March 2004 Los Angeles Lakers Wiretap

Kobe Scores 48 And Sprains Shoulder In 1st Quarter

Dec 29, 2004 5:29 AM

Kobe Bryant played 46 minutes and scored 48 points, despite spraining his shoulder in the first quarter, in the Lakers 117-99 victory over Toronto.

"It couldn't have been that bad, because he scored 48," teammate Lamar Odom said. "Kobe doesn't show signs of hurt. He won't let you know. And that's probably a weakness."

"There were certain things that I could not do with it, but I could still raise my arm up and still move it from side to side," said Bryant, who was 14-for-26 from the field and 16-for-18 on free throws. "Some of the movements I couldn't do -- like tying my shoe -- were not really important."

ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Lakers vs Heat On Christmas: A Huge Ratings Success For ABC

Dec 28, 2004 12:46 PM

The much anticipated Christmas day matchup featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat was the highest rated regular season basketball game in almost 7 years, ABC television said on Monday.

As per Nielsen Media Research ratings, the game surpassed all regular season games dating back to February of 1998, as well as all Christmas Day pairings since 1996.

The game drew a rating of 8, where each point represents a single percent of the 109.6 nationwide homes.

Reuters

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA

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Shaq: "I Knew It Wasn't Going To Go In."

Dec 25, 2004 6:22 PM

Shaquille O'Neal was out of the game down the stretch and in the fourth quarter after fouling out, but the Heat were victorious in his L.A. return, beating the Lakers 104-102.

Kobe Bryant's game-winning attempt in the overtime period, clanked off the rim and O'Neal won round 1, while sitting on the bench.

In a postgame interview, he told ABC, "I knew it wasn't going to go in."

Bryant scored a game-high 42 points, including 5 3-point field goals.  Despite the prolific scoring effort, he struggled at times, turning the ball over 9 times.

Before fouling out, O'Neal registered a solid 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Wade was the story in the overtime, including a beautiful spin move that was completed with a left-hand bank shot.  He finished with 29 points.  Wade had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but his attempt was errant as time expired.

Yahoo!

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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Shaq Gives Presents To 250 LA Children

Dec 24, 2004 11:10 PM

Even though he is no longer a Laker, Shaquille O'Neal didn't let that stop him from handing out presents to 250 kids in South Los Angeles.

O'Neal and his Miami teammate Damon Jones spent several hours on Friday morning handing out gifts at the Challengers Boys & Girls Club. "I'm glad to be back here. I miss everybody," O'Neal told reporters. "These kids are the future."

Miami Heat will play against Los Angeles Lakers in a Christmas Day matchup which will mark O'Neal's long anticipated return to the town in which he played for eight seasons. "Hopefully I'll get a great reception (from the crowd)," O'Neal said. "But who knows what's going to happen."

ESPN

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA

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Buss And Kupchak Meet With Malone On Thursday

Dec 24, 2004 7:52 PM

Karl Malone and his agent Dwight Manley had a lunchtime meeting with Dr. Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak to discuss the power forward's future with the Lakers.  It was the first meeting since it Kobe Bryant accused Malone of hitting on his wife Vanessa.

"We all have a great relationship personally," Manley said, declining to offer further details. "It was all a lot of respect and very open."

Laker spokesman John Black said nothing definitive came out of the meeting, but that Malone was pleased with the overall discussion.

"Karl was very happy," Black said. "His words were that it was a 'great meeting.'"

The Lakers would still like Malone to return to the Lakers if he plays this season.

LA Times

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Producers Decide Not To Use Soft Jim Gray Interview With Kobe Bryant

Dec 24, 2004 7:45 PM

Sources say Jim Gray did an extensive sit-down with Bryant recently, but none of it was used in a recent ESPN series about the Lakers because producers determined Gray's soft questioning didn't produce any noteworthy responses.

Gray has become one of the reporters closest to Bryant since his arrest in Colorado.

Producers instead used Bryant quotes in the series from recent ESPN appearances on "Pardon The Interruption" and the NBA studio show.

LA Daily News

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Phil Jackson Prepares For Saturday's Game, Comments On Kobe

Dec 24, 2004 7:08 PM

Phil Jackson spoke recently about Kobe Bryant's recent reaching out to Shaquille O'Neal.

