It's no surprise Kobe Bryant has the Los Angeles Lakers off to a fast start. But few would have expected the Atlanta Hawks to still be unbeaten two weeks into the season.
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Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol goes in for the dunk against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half in Dallas on Tuesday. The Lakers won 106-99. |
Bryant scored 27 points and the Lakers improved to 6-0?-- their best start since opening 7-0 in 2001-02, their last championship season?-- with a 106-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Atlanta beat the Chicago Bulls 113-108 to also improve to 6-0, the Hawks' best start since they won their first 11 games in 1997-98.
"No one expected it but us," said Mike Bibby, who scored 22 points, including a few key three-pointers to stave off the Bulls. "The only people who can stop us is ourselves."
What's most impressive is the Hawks won on a night when leading scorer Joe Johnson struggled. Al Horford scored a career-high 27 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead the Hawks.
"It shows how deep this team is and we're all unselfish," Horford said. "Not every night is going to be Joe this year like it was previously. Now he has a supporting cast."
The Hawks had six players in double figures, including Johnson, who finished with 17 - eight below his average. He shot 4-for-16.
Rookie Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 26 points to match his career high and had a career-best 10 rebounds.
In other National Basketball Association games on Tuesday night, it was: Cavaliers 99, Bucks 93 Nuggets 88, Bobcats 80 Jazz 93, 76ers 80 Spurs 92, Knicks 80 Pistons 100, Kings 92 and Warriors 113, Timberwolves 110 (in overtime).
In Dallas, the Lakers found themselves in an unfamiliar place.
Even with the Mavericks getting terrific games out of Jason Kidd and Erick Dampier, Bryant and friends found a way to pull out another one.
Trevor Ariza turned an offensive rebound into an emphatic, go-ahead dunk early in the fourth quarter and added an equally impressive block in the final minute to help the Lakers pull out the victory.
"Nobody panicked," said Bryant, who scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. "We just kept at it."
Kidd got the 101st triple-double of his career with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
In Cleveland, LeBron James matched a season high with 41 points, finally putting Milwaukee away with a steal and soaring dunk in the final minutes, and Mo Williams scored 16 against his former team as the Cavaliers won their fifth straight.
James scored 12 in the fourth quarter and didn't come out in the second half while playing a season-best 43 minutes.
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily November 13, 2008)