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LAst Night's Action: Lakers Downed by Heat
Miami Heat defeat LA Lakers 114-111 (OT). The Lakers didn’t start their tough three game East Coast road trip on a winning note. The Lakers and the Heat played a close game with 19 ties and 31 lead changes, the most in the NBA this season. Neither team led by more than five points. Although Kobe Bryant made a jumper with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game up, there would be no heroics from Kobe for the winner in this meeting. Kobe led all scorers with 39 points seemingly working out all the kinks from his recent shooting woes. All Lakers starters scored in double digits with Lamar Odom adding 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Nashville Predators defeat LA Kings 4-2. The Kings came out of the gate strong after a quick icing call getting a face off in front of the Predators net. Three face offs resulted in three saves by Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. But on the fourth face off, the Kings didn’t win it cleanly but Alexander Frolov got the puck and put it past Rinne. 54 seconds, Kings lead 1-0. After that it was all about the Kings inability to handle the puck cleanly in their own zone. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick mishandled the puck behind the net giving the puck up to JP Dumont to tie the game up. By the second period the Kings looked completely lost being outshot 15-4 by the Predators. On their fourth power play opportunity the Predators finally got a score by Jason Arnott 13:09 in the second period. Marcel Goc gave the Preds a two-goal lead early in the third, and after a Drew Doughty power play goal in the middle of the period the Preds shut the Kings down capping it off with an empty netter by Jerred Smithson.
Arizona State Sun Devils defeat USC Trojans 59-54.
Arizona Wildcats defeat UCLA Bruins78-73.
Notable Notes
- On March 4, 1990 one of the most tragic events in Los Angeles sports history happened when Loyola Marymount basketball phenom Hank Gathers collapsed during the Lions’ semifinal game in the West Coast Conference Tournament against Portland in Gersten Pavilion. Previously diagnosed with an abnormal heartbeat, he collapsed after sending the home crowd to a frenzy with an alley-oop dunk midway through the first half. He went to mid-court to go back on defense, collapsed and died. An autopsy revealed he suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart. NCAA Basketball Fanhouse writer Clay Travis writes a great piece about Gathers and the Lions’ ensuing magic carpet ride through the NCAA Tournament.
- Congratulations to the Bulldog Orel Hershiser in being named an announcer for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. He will join recent Baseball Hall of Fame Ford C. Frick Award winner Jon Miller and Hall of Famer yet almost unlistenable Joe Morgan on the broadcast team. Hell, I’m just stoked that I’ll get to run into him several times this season. It’ll beat being blasted in the face by Steve Phillips’ travel-sized hairspray when I run into the press box bathroom.
Tonight’s Action
LA Lakers at Charlotte Bobcats. 4:00 pm KCAL9, AM 710 KSPN.
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Oklahoma City Thunder at LA Clippers. 7:30 pm FS Prime Ticket, AM 980 KFWB.
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