GREEN POWER; IRONMAN A.C. LEADS LAKERS, TAMES MALONE : LAKERS 90, UTAH 82.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer It's a streak of good health and good fortune that defines A.C. Green as the NBA's King of Longevity, its Ironman. Yet even as he advanced his record-setting string of consecutive games Wednesday, Green lent another level of meaning to that Ironman term. Outmuscled, and undersized undersized see dwarfism, runt. by a at least 30 pounds, Green played Ironman against the Mailman, and his defense against Karl Malone * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . The 36-year-old Green played his 1,041st consecutive game to tie the professional basketball record in that category, but his most significant contributions could be found in Malone's statistical line: 23 field-goal attempts, nine made, 22 points. Green himself contributed just four points but pulled down nine rebounds, yanked a few loose balls away from Malone and generally disrupted his rhythm. Destroyed it, actually. So the Lakers See Lake poets , who surprised the Jazz with a 91-84 victory opening night at the Delta Center, made it 2-0 against Utah. And Green made it 2-0 against Malone, who struggled through a 4-for-10, 14-point night the last time they met. ``He's playing great,'' coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. said of Green prior to tipoff. ``I'm really impressed with the effort he gives us. He's not shooting the ball particularly well, but A.C.'s never been a scorer, so I don't expect him to change overnight.'' So leave the scoring to 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). . He survived a poked eye from Greg Ostertag Gregory Donovan Ostertag (born March 6 1973, in Dallas, Texas) is a retired American basketball player in the NBA, who spent most of his career with the Utah Jazz. He measures 7'2" (2.18 m) and played center. and led the way with 39 points and 18 rebounds in another marathon, 40-minute performance. Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice (born May 28 1967, in Flint where he played for Flint Northwestern High School, Michigan) is a retired American NBA basketball player. Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star small forward well known for his pinpoint shooting accuracy, ranking 4th in NBA history with added 21 points, and Derek Fisher Derek Lamar Fisher (born August 9 1974 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American professional basketball player with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was with the Utah Jazz but asked to be released from his contract to care for his 10-month-old daughter, who has cancer. chipped in 14. The Lakers never trailed through three quarters and led 68-56 heading into the fourth quarter. But seven minutes later, the Jazz had whittled it down to a one-point game, 71-70. Rice took the initiative, scoring five straight, and after he missed a free throw, it was Green who saved the possession with the rebound. Moments later, Green stole a John Stockton This article is about the professional basketball player. For the U.S. Senator from New Jersey, see John P. Stockton. John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1984–2003) as a pass, leading to a pair of O'Neal free throws at the other end, and a 10-point lead with 2:39 to go. The only thing the Lakers lacked was a breakout performance from the bench. After two weeks of being carried almost solely by O'Neal, Rice and Fisher, Jackson hoped for better support from the reserves Wednesday but didn't get it. ``I just don't think we have dedicated enough space to get (them) comfortable - like, OK, get ready, I'm going in in two minutes, I can feel the coach is going to pull somebody and get me in there - so the guys get a rhythm of going in there and saying, OK, I'm going to get my eight or 10 points to help the team or whatever else I have to do. ``It's a night-to-night kind of thing for us. But most of all, we think that we're undermanned right now without Kobe (Bryant), and we have to make up some things. And that's where the bench has to do it, because we're drawing somebody off the bench to play starter's minutes (in place of Bryant), in that process your bench gets debilitated de·bil·i·tat·ed adj. Showing impairment of energy or strength; enfeebled. See Synonyms at weak. Adj. 1. debilitated - lacking strength or vigor asthenic, enervated, adynamic a little bit. It gets to be a liability for a ballclub after a certain time.'' As it turned out, the Lakers only needed their starters. A lively Lakers defense and slow-to-a-crawl offense helped them to a nine-point halftime lead, despite barely scratching the scoreboard themselves. O'Neal scored 17 points as the Lakers took a 38-29 lead into halftime. Fisher also enjoyed a fast start, making 4 of 5 shots for nine points as the Lakers shot 47.2 percent in the half. Among the Lakers' usual stand-bys, only Rice struggled early, missing all four shots from the field and going scoreless. The frustrated Jazz hit only 12 of 39 field-goal attempts (30.8 percent), and Malone was the only player to get untracked, with 11 points. Yet even he struggled, shooting 5 for 12 and committing four turnovers. CAPTION(S): Photo, box Photo: (color) The Lakers' durable A.C. Green defends against Utah's John Stockton, but much of the night he was assigned to dog The Mailman, Karl Malone, and he did a terrific job of it. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer Box: LAKERS 90, JAZZ 82 |
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