BRYANT MAKES HISTORY : ROOKIE BECOMES YOUNGEST TO START LAKERS 102, DALLAS 83.Byline: Marc Stein Marc Stein is a sports reporter. He began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 to serve as the site's senior National Basketball Association writer. Daily News Staff Writer The All-Star and the future star were barely needed. Tuesday's trip to Reunion Arena was that much of a Lone Star Lone Star (or Lonestar) may refer to:
After hearing that Eddie Jones had been chosen as one of the 12 best players in the Western Conference, and then making their own momentous announcement by naming Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. as the youngest starter in NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= history, the Lakers cruised to a 102-83 rout of the Dallas Mavericks  The introduction of this article is too short.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, it should be expanded. without a starry contribution from either one. Jones managed a meager mea·ger also mea·gre adj. 1. Deficient in quantity, fullness, or extent; scanty. 2. Deficient in richness, fertility, or vigor; feeble: the meager soil of an eroded plain. 3. six points and Bryant - promoted to the first five in place of the injured Robert Horry Robert Horry (born August 25, 1970 in Harford County, Maryland) is an American National Basketball Association basketball player. Currently playing for the San Antonio Spurs, Horry is is known for his ability to make clutch shots in big games. - added a quiet 12 on an evening the Lakers (32-12) scored just 38 points in the first two quarters before rallying for their third-biggest margin of victory all season. ``It was still a pretty good day,'' said a smiling Jones, who found out before the morning shootaround that he and Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). were among the seven reserves picked to represent the West in the All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games at Cleveland on Feb. 9. ``At least I played pretty good defense.'' That Bryant could make the same claim, having helped hold Jim Jackson to 10 points in 39 minutes, only brightened the already-beaming face of Lakers coach Del Harris. With Horry day-to-day after suffering a sprained left ankle Sunday in Seattle, Harris called it ``a risk'' to start Bryant over Jerome Kersey Jerome Kersey (born June 26, 1962 in Clarksville, Virginia) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association for a number of teams, but most notably for the Portland Trail Blazers. He also has served in various coaching roles in the NBA. or Byron Scott. But he did it anyway, and without consequence. Only record-setter Bill Willoughby was hurt by the move, which saw Bryant, at 18 years and five months - two months younger than Willoughby was for Atlanta in 1975-76 - join Jones, O'Neal, Nick Van Exel Nickey (Nick) Maxwell Van Exel (born November 27 1971 in Kenosha, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. Van Exel, a 6'1" left-handed point guard, was most well known for his flashy style of play and his ability to hit critical shots during and Elden Campbell for opening introductions. ``It felt good,'' Bryant said after matching his career-high with 32 minutes. ``You try to run out there and have a serious face, but I couldn't help but crack a little smile.'' By night's end, all the Lakers were smiling, having overcome a 41-38 halftime deficit to claim their fourth straight victory and 13th in 16 games. The difference was a 29-12 third period, which saw O'Neal score seven points, Van Exel total five points, five assists and two steals and Jerome Kersey hit a 3-pointer at the quarter buzzer. O'Neal finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Van Exel wound up with 19 points and a season-high four thefts as L.A. completed a victory just the opposite of the win in Seattle, in which it squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. all of a 21-point lead before hanging on by a point. ``Here, we coasted and then played,'' Harris said. And even though it happened against a club weakened by the injury absence of Sam Cassell and Chris Gatling's one-game suspension for walking out of practice - though Gatling did apologize and root his teammates on from the bench in street clothes - the Lakers' weren't about to apologize. Especially not Jones, in spite of his uncharacteristic 3-for-11 shooting. Not after weeks of everyone nagging him about an All-Star invitation he has dreamed about for a lifetime but wasn't sure he'd get. ``I think you have to make it a few times before you can be (considered) an All-Star,'' Jones said. ``. . . (But) this is right at the top (of career achievements). ``I think I would trade this for a championship, no doubt, but it's right there with signing your letter of intent (for college).'' Layups: It appears Campbell will stay in the starting lineup despite another lackluster performance. For the third straight game, he was unable to reach the 20-minute plateau, totaling just four points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes against the Mavericks. In the past three games, coinciding with rookie Travis Knight's emergence, Campbell has scored just 11 points. ``It ain't broke, so it don't need fixin', '' Harris said of his first-place club, which leads Seattle by 1-1/2 games in the Pacific Division. ``Elden's just not playing well right now. He's not playing as aggressive as he needs to be, but he's getting opportunities. Anybody that plays (18) minutes, that's enough to contribute and it's enough to get you more minutes. He's just in a slump.'' Said Campbell, a big target for criticism after signing a seven-year, $49 million contract in the offseason: ``Yeah, but I've still got a job. I think I need more than four minutes in the first quarter to get going, especially the position I play, but I'll be patient with it.'' ALL STARS WESTERN CONFERENCE Starters Charles Barkley, Houston Shawn Kemp, Seattle Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Gary Payton, Seattle John Stockton, Utah Reserves Clyde Drexler, Houston Tom Gugliotta, Minnesota Eddie Jones, Lakers Karl Malone, Utah Shaquille O'Neal, Lakers Mitch Richmond, Sacramento Latrell Sprewell, Golden State CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (color) (1) JONES (2) O'NEAL Box: ALL-STARS (see text) |
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