"I'm glad Kobe showed that. These guys were teammates that developed something very special over the five years that we played together and they were champions together. You never forget that, when you?re on a championship team together. You have that as part of your legacy and as part of memory that winning together was a very special time, so that was a nice step by Kobe."

NBA.com

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA

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This Year?s NBA Christmas Lineup Promises More Drama Than Reality TV

Dec 24, 2004 5:38 PM

Pick your poison for this Christmas day.  This year, both of the games in the NBA Christmas Classic will provide a bit more excitment to the viewer than mere athletic competition.

This Christmas, fans will be subject to the much anticipated rematch pitting The Indiana Pacers versus The Detroit Pistons and the long awaited match up between the feuding Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O?Neal.  

The Pacers-Pistons will play each other at 12:30 p.m. EST for the first time since the infamous brawl in Detroit that left many players involved trading in their uniforms for suits.

If that is not enough, the eager viewer may also tune into the 3:30 p.m. EST game pitting the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Miami Heat.  Many viewers are looking for something to happen between Shaq and Kobe.  The two have developed a feud that is one step from becoming a pay-per-view event at the Mirage Casino.  Never known as a big fan of television, former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson is even thinking about tuning in to this game.

"That's going to be interesting to see what Shaq does when Kobe tries to go to him more than anything else," Jackson said. "How is he going to defend the post if Kobe wants to drive it? Kobe likes to go in there and take contact. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

In a society in which many television viewers cannot get enough of watching other people?s problems, tomorrows games should provide them with a healthy dose of that good-old-fashioned drama.

The Miama Herald

Tags: Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, NBA

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Caron Butler Receives One Game Suspension For Dickau Punch

Dec 23, 2004 10:29 PM

Caron Butler's punch of New Orleans guard Dan Dickau in the stomach will force him to miss Saturday's game against the Heat, his former team.

Butler denied trying to punch Dickau and said he didn't believe he'd receive a suspension. But he will miss Saturday's game against former Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat.

"It was just a natural reaction to pull him off my leg," Butler said. "That was it. I've known Dan for a while, he's a cool dude."

Dickau said he didn't know why Butler got ejected.

"It was no big deal," Dickau said. "I kind of got into a crease and didn't make the right decision and we kind of got tangled up. I think my arm must have gotten wrapped around his leg a little bit and he must have thought that I was trying to do something a little more than what I did, obviously. It's too bad he got ejected. I mean, it wasn't anything intentional."

ESPN

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Dickau Punched By Caron Butler In Loss To Lakers

Dec 23, 2004 2:42 AM

During Wednesday night's game, Lakers forward Caron Butler and Hornets guard Dan Dickau became entangled and fell to the floor. Butler punched Dickau in the midsection during the scuffle and was ejected by referee Violet Palmer.

The Lakers defeated the Hornets by a final score of 101-89.

Chris Mihm had a career-high 21 rebounds for the Lakers.  Chucky Atkins had a season-high 30 points.

NBA.co

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, NBA

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Vlade Divac Placed On Injured List, Lakers Activate Brian Grant

NBA.com

Shaq Will Not Hold Anything Back On Christmas

ESPN

Shaq: "I Don't Have To Make A Point, I'm The President"

San Jose Mercury

Kobe Apologizes For Comments Made To Investigators About Shaq

The Pasadena Star

Sonics Win Again, Reigning 3-Bombs On The Lakers

The Seattle Times

As Kobe Faces Allen, Deion Takes His Shots

FoxSports.com

Kobe On Karl: 'He Was Like A Mentor To Me, An Older Brother To Me'

LA Times

Kobe's Wife At The Center Of Malone-Bryant Feud?

L.A. Times

Forbes: Lakers Are Once Again The NBA's Most Valuable Team

Forbes/Seattle Times

Knicks Call Karl Malone

NY Times

Karl Malone Back On Spurs, Heat And Wolves Radar

Express-News

Kobe Attempts To Clear The Air With The Mailman

LA Daily News

Karl Malone Upset About Kobe Comments

Yahoo!

Kobe Not Expecting Karl Malone To Play This Season

L.A. Times

Bobcats Acquire Kareem Rush From The Lakers

Bobcats Official Press Release

Bobcats Look To Trade For Kareem Rush

Charlotte Observer

Brian Cook Comes Out Of the Woodwork and Scores 25 Points

Yahoo!