February 27th: Celtics beat L.A. Turiaf Impresses.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:19 am    Post subject: February 27th: Celtics beat L.A. Turiaf Impresses.

Celtics meet old friend: LA rivalry still has mystique
By Steve Bulpett
Monday, February 27, 2006 - Updated: 06:47 AM EST

LOS ANGELES - The Celtics and Lakers were back on their traditional date yesterday - the Sunday after the All-Star Game. But even with Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant for star power, the rivals weren’t the day’s featured game on television.
It’s been a basketball generation since the teams were both playing for glory.
“It’s not just another game for these two teams,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “I think there are still numbers of Laker fans that it means something to, and (there are) people who are now residents of L.A. that when Boston comes to town it means something for them to put their green on and come to the Staples.

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“Boston’s had a real struggle. I mean, it’s been difficult for them for the last few years. They won the Atlantic Division last year, but it still was a struggle just to be above .500. It’s been like that for a little bit of time for them. People that are some of the age of these guys here that are journalists don’t remember them as powerhouses.”
Doc Rivers does.
“I still think that no matter where the teams are it’s a big deal when they get together,” the Celtics coach said. “There will always be something. But I think both teams have to improve. I think it would be great for the league.
“It was the greatest rivalry ever - if you throw Philly into that. To me, those three teams get grouped together. When I was growing up, that’s what you wanted to see. Back then I didn’t want to see anybody else. I remember when Houston upset the Lakers that one year (1981 - though the Rockets did it in 1986, as well). I was totally pissed off, and I wasn’t a Laker or a Celtic fan. I just wanted to see the Celtics and Lakers play.”
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Phil
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:21 am    Post subject:

Turiaf Impresses His Teammates
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
February 27 2006

It was what Ronny Turiaf had waited for, two blocked shots, three points and five rebounds in 14 minutes he will never forget.

The Laker rookie made his first impact in a game since joining the team in January, six months after undergoing open-heart surgery to repair an enlarged aortic root.

He played with energy and enthusiasm on a night when the Lakers had little of either in a 112-111 loss Sunday to the Boston Celtics.

He blocked Paul Pierce's shot and converted a three-point play in the final minutes of the third quarter. He also blocked Wally Szczerbiak's attempt with 34.9 seconds to play, preventing the Lakers from falling further behind.

"Like I said when I first got here, I came here to play defense and to hustle," he said. "I just came back from heart surgery. It was a long way, it was a long road. I'm asking for nothing. I'm just trying to step into the lineup, the rotation, try to do something positive."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:24 am    Post subject:

Notebook: Turiaf contributes

Broderick Turner

01:15 AM PST on Monday, February 27, 2006

LOS ANGELES - For the second straight game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson inserted rookie power forward Ronny Turiaf into the game to play meaningful minutes.

Turiaf played 14 minutes, 17 seconds -- 8:29 in the all-important fourth quarter -- hustling, battling and giving his all during the Lakers' 112-111 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

Turiaf had just three points, but it was his five tough rebounds and defense that helped the Lakers.

He blocked two shots, including one on a drive by Wally Szczerbiak with 34 seconds left and the Celtics leading 110-108.

"He played with the energy and the enthusiasm and threw his body around out there, things that we want to see players do," Jackson said. "That helped us. I thought he ran out of gas at one point in that fourth quarter. Otherwise, I probably would have had him stay on the floor."

Turiaf had open-heart surgery last July and has surprised many by coming back to play this season.

"I feel good," Turiaf said. "I am just trying to work hard, stay in shape, and I cannot wait until I feel like I did before."

Jackson said it's not as if Turiaf, who is 6-foot-10, doesn't know the offense. Turiaf knew it well enough Sunday to be on the court more than Kwame Brown, who played 9:58, none in the fourth.

"Kobe (Bryant) was kidding him (Turiaf) the other day that he knows more about the game than a lot of guys who have been with us for six months," Jackson said. "He's not behind the 8-ball at all. He's an intelligent player that is right on speed. He seems to know everything that we're doing."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:25 am    Post subject:

Turiaf has mixed results in extended appearance
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

Only a month after he returned to the Lakers, forward Ronny Turiaf played his first extended minutes in Sunday's loss to Boston, perhaps the only positive to take from a disastrous game.

