5 NBA Games on Christmas Day 2015 on ABC/ESPN

[simmytbone]

Hey guys,

Their were 5 NBA Games on the networks of Disney in abc/ESPN

The New Orleans Pelicans faced off against the Miami Heat in a Battle of the South in Miami while the Chicago Bulls took their rival Oklahoma City Thunder in OKC, meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Golden State Warriors in California in a 2015 NBA Finals Return Match, plus the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets battled in H-Town in a Texas Size Division Rival Match-Up on Christmas Day and in the Main Event, it was the Battle of L.A. as the Lakers and Clippers SQUARED Off in Kobe Bryant's Last Christmas Game and it was a battle between 2 Former Pacers in Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert

Here are the results of the games from Christmas Day

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...0151225_NO@MIA


Bosh, Wade carry Heat to OT win over Pelicans, 94-88
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Dec. 25, 2015

MIAMI (AP) There's no team better on Christmas than the Miami Heat.

And even in an ugly game, their future Hall of Famers delivered when it mattered most.

Chris Bosh scored 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade added 19 points, and the Heat survived some shaky moments late to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 94-88 in overtime on Friday - spoiling Anthony Davis' dazzling debut as part of the league's holiday lineup.

''Just an ugly game by both teams, but in this league you've got to win the pretty ones and the ugly ones,'' said Wade, the Eastern Conference's All-Star leading votegetter among guards so far this season. ''It wasn't going right for us - Chris had it going to keep us afloat - but at the end I think it just came down to getting some great stops and we got some timely buckets.''

The win moved the Heat to an NBA-best 10-2 all-time on Christmas, including seven straight wins. Bosh and Wade combined for 13 of Miami's 16 points in overtime.

''When the pressure is highest, that's when they show the most courage,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Hassan Whiteside had 17 rebounds for Miami, in just under 25 minutes.

Davis was stellar in his Christmas debut, leading the Pelicans with 29 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals. But he missed a contested jumper on New Orleans' final possession of regulation, and the Heat controlled the extra session.

''That's why I get paid the big bucks, to win games for us down the stretch,'' Davis said. ''I was actually missing shots in the fourth and the team actually did a good job of carrying me.''

Ryan Anderson scored 18 points, including a tip-in with 1:45 left in regulation that gave New Orleans its first lead, and Eric Gordon finished with 16 for the Pelicans. Gordon's four-point play with 31 seconds left in overtime got New Orleans within four, but they got no closer.

The Heat had 18 turnovers in the game - and New Orleans scored on only one of them. Miami outrebounded the Pelicans 57-45, and Bosh had 21 of his points after halftime.

''Christmas Day against one of the best in the league,'' Bosh said. ''I'm going to rise to the occasion.''

Davis had more points than his teammates combined in the first half, the reason why New Orleans still had a shot.

New Orleans' largest first-half deficit was 13 points, which was trimmed to 42-38 going into intermission after Davis' follow-slam closed the scoring. He had 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks at the break - according to STATS, no player had done that in any half since at least the start of the 2002-03 season.

''None of that matters,'' Davis said, ''because we still lost.''

TIP-INS

Pelicans: There have been two noon starts in the NBA this season and the Pelicans were the visitors in both, the other being a loss at New York. ... This was the first of three consecutive one-game trips for the Pelicans, who are back in Florida on Monday to play Orlando. ... Gordon celebrated his 27th birthday.

Heat: Miami (.833) moved past Portland (14-3, .824) for the NBA's best Christmas record. ... Miami is 9-1 against teams from the West, 8-10 against the East.

WADE'S HISTORY

The Heat are now 10-1 when Wade plays on Christmas and only seven players in NBA history have appeared in more Dec. 25 games than the Heat star. ''I've been blessed,'' said Wade, who ranks among the top five all-time in Christmas Day points (277), assists (70) and steals (19).

