teammates clearly took the upper hand in a quite dull game.
He received the full-house cheers and the fans were inspired by the efforts of the players for more interesting running and shooting after that.
The game was played quite evenly in the first three quarters with the scoring line after each quarter recorded as 28-31, 57-58, 90-86.
The North broke off when Marbury chipped in three steps-away-from-the-arc 3-pointers in row on 110-95 midway in the four quarter, and the remaining of the match was like another Three-Pointer contest.
Rodney White of the Zhejiang Guangsha had the game-high 32 points and John Lucas III of the Shanghai Sharks had 30 points for the South All-Star.
During the break, Zhang Qingpeng beat his two competitors, Lucas and Ji Linpeng of the Guangsha, after shooting four spots, finishing with 22 points to win the Three-Point Shooting Contest.
Sean Williams of the Fujian SBS won the Slam Dunk Contest which was full of misses, while Lin Zhijie of the Guangsha won the Skill Challenge.
Knicks deny Mavericks 14th straight win
The struggling New York Knicks denied Dallas a season\’s best 14th consecutive victory with a lopsided 128-94 win over the Mavs yesterday.
The victory was the Knicks first over the Mavericks in nine tries dating back to Jan. 11, 2006. It was their first win in Dallas in more than 10 years.
\”I thought we competed, that\’s what we talked about today. And it\’s a lot more fun to play this way,\” Knicks coach Mike D\’Antoni told reporters.
\”You can just go down the whole list, they all brought something and turned it into a great outing.\”
The Knicks (23-43) also gained a measure of revenge after suffering their worst defeat on record, 128-78, against the Mavs on Jan. 24 at Madison Square Garden.
\”It feels good. Revenge is sweet sometimes,\” Knicks forward Al Harrington told reporters. \”That\’s a really good team over there but we just caught them at the right time.\”
New York\’s Bill Walker scored a season-high 23 points off the bench, including 16 in the fourth quarter, while Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 20 points.
Mavericks (45-22) forward Shawn Marion said it was just one of those games for Dallas.
\”It seemed like everything we did out there wouldn\’t go right tonight,\” added Marion.
\”They hit everything, they had everything going, and they were attacking the basket earlier and once we cut them off from that they started hitting shots from outside.
\”We\’ve got to just chunk this one up and throw it out the window.\”
New York built a 10-point lead in the first half before streaking ahead with a 21-6 run in the third quarter. They led 91-66 heading into the fourth.
\”It was a poor performance all around. We really didn\’t come close to winning a quarter,\” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle told reporters. \”When you get thoroughly thrashed like that, it\’s something that\’s difficult. We\’ve got work to do.\”
LeBron beats Kobe\’s record
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James became the youngest player to reach 15,000 points, breaking Kobe Bryant\’s mark in a National Basketball Association game.
James, who had 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, scored the historic basket in the opening quarter of Cleveland\’s 92-85 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
He finished with 29 points for a career total of 15,026 and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who posted their 12th win in their last 13 games.
\”I was born with a God-given gift,\” he said. \”I take full advantage of it by being able to do what I do on the basketball court. Hopefully, I can continue to stay healthy, and hopefully, I\’ll continue to break records.\”
Three points off the milestone when the game started, James scored his first points on a dunk and then hit two free throws about 40 seconds later, giving him 15,001 career points.
James broke Bryant\’s record by more than two years, reaching the mark at 25 years, 79 days while Bryant was 27 years, 136 days when he did it for the Los Angeles Lakers. He did it in his 540th game compared to 657 for Bryant.
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Suns 110, Jazz 100; Lakers 104, Timberwolves 96; Hawks 93, Bobcats 92 (in overtime); Celtics 94, Rockets 87; Thunder 115, Raptors 89; Knicks 92, 76ers 88; Spurs 147, Warriors 116; Trail Blazers 76, Wizards 74; Bucks 114, Kings 108 (in double OT); and Pacers 106, Pistons 102.
In Chicago, James scored seven straight points late in the game as Cleveland increased its lead to 10, sending Chicago to its 10th consecutive loss.
Mo Williams chipped in 18 points for the Cavaliers, who continued to thrive despite losing Shaquille O\’Neal to an injury. Cleveland has 10 wins and one loss with O\’Neal out with a thumb injury.
The Bulls were shorthanded, missing Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah with injuries.
Chicago was led by Taj Gibson (20 points, 13 rebounds) and James Johnson (16 points) but it wasn\’t enough to halt its longest losing skid since November 2001.
\”It\’s really frustrating right now,\” veteran Kirk Hinrich said. \”I don\’t know how else to explain it.\”
Deng could miss two to three more weeks because of a strained right calf while Rose has missed four consecutive games because of a sprained left wrist he suffered in a collision with center Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.
France\’s Noah has missed the past 10 games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