Turiaf finished with three points, five rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes, playing more than either Chris Mihm or Kwame Brown.

"I saw him spot-shadowed the other day cheering for the team," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of Turiaf, whose bench antics are becoming well-known. "I wish he stayed there, because his energy really hurt us."

It was a mixed night for Turiaf, who fumbled away a behind-the-back pass from Smush Parker on the fastbreak with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Turiaf came up with a big block on Wally Szczerbiak in the final minute of the game.

He also gave up an offensive rebound basket to Ryan Gomes in the third quarter was called for a blocking foul against Delonte West 20 feet from the basket a minute later with Boston in the bonus.

"You have to appreciate those kind of compliments because it feels good that people appreciate what I do," Turiaf said of Rivers' comments. "I am just trying to stay positive and looking forward to the future. Hopefully, someday I can make more than just one field goal."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:27 am    Post subject:

Not such a reach as Pierce, Celtics prevail

By Shira Springer, Globe Staff | February 27, 2006


As expected, the Kobe Bryant-Paul Pierce matchup determined the outcome of the Celtics-Lakers game last night at Staples Center. But, surprisingly, it was not a last-second shot or even a series of clutch field goals down the stretch that sealed the Celtics' 112-111 victory. With 3.2 seconds remaining, referee Violet Palmer called a reach-in foul on Bryant. Pierce won the game at the line, hitting the first of two free throws. Bryant (40 points) did have a shot at redemption, but he missed a 21-footer at the buzzer while guarded by Pierce with Orien Greene rapidly approaching from the weak side.

A Celtics-Lakers game simply couldn't end without a little drama.

''I wasn't that concerned [when I made one of two]," said Pierce (39 points). ''I knew they had to make a tough shot with one second to go. We gave ourselves a chance to win, got a good stop. Why wouldn't we want it to end that dramatically? We just wanted to make things exciting. I wanted to step up and [guard Bryant]. I told Coach I had him. I wanted to crowd his face, put my hands up, make him finish over top."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:29 am    Post subject:

Poor third quarter dooms struggling Lakers

Celtics 112, Lakers 111: They fall behind by 14 points against Boston, and their rally falls short.


01:17 AM PST on Monday, February 27, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER / The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers have shown they are an average team, and being average may not be good enough to secure a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

Though the Lakers tried to break free of their poor third-quarter play, when they fell into a 14-point hole to Boston, Kobe Bryant couldn't save his reeling team, missing a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer in a 112-111 defeat to the Celtics on Sunday night before 18,997 at Staples Center.

The Lakers dropped to 28-28 with their second recent home loss to a sub-.500 team. Before Boston (23-33), they fell to Atlanta (17-37) before the All-Star break.

"Looks like that's the character of what we have right now," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

For the eighth time, the Lakers have fallen to .500.

"There'll be another resurgence where we get back and play ball well," Jackson said.

Sunday night would have been a good time, but the Lakers continued to make the same mistakes that have doomed them in previous games.

Lamar Odom, who struggled in the first three quarters before scoring 10 of his 14 points in the fourth, scored on a drive, was fouled and made the free throw to tie the score at 111-111 with 15.3 seconds left.

But Bryant, who had 40 points but just three in the fourth quarter, didn't keep his feet in front of Paul Pierce and was called for a reach-in foul by referee Violet Palmer with 3.2 seconds left.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:31 am    Post subject:

Third quarter is again third rate for Lakers
Whatever Jackson is saying at halftime isn't working as Boston takes advantage.

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – A regular joke during the dynasty years, when the Lakers could laugh a lot more, was that Phil Jackson's halftime speeches had to be real snoozers, because those successful Lakers teams frequently just went through motions in third-quarter giveaways.

With time, Jackson doesn't seem to have gotten more compelling at halftime.

Third quarters continued to be a rough spot for the Lakers this season, and the breakdowns were for the second consecutive game too much to overcome.

The Lakers lost, 112-111, to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night at Staples Center. With the loss, the Lakers blew an opportunity finally to move ahead of the pace set by last season's Jackson-less team, which also started 28-28.