''HOME STRONG'' MOMS

Miami has honored soldiers before home games for years as part of its ''Home Strong'' program, and Friday's instance was a family affair. Heat guards Tyler Johnson and Josh Richardson presented their mothers, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jennifer Johnson and Lt. Col. Alice Richardson, with the plaques that the team gives servicemen and women as a thank-you for service to the country.

COLE'S HOLIDAY STREAK

Pelicans guard Norris Cole, in his fifth pro season, played in his fifth Christmas Day game. His first NBA game was on Dec. 25, 2011 when he and the Heat - the team he spent parts of his first four seasons with - opened what became a championship season with a win at Dallas.

UP NEXT

Pelicans: Host Houston on Saturday.

Heat: At Orlando on Saturday.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...0151225_CLE@GS


Warriors beat Cavaliers 89-83 in NBA Finals rematch
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
Dec. 25, 2015

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Even when all those long-range shots aren't falling like usual, the defending-champion Golden State Warriors showed they are quite comfortable grinding out wins.

Draymond Green had 22 points and 15 rebounds and the Warriors got defensive in their NBA Finals rematch against Cleveland, beating the Cavaliers 89-83 on Friday.

''It's good to have one of those every so often,'' guard Stephen Curry said. ''If our defense shows up, we're in pretty good shape to win games. We just show our versatility and try to win different ways.''

Curry added 19 points, Klay Thompson had 18, and the Warriors improved to 28-1 by winning their 32nd straight regular-season home game. Instead of doing it with 3-pointers, defending champion Golden State maintained its edge over Cleveland by limiting the Cavaliers to 32 percent shooting.

The Warriors were held under 100 points at home for the first time in more than a year in the regular season, however it happened five times in the playoffs.

''It's good to practice and get experience in that type of game as well where it's low scoring, getting stops, knocking down free throws and executing in the half court,'' interim coach Luke Walton said. ''It's great experience for us.''

LeBron James scored 25 points to lead the Cavaliers. They had their six-game winning streak snapped.

''We gave ourselves a chance,'' James said. ''If we play like that defensively, we're going to be a very tough team to beat. Offensively, we just didn't have it. No one had it.''

The Cavaliers were short-handed when they lost the final to the Warriors in six games, missing power forward Kevin Love the entire series with a shoulder injury and losing point guard Kyrie Irving to a knee injury late in the first game.

Having both those players healthy for the rematch did little to help Cleveland. Love scored just 10 points on 5-for-16 shooting, and Irving missed 11 of 15 shots in a 13-point game.

With those two struggling, the Warriors built a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter following a jumper by Thompson and a layup from Green.

But James responded with a pair of dunks and a blocked shot on Thompson before Love's tip-in made it 81-77 with just over 2 minutes to play.

James missed two free throws after Cleveland got another stop and Curry responded with a pair of layups around J.R. Smith's 3-pointer to make it 85-80 with 57.6 seconds to play.

James shot an air ball from 3 with 12.7 seconds to play to end Cleveland's comeback attempt.

''Tonight our defense was absolutely unbelievable for all 48 minutes,'' Warriors center Andrew Bogut said. ''To keep them to the 80s, they never really got in a flow where they could really attack us.''

There was an increased intensity at the start of the seventh Christmas Day rematch of the previous season's finals with fans on edge far more than for most regular season games.

The officials let both teams play through contact early and the Warriors led 45-42 at the half.

TIP-INS

Cavaliers: Cleveland started a stretch of 10 road games in 12 contests. ... C Timofey Mozgov had zero points on 0-for-5 shooting.

Warriors: Golden State got its first home win with fewer than 90 points since beating Sacramento 87-83 on march 6, 2013. ... G Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 16 points off the bench. ... G Leandro Barbosa left the game with a sprained left shoulder.

OFF TARGET

The Cavaliers struggled from long range, making just 5 of 30 3-pointers. Smith was 4 for 8, while the rest of the team hit just one in 22 attempts. Love and Irving combined to miss all 11 attempts.

''It's one of those nights,'' Love said. ''I don't know if you'll ever see Kyrie and myself go 0 for 11 from 3 again.''

