| Show Standard-Examine- r Sports 2C Tuesday May 18 1999 Spurs’ twin towers win first battle with Shaq The Associated Press SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan and David Robinson won the first big men matchup with O'Neal Duncan scored 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs fended off a fourth-quartthreat to beat the Los Angeles Lakers Mon1 day night in the opening game of Sha-quil- le Ostertag’s fire wasted on Jazz 87-8- John Stockton By TOM McEACHIN StanOardExammer staff LAKE CITY -- If SALT Ostertag had his opponents as tough as he battled his own coaches and teammates his life would be a lot easier The Jazz center plaved only six minutes on Sunday but he managed to get into two confrontations He angered coach Jerry Sloan by the way he came off the court after being taken out of the game in the third quarter and he upset Karl Malone by turning his back on the Jazz veteran when Malone tried to offer a suggestion “When a veteran has something to say to a guy who’s been the in the league two or three years I think he should listen” said Malone who has been both Ostertag’s harshest critic and strongest supporter Ostertag also exchanged heated words with Sloan after storming off the court and smacking a chair on the bench “That’s all right as long as players don’t hit me” Sloan said “There was a lot said That’s something I’m not proud of when it happens but I’ve got to coach this team the way 1 see fit “I’m not going to sit back and say Tomorrow we’ll discuss this’ Most of the time I’m going to take it on right away I’m not going to wait” Ostertag said the run-m- s and his poor performance in the game were all related to his getting called for two fouls in the first 2: 1 7 of the game “I let one thing affect the rest of my game” he said sf EDGE: Utah Damon Stoudamke 126 ppg 62 apg 111 ppg 75 apg Jeff Homaeek Hf EDGE: Portland Isaiah Rider 13 9 ppg 122 ppg 40 apg 42 rpg 14-ye- ar I I I I 1 Portland coach Mike Dunleavy Isn't letting on who will start here He may go with Wallace to take advantage of the size difference or he may go with his best defender Stacey Augmon Russel! ts a much better scorer than Augmon but Wallace would be a tough matchup for him defensively Bryon Russell 6-- 7 Grant isn't much of a scoring threat but he is a good defender and a great rebounder Malone will be d to take a breather in this series because when Grant rests the Blazers wilt send Wallace at him and then Kelvin Cato I There was more to Vlade Divac missing his potential hook shot at the £nd of regulation on Sunday than meets the eye i Normally when Divac is posting up a player like i Malone he will have his back ‘to the defender and bump him as he dribbles moving a step ‘ closer to the basket on each bump until he spins and shoots - This time on Divac’s second bump Malone k squatted down and leaned 1 back so when Divac went to bump him there was nothing there to bump " It was a subtle move by Malone but enough to throw £ off Divac’s footwork and k timing turning what would J otherwise have been an easy v shot into an awkward one Karl Malone Brian Grant EDGE: Utah 128 ppg 49 rpg 238 ppg 94 rpg game-winni- I ! I Weil-rest- Sabonls is a lot like Sacramento’s Vlade Divac and Divac gave Ostertag fits m that series Ostertag needs to play well not only to contend with Saboms but also to stay on the floor to help defend the EDGE: Portland Greg Ostertag Arvydas Sabonls 57 ppg 73 apg 121 ppg 79 rpg 7-- 3 r ? 292 iy Eisley 180 111 ppg 6-- 2 first-roun- Shandon Anderson 6-- 6-- 8 6-- 6-- 205 43ppg 26 rpg 6 210 Greg Anthony 6-- 1 180 64 ppg 20 rpg Thud Jim Jackson 42 ppg 22 rpg again” 66220 84 ppg 34 rpg I The Trail Blazers’ second unit could start lor a lot ol teams in the league giving Dunleavy an incredible amount of options He can go with a big lineup a defensive Hneup or a small quick lineup The problem is the Blazers never know who is going to be on the floor at the end of the game factor” People have been waiting all season for the Blazers to crack but Dunleavy has managed to keep them winning with his act Sloan has done bestj coaching In the playoffs He manages to take Tough schedule the five players who are playing the best regardless ol their positions and get hem to produce Jerry Sloan 582-27- 1 Utah Hf EDGE: Utah 676392 overall Mike Dunleavy 81-5- 1 280-33- 5 Portland overall back-to-bac- rt back-to-bac- 1 From 1C “I didn’t play worth a damn after the first game and the coach had to go with a small lineup because he didn’t think he could count on us” Ostertag said “That’s something that’s a challenge for us to step up and play That small hneup was successful against the Kings with 9 Karl Malone playing center 7 Bryon Russell playmg power forward and 6 guard Shandon Anderson playing forward but they figure Portland is simply too big for that hneup to woik again Not only are the Trail Blazers so much bigger at nearly every position they were one of the top rebounding teams in the league this season “We’ve all got to play better” Foster said “Lspecially against a huge Portland team They’re very talented very athletic They’re going to bring the heat on us Stacey Augmon 85 ppg 26 rpg Bailey ! back-to-bac- At Indianapolis Jalen Rose’s two most productive games in the NBA have come against a team coached by Larry Brown the man who two years ago questioned the guard’s ability to play in the league Rose seldom used in the one season he played for Brown at 6-- Howard I 37 apg The Jazz don’t get much of a break to recover from the I physically and emotionally draining Sacramento senes With just one