March 16, 2000

sportsWIRE's Mock NBA Playoff Scenario
sportsWIRE has compiled a 1999-2000 NBA Playoff scenario complete with playoff tree. These results are ficticious and do not reflect the predictions of sportsWIRE's staff members. The brackets below show a possible outcome for the 1999-2000 NBA playoffs. This possbile outcome was based on stats, standings, records, and game outcomes as of 3/16/00.


Sean Elliott Makes A Successful Comeback

(from the GO Network) SAN ANTONIO (AP)— Sean Elliott's basketball dream came true. He completed his comeback to the NBA on Tuesday, seven months after a kidney transplant, and thrilled the Alamodome crowd with a dramatic dunk as the San Antonio Spurs defeated Atlanta 94-79.
Playing 12 minutes and shooting 1-for-3 from the field, Elliott missed a 22-foot jumper and a layup in the third quarter. Then, with a quick step around defender Roshown McLeod, he drove the lane and slammed the ball in with his right hand. It was the kind of play he'd envisioned for months during his rehab. "Yeah, oh yeah. You always dream about that," Elliott said, adding that the shot may have been more memorable than his famous off-balance 3-pointer that helped the Spurs win a crucial playoff game over Portland last year in the Western Conference finals. Spurs teammate Mario Elie joined in the applause after the dunk, clapping as he ran back down the court. Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo simply smiled. "I was surprised the way he dunked the ball," Mutombo said. "He has a lot of courage. I was really touched. The whole thing is amazing that someone can recover that fast to come back and do something they love--play basketball." Elliott's basket sparked a 6-0 spurt for San Antonio, though Atlanta quickly recovered and pulled ahead 66-64 by the end of the third quarter. The score remained close early in the fourth, but the Spurs moved ahead 76-75 on a basket by David Robinson with 7:21 left. Robinson added the next five points, upping San Antonio's edge to 81-75 with 3:40 remaining. Atlanta got no closer the rest of the way. McLeod said Elliott looked like "the old Sean Elliott to me." "I was thinking he wasn't going to be that quick. He surprised me," McLeod said. Elliott was a little surprised at how good he felt on the court. "I thought I wouldn't feel my legs to start the game," he said. "The biggest things that were in my way were my nerves." Robinson led San Antonio with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Avery Johnson had 22 points and 10 assists and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jim Jackson scored 22 points for the Hawks, and Mutombo had 14 points and 12 rebounds. As the final seconds of the game ticked away, the fans shouted, "We want Sean! We want Sean!" Elliott became the first pro athlete in a major sport to return to competition after a kidney transplant. Although Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had been saying he would use Elliott as a reserve, he started at small forward and played the first five minutes, grabbing a defensive rebound and recording one assist. On the Spurs' first possession, he slipped slightly as he passed to Johnson. Later on, he fell again as he drew rough contact from Mutombo under the Spurs' basket. But Elliott seemed unfazed and played until he was replaced by Jerome Kersey. Elliott started the third quarter, playing seven minutes that period. Elliott, 32 and in his 11th season, received a kidney from his older brother Noel in transplant surgery Aug. 16. He said from the start he hoped to resume his career. Elliott wanted to make his comeback at a home game in front of family, friends, his doctors and San Antonio fans. A total of 26,708 spectators showed up to watch, filling some upper sections of the Alamodome. Popovich said he decided to start Elliott to avoid a disruption with lengthy applause if the player entered as a substitute. The coach said he liked what he saw and found himself getting emotional over Elliott's return. "It was pretty thrilling," Popovich said. "It's going to be interesting to see what we do next, to see what he can handle." Notes: The National Kidney Foundation announced Tuesday that Elliott will serve as spokesperson for its 2000 U.S. Transplant Games in Orlando, Fla., June 21-24. The Olympic-style competition is for athletes who have had organ transplants. ... San Antonio shot 51 percent, to 42 percent for Atlanta, but the Hawks outrebounded the Spurs 42-39. ... Steve Kerr (right knee) and Terry Porter (left knee) were on the injured list for the Spurs.

February 11-13

Here are some results of the weekend's action!

NBA.com Slam Dunk Contest :

Vince Carter (Toronto) wins the NBA.com Slam Dunk Contest

Shick Rookie Challenge :

Rookies 92; Sophomores 83 - Final

NBA All-Star Game :

Eastern 126; Western 137 - Final

NBA All-Star Game Story :

WEST BEATS EAST 137-126 IN 2000 ALL-STAR GAME
Muscle Over Hustle
by Chris Ekstrand

In an All-Star Game filled with spectacular alley-oops thrown by guards Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson and fantastic dunks by players of all sizes, it was the big men who won the game for the West.

Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, the starting frontcourt of 7-footers for the West All-Stars, combined for 70 points and 33 rebounds as the West held off several strong challenges from the East to score a 137-126 victory before an energized crowd at The Arena in Oakland.

"Size really was the difference in this game," said West coach Phil Jackson afterward.

O'Neal (22 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots), and Duncan (24 points, 14 rebounds and four assists) shared Most Valuable Player honors. Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit also shared the MVP award in 1959, and John Stockton and Karl Malone did likewise in 1993.

"It was an honor to be voted co-MVP, right next to this great player right here," said O'Neal, sharing the spotlight and the dais with Duncan.

Alluding to his frontcourt mates Duncan and Garnett, O'Neal added, "I think that's a historic front line."

The West led for all but three minutes of the game, and several times built the lead to 11 points. The East staged a magnificent 15-4 run to forge a 91-91 tie with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, capped off by a Jerry Stackhouse 18-foot jumper. A layup by Chris Webber that beat the third-quarter buzzer gave the West a 99-97 margin after three quarters.