GETTING TREATMENT

Curry went back to the locker room in the second quarter to get his strained right calf re-taped. He came back and played the rest of the way with no complaints. Walton said he is always concerned when his star has any injury but Curry said this will not be a long-term issue.

''I just needed a little tape adjustment,'' Curry said. ''I was able to get through it. With two days off and a couple of practices. I'll hopefully be able to get back to 100 percent.''

UP NEXT

Cavaliers: Visit Portland on Saturday.

Warriors: Host Sacramento on Monday.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...0151225_SA@HOU


Rockets end Spurs' 7-game streak with 88-84 win
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
Dec. 25, 2015

HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Rockets had their best defensive performance of the season in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

The key is keeping it up.

James Harden had 20 points and the Rockets slowed down the soaring Spurs with an 88-84 victory. The improved Houston defense held San Antonio to a season low in points and snapped the Spurs' season-best seven-game winning streak.

This, Harden said, is how they should play defense all the time.

''We're more than capable,'' he said. ''So we have to find ourselves. We've got to find that energy, that consistent defensive togetherness every single night.''

Houston used an 8-2 run to take a 78-71 lead with about 5 minutes left. Tim Duncan made a hook shot after that, but Harden hit a 3-pointer. A layup by Duncan came next before Harden brought the crowd to its feet with an off-balance 3-pointer from the corner that made it 84-75.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich thought those two 3-pointers were the key to the game.

''One of them we weren't up the way we should have been on a switch and he got a free one,'' Popovich said. ''The next one, he was deep and (Duncan) was all over him and he made a great shot. Those two 3s really changed it.''

The Spurs resorted to the Hack-A-Howard tactic soon after that, intentionally fouling Dwight Howard on two straight possessions. He missed all four free throws, and a basket by LaMarcus Aldridge got the Spurs to 86-81.

Kawhi Leonard made a 3-pointer after two free throws by Houston to allow San Antonio to cut the lead to four, but he missed a shot a few seconds later and Houston held on for the victory.

Leonard had 20 points to lead San Antonio. The Spurs struggled on long-range shooting, making just 5 of 19 3-pointers.

It was the first time the Rockets have hosted a game on Christmas since they moved to Houston. The last time the franchise hosted a Christmas game was in 1967 when the team was in San Diego.

The Rockets led by one after three and scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter, powered by five points from Jason Terry, to make it 70-60 with about 10 minutes remaining.

San Antonio got its first points of the quarter soon after that on a 3-pointer by David West to start a 9-0 run that cut it to 70-69. Leonard highlighted that run with a running two-handed dunk.

A layup by Aldridge pushed San Antonio's lead to seven points early in the third quarter before Houston used a 13-4 run to take a 51-49 lead with about seven minutes left in the quarter. Pat Beverley got that spurt going with a 3-pointer and Harden made the next six points in that span.

The Spurs had turnovers on four straight possessions near the end of Houston's run.

A jump shot by Boris Diaw got San Antonio to 59-58 with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the quarter. After that both teams struggled to score and missed their next seven shots combined.

It was Diaw who finally ended the drought when he made a layup with less than a minute remaining. Ty Lawson made Houston's first field goal in almost 4 minutes after that to leave the Rockets up 61-60 entering the fourth quarter.

San Antonio scored the last seven points of the second quarter to take a 43-38 lead at halftime.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Aldridge added 18 points and rebounds. ... Duncan had 12 points and 11 rebounds. ... Leonard made just 8 of 19 shots, and Aldridge was 9 of 17.

Rockets: Howard had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in the past five games. ... The Rockets have won 18 straight games when holding an opponent to less than 90 points. ... Houston's bench outscored San Antonio's 41-26.

TAKING OFF

The Rockets were impressed with the play of Terry on Friday night. The 38-year-old, who goes by the nickname Jet, scored nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.

''Sometimes he is the propeller,'' Howard joked. ''Tonight he was the jet. He played a really good game on both ends of the floor.''

Harden also mocked him a bit before raving about his play.

