Chris Webber had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Mike Bibby hit two big jumpers down the stretch as the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers 107-99 on Thursday night in the latest chapter in the NBA's most entertaining rivalry.
Before the Kings steadily pulled away from the three-time defending champions in the fourth quarter, they got three technical fouls for arguing a series of calls -- some questionable, others completely ordinary. Their excess of emotion eventually wore off, but even their coach was a bit chagrined.
And of course, the Lakers couldn't resist another chance to needle and belittle the Kings, even in defeat.
``Look at their bench -- they whine the whole game,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ``They are obviously carrying something inside. Do they have to have the referees on their side to win the game? That's not good behavior for a team that wants to win a championship. They are so emotional about it.''
In the teams' third meeting of the regular season, Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 34 points after halftime -- but his virtuoso performance couldn't beat the Kings' cool-headed play down the stretch.
Shaquille O'Neal became the 28th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points. He finished with 28 points and 13 rebounds -- but Bibby, whose inclusion on the US Olympic team was mocked by Shaq earlier in the week, made a 17-foot jumper with 1:54 left to give Sacramento a seven-point lead.
``It's a great accomplishment for a knucklehead from Jersey,'' O'Neal said of his milestone.
``We gave them that one. We made a lot of silly mistakes. We match up excellent with this team. They will have to play perfect basketball to beat us. They played a great game ... [but] they almost had to play perfect basketball to beat us -- hit all the shots, get all the calls.''
With its screaming fans reaching deafening levels, Sacramento shook off three mediocre quarters to make a 16-3 run in the final 4{ minutes. Peja Stojakovic scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, while Webber got 10 points in the final period.
But Kings coach Rick Adelman didn't like his team's lapses in concentration. Vlade Divac, Bibby and Jim Jackson all got technical fouls, while Doug Christie, Scot Pollard and Keon Clark vocally protested calls against them.
``My [technical foul] hurt my teammates,'' Divac admitted. ``It didn't show anything. At least we played through the emotions. Sometimes you wake up feeling good, and nothing can frustrate you."
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care