The West quickly regained control of the game early in the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run. With the West ahead 101-99, Michael Finley scored five quick points on a three-point field goal and a driving layup, and Gary Payton made all three free throws after being fouled while attempting a three-pointer to give the West a 109-99 lead with 8:07 remaining in the game. The East never got closer than eight points again.

"It's a battle of size versus the quickness," said Duncan. "And just on this given day, the size won."

The West scored at least 31 points in each of the four quarters, keeping up the pressure on the smaller East squad with a host of dunks, many on alley-oops provided by Kidd, who finished with 14 assists and 11 points. The West scored a mind-boggling 86 points in the paint, compared with just 54 for the East.

"I liked how our guys hung in there," said East coach Jeff Van Gundy of New York. "We had a couple of chances to get ahead, but we couldn't get over the hump."

Iverson, the defending NBA scoring champion who is pacing the league again this year, led all scorers with 26 points and also added nine assists.

"The guys were so unselfish on the team, they wanted to bring the ball down and have me run off screens so I could play the game I've been playing for two years now," Iverson said. "It was just a great experience for me."

Fans waiting to see Vince Carter (12 points) dunk in his first NBA All-Star Game appearance were kept waiting for exactly 2 minutes and one second for that experience. After a short jumper by Duncan and a tip by Garnett gave the West a 4-0 lead, Iverson gave the ball to Carter down low for a quick vertical slam.

Just one minute later, Eddie Jones looped a pass out of traffic near midcourt which led Carter perfectly. He reached into his bag of tricks for a spinning 360-degree slam that invoked memories of his instantly classic appearance in the NBA.com Slam Dunk on Saturday.

O'Neal made his imprint on the game in the first quarter, and nearly made an imprint on the backboard. O'Neal slammed an Iverson scoop attempt against the backboard so loud that it could be heard from the first few rows of seats. Later he spiked a Dikembe Mutombo hook shot attempt in similar fashion. In the second half, O'Neal spiked another Iverson attempt for his third block of the game.

As expected, the overwhelming size of the West's starting frontcourt gave it the edge on the boards, with O'Neal grabbing six in the first quarter alone to lead an 18-13 West advantage.

Both teams attempted several alley-oop passes for dunks, but big hands belonging to the likes of Duncan and Alonzo Mourning thwarted most attempts. One gorgeous connection that was made saw Kidd flip the ball from the left corner to O'Neal, who spun and powered home a decisive slam for a 31-24 edge with 1:18 remaining in the first quarter.

The West led from the very start of the game, but was not able to build the lead until a 9-0 run midway through the first quarter turned a 16-14 game into a 25-14 West advantage -- the biggest of the first half -- with 3:45 remaining. Kidd buried a long three-pointer and followed it up with a 23-foot shot from just in front of the line for five of the nine points in the spurt.

The East staged a comeback early in the second quarter. Trailing 39-30, the East scored eight straight points, punctuated by a Glenn Robinson slam dunk, to creep back within one at 39-38. A jumper shot and a layup by Finley put the West right back in the driver's seat at 43-38.

The East turned up the defensive pressure, led by Mourning in the lane, and got back to within two on a Mourning dunk over Rasheed Wallace to cut the margin to 50-48 with 3:46 remaining. O'Neal and Garnett scored six points apiece down the stretch to give the West a 64-59 lead at halftime.

NOTES: John Stockton and Finley of the West played exceptionally well in their reserve roles. Stockton hit all five of his shots for 10 points, while Finley hit five of six shots and scored 11 points. ... The West combined for an impressive 42 assists, just three shy of the record for a regulation game, set by the West All-Stars in 1986. In addition to Kidd's game-high 14 assists, Payton had eight and Garnett added five. ... Mourning was involved in one the game's best sidelights. He had a game-high four blocked shots, including a couple against the high-flying Wallace late in the fourth quarter. Wallace did finally get his dunk, powering one through before Mourning could get the rim from the other side of the lane.

NBA All-Star Game Rosters (player links do not work):

Eastern Conference:
 
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. From
Allen Iverson Philadelphia  G  6-0  165  Georgetown
Eddie Jones Charlotte G  6-6  200  Temple
Alonzo Mourning Miami  C  6-10 261  Georgetown
Vince Carter Toronto F  6-7  215  North Carolina
Grant Hill Detroit  F  6-8  225  Duke
Ray Allen Milwaukee  G  6-5  205  Connecticut
Dale Davis Indiana  F  6-11  230  Clemson
Allan Houston New York  G  6-6  200  Tennessee
Reggie Miller Indiana  G  6-7  185  UCLA
Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta  C  7-2 260  Georgetown
Glenn Robinson Milwaukee  F  6-7 230  Purdue
Jerry Stackhouse Detroit  G  6-6 218  North Carolina

Head Coach: Jeff Van Gundy

Western Conference:
 
Player Team Pos. Ht. Wt. From
Jason Kidd Phoenix  G  6-4  212  California
Kobe Bryant L.A. Lakers G  6-7 210 Lower Merion (Pa.) H.S.
Shaquille O'Neal L.A. Lakers  C  7-1  315  LSU
Tim Duncan San Antonio  F  7-0 260  Wake Forest
Kevin Garnett Minnesota F  6-11 220  Farragut Academy (Ill.)
Michael Finley Dallas G  6-7 215  Wisconsin
Karl Malone Utah F  6-9 259  La. Tech
Gary Payton Seattle G  6-4 180  Oregon State
David Robinson San Antonio C  7-1 250 Navy
John Stockton Utah G 6-1 175 Gonzaga
Rasheed Wallace Portland F 6-11 225 North Carolina
Chris Webber Sacramento F 6-10 245 Michigan

Head Coach: Phil Jackson

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