''That's Jet, he's been in the game for 40 years,'' Harden said. ''He made big shots. He made a couple of big defensive stops. He brings that energy ... when he gets in, he takes advantage of his opportunities.''

QUOTABLE

Duncan on San Antonio's struggles: ''There were just too many mistakes down the stretch. A little bit of a sloppy game, we couldn't get our rhythm and credit them for that. Defensively they were solid.''

UP NEXT

Spurs: Host Denver on Saturday.

Rockets: Visit New Orleans on Saturday.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...151225_LAC@LAL


Clippers hold off Lakers 94-84 in Bryant's last Xmas game
By JOE RESNICK
Associated Press
Dec. 26, 2015

LOS ANGELES (AP) Chris Paul scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 94-84 on Friday night to end a three-game skid and win their eighth straight against their Staples Center co-tenants.

Kobe Bryant scored 12 points for the Lakers in his NBA-record 16th and final Christmas Day game. He played 26 minutes and sat out the entire fourth quarter while the Lakers outscored the Clippers 27-9.

J.J. Redick had 14 points and DeAndre Jordan had nine points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers. They have won 12 of their last 13 meetings with the Lakers.

Rookie D'Angelo Russell had a team-high 16 points off the bench for the Lakers.

Bryant announced on Nov. 29 that he will retire after this season, his 20th in the NBA. He has a record 395 points on Christmas Day.

The Clippers took an 85-57 lead into the fourth, and both coaches rested all of their starters until the Lakers started to make a move led by Russell, Julius Randle and Marcelo Huertas.

After missing a 35-point home loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday because of a sore ankle, Randle started this one with 15 scoreless minutes off the bench. Then he got nine points in a 2:56 span - including a 3-pointer that cut the deficit to 87-72 with 7:50 to play. He finished with 11 points.

The Clippers missed 15 of their first 18 shots in the final period. Clippers coach Doc Rivers was forced to put Paul, Redick, Jordan and Blake Griffin back in the game, while Lakers coach Byron Scott kept his reserves out there and left Bryant on the sidelines even as the crowd chanted Bryant's name.

The Lakers got within 89-82 on a pair of free throws by Randle with 4:01 remaining, but then the Clippers pulled away with a 3-pointer by Wesley Johnson and a 16-footer by Paul.

The Clippers never trailed and used 17 points by Paul to build a 60-44 halftime lead. Bryant missed all three shots he took in the first quarter before scoring nine points in the second, including a pair of 3-pointers 29 seconds apart to help slice a 17-point deficit to 47-37 with 4:14 left.

The Lakers had 16 turnovers. Seven of them came in the first quarter, including a double-dribble violation against Russell and a traveling call against Randle on consecutive possessions during the final 64 seconds of the period.

Larry Nance Jr. also had an embarrassing moment in the opening quarter for the Lakers. The 6-foot-9 forward jumped for a defensive rebound and accidentally tipped the ball into the basket from just in front of the foul line about 2 1-2 minutes in. The points were awarded to Jordan.

TIP-INS

Clippers: Doc Rivers played for the Knicks on Christmas Day in 1992, making 1 of 4 shots and scoring seven points in an 89-77 loss at Chicago. He also coached the Celtics on Christmas every year from 2008 through 2013. ... G Austin Rivers was bummed about missing his second straight game because of a sprained right ankle - and the timing of it.'' Man, I wanted to play so bad tonight, and I came this close,'' he said, holding two fingers close together. ''I've never played in a Christmas Day game. But I just can't cut really quickly right now. It hurts.'' ... F Paul Pierce has played on Christmas Day for four different teams in the past four years, including Boston, Brooklyn and Washington.

Lakers: Bryant's best game on Dec. 25 was in 2004, when he had 42 points in a 104-102 overtime loss to Miami at Staples Center. ... The Lakers are 6-10 on Christmas when Bryant has played, including 0-4 against Miami. ... Oscar Robertson held the previous career record for points on Christmas with 377 before Bryant broke it in 2012. He sat out the previous two years because of injuries. ... This was the second time the Lakers played the Clippers on Christmas, having won 85-75 in 1991 at the Forum with 20 points from A.C. Green and 18 from Scott. ... The Lakers have played on Christmas every year since 1998, when their season opener was delayed until Feb. 5 because of a lockout that reduced the schedule to 50 games.