day to j prepare for the Trail Blazers I the Jazz are now forced to ’ play four games in six days ! thanks to this weekend's ' k games in ! Portland If the Jazz are forced to ! k play though they prefer to play them on i the road since playing on consecutive days often t nullifies a team’s home-couJ advantage “If you’re going to play k you’d rather play them at their place" - Malone said happened” Nothing O’Neal said “They played their best ball and we really didn’t play that well” said O’Neal who had 21 points and 15 rebounds “We see that they’re going to let us get physical We have to make some adjustments and come back” The Spurs went to the free throw line 34 times compared with 26 times for Los Angeles Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice each had 21 points for the Lakers Robinson finished with 15 points and eight rebounds Both he and O’Neal were from the foul line better” EDGE: Portland J ! Confer- basket ed Because the Trail Blazers d senes swept their k with Phoenix they have been resting since last Wednesday while the Jazz had to go the Tull five games against iSacramento to advance J While the Jazz won't be as Rested as the Trail Blazers are trthey won’t be as rusty either ‘ "Sometimes it’s better to keep going” Jeff I lomacek ' said “We had a layoff last year and that first game back after sitting there watching games on TV and itching to 'play sometimes it's tough “We can’t wony they had a rest Sure they'll have enough energy but in the ! playoffs that probably shouldn’t be too big of a Western Pacers 94 76ers 90 Defensive stopper 1 1 128 ppg 49 rpg 124 ppg 53 rpg 7 ence semifinal The Spurs held on despite committing nine turnovers in the final quarter “We expected a very competitive game Both teams laid it all on the line” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said “They are a handful and we were lucky to come out on top” Game 2 is Wednesday night in San Antonio “This was a big game for us but Game 2 is even bigger We have to come out stronger at the start” Duncan said O’Neal used to all sorts of double teams and physical play regardless of the opponent approached referee Steve Javie from behind after the game Lakers coach Kurt Rambis intervened and was able to keep his star center away from the official Both Rambis and O'Neal refused to discuss the quick confrontation “Nothing happened If something happened you all would know Rasheed Wallace EDGE: Even 225 best-of-- Hollis From 1C NBA" Jazz assistant coach Gordon Chiesa said Now those Blazers come to town tonight for Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal showdown against Utah at the Delta Center and the Jazz must quickly regroup and try to summon the energy to turn back a ballclub that is bigger better and more experienced than the Kings “At this point you play again so quickly you don't have time to cheer about it" Stockton said 4 It isn’t just the centers who have to be concerned Even at small forward Russell may find himself outmanned in this senes because all of Portland’s small forwards are so much bigger than him That’s where the experience from playing Webber in the pre- and “Everybody gave high-five- s now we have to go on and start preparing for Portland “Hopefully we’ll be ready for another physical athletic series I think we have time to recover (from their war with the Kings) We had to fight tooth and nail every night against them and that should really help us” he said Of course the Blazers will have the advantage of resting up since last Wednesday after finishing off the Suns Then again for quite awhile at the end of Games 4 and 5 in the series it looked like the Blazers might be preparing for the Kings instead of the Jazz to But almost miraculously Utah’s experience found a way to win both of those games when it Penniless Penguins eliminated The Associated er their NHL PLAYOFFS Indiana came off the bench to 27 score a career playoff-hig- h Pacthe as night Monday points ers defeated Philadelphia in the best-of-- 7 opening game of the Eastern Conference semifinal Less than a month ago Rose 28 points had a career-hig- h against Philadelphia the team Brown has led back into the playoffs “As a player you always have satisfaction when your team wins and you play well” said Rose who declined to discuss his relationship with Brown except to say the two haven’t talked since Brown left the Pacers following the 1996-9- 7 season “The things that we went through as a team and I went through as a player when Larry was here I can’t dwell on it too much” Rose said “I just have to go out and be the player that I You’ve got to go am today out and get knocked down sometimes before you get lifted Maybe that was my case” from the Rose was from the free field and throw lme “He just got in that early groove hit a couple of shots and we couldn’t stop him” said Allen Iverson who led the 76ers with 35 points Matt Geiger was the only other major offensive weapon for Philadelphia with 16 points and 11 rebounds Around the league Hardaway out of Orlando? Penny Hardaway feels unappreciated in Orlando and reiterated his intention Monday to exercise an option in his contract that allows him to become a free agent this summer The Magic would be able to offer e the more - up to $85 million - in a new long-tercontract Hardaway has more than money on four-tim- AJl-St- his mind “I never thought it would come down to this in Orlando” he said following the final team meeting of the season “I wanted to finish my career here but it seems like it’s just too rocky right now” Hardaway scheduled to earn $8 million before