"We slept almost all the way through the third quarter," Jackson said.

Jackson said his halftime speech on this night was: "You had your nap in the first half. Now you can go out and play the second."

As he recapped it, Jackson added: "I guess that doesn't work."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:32 am    Post subject:

Lakers can't get out of third
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

There were so many subjects to address afterward, it was hard to find a place to start.

The Lakers could talk about how the final minute played out in their 112-111 loss to the Boston Celtics, whether Kobe Bryant really should have been called for that foul on Paul Pierce and what their return to .500 means almost 60 games into the season.

They could talk about all the missed free throws in the fourth quarter, why they have lost eight games in which they were leading or tied in the final minute of regulation or the 21-foot fadeaway that Bryant had at the buzzer to salvage the evening at Staples Center.

But the Lakers had to start with the third quarter they played against the Celtics, when they came out of the locker room and went from four points ahead to 14 points down, the stretch in which Sunday's game was lost, even if it still had yet to be decided.

If you add up every quarter the Lakers have played this season, the only one in which they have been outscored in aggregate is the third. They were crushed 37-24 in the quarter Sunday, with coach Phil Jackson describing his team's play as "despondent."

"It just seemed like I was going to keep stopping the game until we got it right because it was slipping away from us," said Jackson, who called two timeouts. "It was really a very unusual team we had out there, despondent. They couldn't break free."
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:34 am    Post subject:

Lakers Just Can't Get an Even Break
They again fail to put some distance between themselves and .500, falling back to that level for the eighth time this season with a 112-111 loss to Celtics.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
February 27 2006

No matter how many consecutive games the Lakers win, no matter how they do it, they manage to keep getting pulled back to .500, magnetically, hypnotically, emphatically.

Their latest return-to-reality effort came against the hapless Boston Celtics, in a herky-jerky game that served as symbolism for a stop-and-go season. A 112-111 loss Sunday at Staples Center marked the eighth time the Lakers had been reeled back to .500 this season.

Now 28-28, they have 26 more games to prove themselves worthy of such things as playoff shares, games in May and canceled trips to Secaucus, N.J., site of the NBA lottery.

They were again bitten by an inability to nail it down late, losing their eighth game in which they were leading or tied in the final minute of the fourth quarter.

This time, Kobe Bryant put Paul Pierce on the line with a reach-in foul near the top of the key, and one of two free throws was all that was needed to break a 111-111 tie with 3.2 seconds to play.

Bryant then missed a 21-foot turnaround over Pierce and Orien Greene as time expired, the ball slamming hard off the back of the rim, the Lakers again settling into their old, familiar .500 niche.

"It's a nemesis for us right now," Coach Phil Jackson said.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 6:57 pm    Post subject:

Lakers send Von Wafer to NBDL
Posted: Monday February 27, 2006 8:37PM; Updated: Monday February 27, 2006 8:37PM
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- The Los Angeles Lakers sent guard Von Wafer, a second-round draft pick, to the Fort Worth Floyers of the NBA Development League, the team said Monday.

Wafer has appeared in 16 games, averaging 1.3 points and .5 rebounds in 4.6 minutes.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:59 pm    Post subject:

Pierce leads Celtics past L.A. Lakers

2006/2/28
LOS ANGELES, AP


Paul Pierce completed one of the best months of his NBA career Sunday, scoring 39 points and hitting the deciding foul shot with 3.2 seconds remaining in the Boston Celtics' 112-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Pierce, who grew up in nearby Inglewood, has had at least 30 points in eight of his last nine games, and averaged 33.5 in 11 games in February.

Pierce was fouled by Kobe Bryant, and made the first foul shot to complete the scoring. The Boston star missed the second, with the Lakers' Luke Walton getting the rebound and calling timeout. Bryant, who scored 40 points but was held to three in the final period, missed from the top of the key as time expired.

Rookie Ryan Gomes added a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, and Delonte West had 19 points and a career-best 10 assists.

Brian Cook scored 19 points, Lamar Odom had 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and Smush Parker scored 13 for the Lakers, who lost for the eighth time in 12 games. Bryant also had eight rebounds and six assists.
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