UP NEXT

Clippers: At Utah on Saturday night.

Lakers: At Memphis on Sunday night.

and finally....

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...151225_CHI@OKC


Butler scores 23 points, Bulls beat Thunder 105-96
By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer
Dec. 25, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Chicago Bulls were angry and on edge after three straight losses. They channeled those emotions into one of their best wins of the season.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, and Pau Gasol had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the Bulls' 105-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

In a game that featured several skirmishes, the Bulls outrebounded the NBA's No. 2 rebounding team 53-48.

''We've just got to go out there and attack,'' Chicago forward Taj Gibson, who got a double technical with Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, said. ''It's no time to be friends with anybody right now. We've got enough friends in here. We're with each other 24-7. We can't go out there and look to be nice to everybody.''

Derrick Rose added 19 points, and Gibson had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Chicago held the Thunder to 38.5-percent shooting, Oklahoma City's third-worst showing of the season.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. The Thunder had won three straight and nine of 10.

''I think we did a really good job of making sure we closed out to 3-point shooters,'' Rose said. ''We trusted the game plan. We know K.D. is a great 3-point shooter, (Anthony) Morrow, and Westbrook when his feet are set, and you just can't let them get hot. Everybody else on the team, we forced them to make shots and make plays.''

Durant said he didn't like the way the Thunder played at times when they got behind.

''If you try to get it all back in one play, try to get a steal, try to come down and shoot a pull-up 3 - just doing stupid stuff that we did all night, it will be tough to win,'' Durant said.

Chicago led 51-37 with 4:58 left in the first half, but the Thunder cut it to 54-52 at halftime. Durant scored 19 points in the half, and Westbrook had 12 points and five assists.

Gasol and Butler each scored 11 points in the first half for the Bulls.

Chicago scored the first eight points of the second half to go up 62-52 and force the Thunder to call a timeout. The Bulls led 86-68 at the end of the third quarter.

The Bulls led by 18 at the end of the third quarter. Oklahoma City changed things up and played Morrow and Enes Kanter with Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka for most of the fourth quarter. A pair of 3-pointers by Morrow cut Chicago's lead to 97-89 with just under 5 minutes to play, but the Bulls hung on.

''We withstood their run, which I think everyone knew they were going to go on in the fourth quarter, and they (the Bulls) made big plays down the stretch,'' Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.

STAT LINES

The lineup that Oklahoma City started the fourth quarter with - Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Kanter and Morrow - outscored the Bulls 28-19. Morrow and Kanter don't start, in part, because of defensive shortcomings, but that group held the Bulls to 6-for-20 shooting.

KANTER'S SOCKS

Kanter wore Christmas socks with green stripes and red snowflakes. He is a Muslim, but he said he respects different cultures. ''Well, I live in the U.S. now, and I'm just really cool with all of the holidays - Christmas, Thanksgiving,'' he said. ''It's pretty cool.''

QUOTABLE

Gibson, on defending Westbrook: ''Russ is a hard opponent to go against, especially with the way he attacks,'' he said. ''We just all wanted bodies in front of him. Put bodies in front of him and make sure somebody contested him at the rim, and compete.''

TIP-INS

Bulls: Ran out to an 11-0 lead. ... C Joakim Noah sat out with a left shoulder sprain. ... Beat the Thunder 104-98 at United Center on Nov. 5. ... Butler hit a 35-foot 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter. ... Rose fouled out.

Thunder: Missed their first five shots. ... C Steven Adams picked up two fouls in the first 2 minutes. Kanter entered the game and had six points and seven rebounds in the first quarter. He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. ... Had just one assist in the first quarter. ... ... Morrow made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Bulls: At Dallas on Saturday night.