the lockout wiped out part of this season averaged a 158 points 57 rebounds and 53 assists during the regular season team-leadi- vious series could pay off With the trio of centers faltering it was Russell who got the call to defend the much bigger Webber in key moments and for the most part he was successful “It was a task” Russell said “He’s bigger he’s stronger the only thing I can try to do is outh-ust- le and outquick him I was just trying to keep moving If he doesn’t know where you’re at then it kills a lot of time on the clock” Although contending with the bigger Blazers defensively is a concern the Jazz realize those same mismatches could be turned in their favor at the other end of the court where the Jazz could be much quicker than their defenders “It’s going to be tough for us but also you’ve got to play Bryon” Malone said "So if Rasheed is playing (small forward) he also has to play Bryon out on the floor “Momentum changes when you get two or three fouls You get a couple fouls on you that same energy you had early on you might not have it then So I don’t think we’re afraid to match up any certain kind of way” Tom McEachin covers the Utah Jazz for the Standard-ExaminHe er can be reached at 625-426- 2 or tmceai hinCastandardnet looked highly unlikely if not virtually impossible Now the Jazz must rally their forces for what shapes up as another difficult matchup with the g thuggish-lookinTrail Blazers “You just do the best job you can prepare yourself and try to get ready to play again” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said “The only thing I know how to do is prepare for them and then you go play the game and see what happens "You just keep playing them one at a time” Sloan said trying his best not to sound like Coach Cliche “That’s the only way I know how to do it Hopefully our guys can do that” Perhaps their against the Kings will serve as a wake-u- p call Or could it be the near-disast- er Press PITTSBURGH - The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to the Eastern Conference finals The Pittsburgh Penguins only wish they knew where they were going Garry Valk a discarded Penguin scored his first two career playoff goals and the Maple Leafs ousted the bankrupt Penguins from their second-round senes 3 in overtime of Game 6 Monday night The Maple Leafs in danger of falling behind in the senes 1 only five days ago won the final three games two in overtime “There’s such a fine line between winning and losing in overtime” Mats Sundm said of Toronto’s 0 overtime record in these playoffs “When we get into overtime we seem to find a way to win” Toronto advances to the conference final against either Buffalo or Boston for the first time since 1994 The Penguins face an uncertain future in bankruptcy court that could see the franchise sold to Mario Lemieux’s investment group dissolved or moved by next month Valk’s winner at 1:57 of overtime was eerily reminiscent of Sergei Berezin’s OT goal in Game 4 Thursday in Pittsburgh After Yanic Perreault won a faceoff Berezin’s shot rebounded off goaltender Tom Barrasso to a skidding Valk who pushed it into the empty net as he left his skates “When he is shooting I’m trying to go to the net” Valk said “Barrasso stepped on it and it came loose I tried to crosscheck (Jiri) Slegr out of the way and the puck was just laying there It was an ugly garbage goal” Maple Leafs fans haven’t seen anything so beautiful since 1994 when Toronto lost to Vancouver in the Western Conference finals For the Penguins in this series it was overtime and out Coincidentally the Penguins ' were one of the NHL’s best regular-seaso- n teams in over- - ‘ time: 4-- 3-- 3-- Stars 2 Blues 1 (OT) At St Louis Mike Modano scored on a rebound at 2:21 of overtime as the Stars eliminated the Blues from the playoffs in six games Brett Hull assisted on both Dallas goals against his former team Hull skated around the net with the puck and shot a low backhander into Grant Fuhr’s skates Around the league Lightning get first pick: After finishing last in the regular season the Tampa Bay Lightning will pick first in the NHL entry draft The Lightning earned the right Sunday at the NHL’s draft lottery setting up the selection order for the league’s 27 teams It will be the second straight year in the No spot for the Lightning who selected Vincent Lecava-lie- r with their top pick at the 1998 draft The expansion Atlanta Thrashers will pick second m the draft of amateur players at the FleetCenter m Boston on June 26 The Vancouver Canucks will pick third followed by the Chicago 1 Blackhawks Red Wings suspend minor league team: The Detroit Red Wings have suspended operations of its top minor league affiliate until the team can be relocated from Glens Falls NY to Rossford Ohio The suspension will last at least a year until construction of a $48 million arena can be completed The site is about five miles south of downtown Toledo Jazz just don’t have what it takes to make another run at the title this year “We know it’s going to be a tough series again” Malone said “This (Kings) senes should help us because it showed us we’ve got to be ready to play all the time Now we need everybody out there to step in and play for us the best they can” Too old and worn out to win? Or too tough and experienced to lose? We could find out the answers to those questions real soon -maybe as soon as later tonight Randy Hollis is the sports edi- tor columnist of the Standard-Ex-aminHe can be reached at 9 or by rhollisCastan-dardn625-426- er et 1 4 i""”iiTT i—n iflimi frprnrfuijiniiii yim lwi l'iijailiJltH'!n |
