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STAT SHEET STUFFER
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On Sunday night in Seattle, Pacers' rookie Sarunas Jasikevicius - starting for the injured Jamaal Tinsley - scored 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from downtown. In addition, the former Maryland standout delivered nine assists, pulled down seven rebounds and collected a pair of steals.
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RICK KAMLA'S FANTASY TAKE
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GAME OF THE NIGHT
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The Lakers and Bobcats' Sunday night nail-biter proved an old basketball adage espoused by youth league coaches everywhere: Make your free throws! With Charlotte clinging to a three-point lead, Kobe Bryant went to the line and sank both free throws, pulling Los Angeles within one with 17 ticks to go. Six seconds later, Brevin Knight stepped to the charity stripe, looking to push the lead back to three. But Knight - a career 79 percent free-throw shooter - missed both shots, giving the Lakers a chance to win it on their home court. Bryant - as he usually does in these spots - made the most of the opportunity. He drove to the hole and drew a foul on Bernard Robinson with just over seven seconds remaining. Unlike Knight, Kobe sank his pair and gave the Lakers a hard-fought and fundamentally sound 99-98 win.
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QUOTE OF THE NIGHT
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"I am a creature of habit. For so long in this league, I have been told when to shoot and when not to shoot, and now I have total freedom. It's like a kid in the candy store who gets his first dollar and he doesn't know what to spend it on and you get confused. I get out there and I am a little hesitant and my teammates yell at me."
- Phoenix's James Jones, who scored a season-high 20 points in Sunday's 112-94 win over the Hawks.
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STORYLINES OF THE NIGHT
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 1. Prodigal Sun
Joe Johnson returned to Phoenix on Sunday after a bizarre set of offseason moves shuttled him and a new five-year deal to Atlanta for Boris Diaw and a pair of first-round draft picks. While the jury is still out on who got the better of the deal, it was Phoenix who got the best of Johnson and the Hawks on Sunday, rolling to a 112-94 win. Johnson played well, scoring 23 points despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter. Diaw chipped in 14 for Phoenix.
 2. Big Ticket Joins Exclusive Club
Kevin Garnett added his name to rather impressive list on Sunday. Despite struggling in the Timberwolves 85-77 triumph over the Kings - he scored just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting - Garnett eclipsed 16,000 points for his career. Having already surpassed 8,000 rebounds and 3,500 assists, he became only the eighth player in league history to rack up that many in each category. The other seven on the list: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt Chamberlain, John Havlicek, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor and Larry Bird.
  3. Two-Man Wrecking Crew
In each of the Sonics' 16 games this season, either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis has been Seattle's top scorer. Allen's 25-point effort in Sunday's 107-102 win over the Pacers was the eighth time he has led the way, while Lewis has grabbed top scoring honors in six contests. The dynamic duo tied for the game-high in the other two matchups. Ironically, it was the Sonics' bench that made the difference against Indiana.
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ROOKIE WATCH
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Not a lot has gone right for Larry Brown's Knicks squad this season, but Channing Frye continues to provide a glimmer of hope. The eighth overall selection in this year's draft, Frye scored a season-high 25 points in Sunday's 102-99 home loss to the Celitcs. Over his last three games, the big man is averaging better than 22 points per contest, giving the Garden faithful reason to believe things may get better in the not-so-distant future.
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SCOREBOARD: Dec. 4, 2005 |
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
After going off for 28 points and five steals on