Thunder: Host Denver on Sunday night.

credit: cbssports.com

[1960'sTVfan]

The NBA is a joke league right now. Out of 30 teams, only 4 of them are good. CLE in the East, then GS, SA, and OKC in the West. That's it. We're two months into the season, Golden State has only 1 loss and Philadelphia has only 2 wins. The league is a joke, 4 good teams and 26 bad teams. David Stern got out as commissioner just in time.

And I hate that girly boy Stephanie Curry. His name is Stephen, they call him "Steph", which is actually a short name for Stephanie. He acts like a little punk, the way he let's his mouth guard hang out when he shoots free throws. He probably thinks he looks cool when he does that. I think it's disgusting, he shouldn't be allowed to do that. And this is the star of the league right now? Like I said, the league is a joke.

[isiahthomas]

I agree hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. That's funny that you dissed Stephen Curry about his mouthpiece always hanging out LOL. There's too many bad teams in the NBA and Oklahoma isn't that good. Their record may be good but they won't get far in the playoffs. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are ballhogs and they don't believe in sharing the ball with their teammates. That's why they haven't won any championships and they probably won't win any before their careers are over. Warriors are gonna win championships for the next several years. I'm from Cleveland and i'm a Cavs fan but I don't see them beating the Warriors if they go back to the finals. Warriors are a better team.

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by isiahthomas

I agree hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. That's funny that you dissed Stephen Curry about his mouthpiece always hanging out LOL. There's too many bad teams in the NBA and Oklahoma isn't that good. Their record may be good but they won't get far in the playoffs. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are ballhogs and they don't believe in sharing the ball with their teammates. That's why they haven't won any championships and they probably won't win any before their careers are over. Warriors are gonna win championships for the next several years. I'm from Cleveland and i'm a Cavs fan but I don't see them beating the Warriors if they go back to the finals. Warriors are a better team.

LOL, yea I am obviously not a Stephen Curry fan. Not a fan of the current NBA either. It's a bad league right now. But don't count out the Cavs just yet. LeBron returned to Cleveland to try and bring them a championship, maybe he can do it.

I used to be a fan of those Jazz teams from the Malone/Stockton era. It's a shame they never won a championship. Those Jazz teams had two problems.

First thing was that they were often weak at the Center position. First they had Mark Eaton, who was a good defender and shot blocker but not much of a factor on offense. Then they had Felton Spencer, who was actually playing pretty good for them until he got hurt about 30 games into the 94-95 season. That was tough. I think 94-95 could have been the Jazz year had Spencer stayed healthy. He came back the next season but wasn't the same player anymore. Then they had Greg Ostertag, who gave them a good season in 96-97, then he got lazy after the Jazz gave him the big contract. From 97-98 and forward he was an underachiever.

The other problem was that Karl Malone usually choked under pressure when games were on the line, especially at playoff time. Stockton had the mental toughness and moxey, Stockton was the one who often hit big shots when games were on the line. If Malone had half the moxey Stockton had, Utah might have won a title or two.

What do you think?

[isiahthomas]

I take back what I said about the Cavs can't beat the Warriors. If Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love stay healthy, they can beat the Warriors. I thought it was impressive in the finals last season that the Cavs had a 2-1 lead against the Warriors without Kyrie and Kevin but they lost 3 straight. JR Smith also needs to be consistent scoring if they meet the Warriors in the finals again because he didn't have a good series last season. JR Smith has good games sometimes and then other games he disappears. I also think coach David Blatt needs to play Richard Jefferson and Maurice Williams a lot of minutes if they go to the finals because he pisses me off that he hasn't played them that much lately. When Kyrie was hurt when the season started, he started Maurice in Kyrie's place and Maurice was doing good. Now all of a sudden that Kyrie is back, Maurice hasn't played much and Maurice is mad about that. I hope Maurice doesn't ask to be traded because if he does get traded, i'm gonna hate David Blatt. I already don't like David hahahahahahahahahahaha. He don't know how to coach. I wish they would get rid of Iman Shumpert because he sucks LOL. He finally did something on Friday against Minnesota when he had 23 points and I know that's a career high for him LOL. I wish he would cut that damn hightop hair LOL.



I disagree with what you said about Karl Malone because he was a good player. He did good in those finals series twice against Chicago. He led the team in scoring in those finals series. So what are you talking about he choked under pressure? LOL. He didn't get much help from his teammates and that's why Utah lost. Plus Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were very good and they had good teammates. So Utah wouldn't have beat them anyway LOL. Michael Jordan is the best NBA player of all time and nobody will ever be better. He's prevented a lot of superstars from winning championships hahahahahahahahahaha. I see the Charlotte Hornets who he's the owner of is doing good and it looks like they might make the playoffs. They're a few games under .500 and I think they're in 9th or 10th spot right now in the east.

[isiahthomas]

Why is Russell Westbrook always wearing gay clothes? Hahahahahahahaha.

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by isiahthomas

I disagree with what you said about Karl Malone because he was a good player. He did good in those finals series twice against Chicago. He led the team in scoring in those finals series. So what are you talking about he choked under pressure?

Did you forget how game 1 of the '97 finals ended? Score was tied, Malone choked on two free throws that would have given Utah the lead. Malone let Scottie Pippen psyche him out, before those free throws is when Pippen told Malone the mailman doesn't deliver on Sundays. Then Jordan hit the game winning shot as time ran out. And how about the ending of game 6 of the '98 finals? Utah had the ball with a one point lead, Malone choked again, Jordan stole the ball, then hit what ended up to be the game and title winning shot. That was Jordan's infamous push-off shot on Bryon Russell. I think it was an offensive foul, but no way would the refs dare to call an offensive foul on Jordan at that point. The refs were partial to the Bulls in both those finals series, several questionable calls/non-calls went in the Bulls favor.

Malone was a great player but did not excel under pressure. Jordan loved the pressure, that was the difference in the two players. That's a reason why Jordan won 6 rings and Malone never won one. Malone's teammates played well in both those finals series, Malone's the one who folded under the pressure. I do remember though, that Greg Foster played badly in the '98 finals.

Jordan did almost everything well on the basketball court, one thing he really didn't excel at was 3 point shooting. That's why the Bulls always had a 3 point shooter on the team. John Paxson, Steve Kerr, guys like that.

[isiahthomas]

I don't care what you say about Karl Malone. If he didn't score a lot, Utah wouldn't have gone to the finals twice hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Did you know Karl's teammate John Amechi was the first gay NBA player? LOL. The media try to act like Jason Collins was the first gay NBA player and that's a lie. John came outta the closet when he retired.

[1960'sTVfan]

Karl Malone always put up great numbers in the regular season, but he didn't play particularly well in those two finals vs. Chicago. It was disappointing, I thought he would play better, but he probably felt the pressure of trying to beat Michael Jordan.

[simmytbone]

Originally Posted by isiahthomas

I don't care what you say about Karl Malone. If he didn't score a lot, Utah wouldn't have gone to the finals twice hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Did you know Karl's teammate John Amechi was the first gay NBA player? LOL. The media try to act like Jason Collins was the first gay NBA player and that's a lie. John came outta the closet when he retired.

Amen to that brother

They don't call him The Mailman for nothin', especially since they SWEPT the Lakers to get BACK into the Finals for the 2nd year in a row

[1960'sTVfan]

That's right, they swept the Lakers in the '98 WC finals, then played soft against the Bulls. It was painful to watch.

The worst game for Utah in those '98 finals, was the 96-54 thumping the Bulls gave em in game 3 at Chicago. That was embarrassing. To Malone's credit, he did lead Utah in scoring that game, but still not a great game, he scored 22 points. The rest of the team played lousy, no one else scored in double figures. Losing game 2 at home must have been a real bummer for Utah, to go to Chicago for game 3 and play so flat.

As a team, Utah played a little better in the '97 finals compared to '98. Both series had close games, not decided until the 4th quarter, when Utah and the mailman failed to deliver.