and Yao still can't secure a rebound at the end of the game. fraction of a second earlier and shaq would of won the game.
can someone tell me the name of the announcer not named Bill Walton? B/c he needs to shut his piehole. Could not stand him back then and still hate him now. Tom Tolbert-----yes, that guy. not sure on the 3rd guy.
man suddenly I remember why we loved Steve so much. Friggin moochie on the sideline - this truly is classic
Francis with the pump fake on Kobe drawing him in the air and the lovely assist to Yao and then ming with the flush........ still got me excited!!!!!!!!!
I miss Stevie. Regardless of all the boneheaded moves he would make on the court, he was fun as hell and he poured his heart to this city.
Absolutely . . . just watching TMac with his body language showing that he didn't care half as much as Steve. So much more talented than Stevie but man no heart comparitively . . .
1-17-03 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=230117010 Yao effective in first meeting with Shaq Also See · Asian group demands apology from Shaq · Shaq misses dinner bell with fellow big man Yao WERE YOU THERE? Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there » Team Stat Comparison LOS ANGELES HOUSTON Points 104 108 FG Made-Attempted 40-94 (.426) 35-79 (.443) 3P Made-Attempted 5-23 (.217) 10-15 (.667) FT Made-Attempted 19-22 (.864) 28-31 (.903) Rebounds (Offensive-Total) 12-43 10-50 Assists 26 23 Turnovers 8 19 Steals 10 6 Blocks 4 9 Fast Break Points 2 8 Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) 26 (2/1) 20 (0/0) Top Performers LOS ANGELES HOUSTON S. O'Neal Points: 31 Reb: 13 Ast: 4 Stl: 0 Blk: 0 S. Francis Points: 44 Reb: 6 Ast: 11 Stl: 2 Blk: 0 Game Leaders LOS ANGELES HOUSTON Points S. O'Neal 31 S. Francis 44 Rebounds S. O'Neal 13 Y. Ming 10 Assists K. Bryant 9 S. Francis 11 Steals K. Bryant 3 C. Mobley 3 Blocks R. Horry 2 Y. Ming 6 · Team stats: Los Angeles | Houston Next 5 Games LOS ANGELES (ET) HOUSTON (ET) 01/20 LAC 7:00pm 01/22 GS 7:30pm 01/24 NJ 7:30pm 01/29 @PHO 7:00pm 01/31 @SAC 7:30pm 01/20 @SA 4:00pm 01/21 @DAL 7:30pm 01/24 DET 7:30pm 01/26 @CHI 12:00pm 01/27 @MEM 7:00pm · Complete Schedule: Los Angeles | Houston HOUSTON (AP) -- All it took was 3 minutes for Yao Ming to show Shaquille O'Neal that this would be no mismatch. Yao Ming discovered one way to slow down Shaquille O'Neal. Yao blocked O'Neal's first three shots, altered Kobe Bryant's attempt at the end of regulation and dunked with 10.2 seconds left for the biggest basket of the night as the Houston Rockets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-104 in overtime Friday night. The game turned out to be worthy of all the hype it received for being the first meeting ever between the 7-foot-6 rookie center from China and the 7-foot, 360-pound three-time defending champion. "He's a classy guy,'' O'Neal said of Yao. "I was looking forward to playing him. He's a great player. It's another challenge for me.'' O'Neal finished with the better statistical line -- 31 points, 13 rebounds and four assists to Yao's 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks. But it was the Rockets that walked off with a victory -- their season-high fourth in a row -- while ending the Lakers' longest winning streak of the season at five games. "How should I put it: We beat the Lakers today, but Shaq is still Shaq,'' Yao said. "He's like a truck.'' Steve Francis led the Rockets with a career-high 44 points, and Cuttino Mobley added 29. Kobe Bryant shot just 5-for-21 and finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for Los Angeles. Yao, 22 and eight years younger than O'Neal, made three of his first four shots, missed his next seven -- all of them turnarounds and fadeaways, and made his last one -- the dunk that gave Houston a 104-100 lead. Mobley made four foul shots the rest of the way to help ice the win. O'Neal scored the Lakers' first six points of overtime, all of them with impressive power moves against Yao. The final one was a dunk with 1:27 left that cut Houston's lead to 99-98. O'Neal then committed a flagrant foul against Francis, and coach Phil Jackson got a technical for arguing. The three free throws made it 102-98. "The unfortunate thing is it had to be decided by them,'' O'Neal said of the officials. "A whole bunch of people who paid a lot of money had to see a game that was decided by someone who doesn't make a lot of money. That's unfortunate.'' Yao was called for a foul trying to block Robert Horry's dunk attempt with 33.6 seconds remaining, and the two free throws made it a two-point game. Francis then made the pass of the night, finding Yao alone to the left of the basket for a dunk. "Once I went up and saw Robert Horry and Shaq, I knew Yao had to be open,'' Francis said. "It happened so slow to me, watching the play, and I was so happy to see him dunk the ball.'' Yao and O'Neal exchanged handshakes and a brief hug as they walked off the court. Yao couldn't have asked for a better start, dominating the first three minutes to the delight of a sellout crowd that included former Rockets centers Hakeem Olajuwon and Moses Malone sitting courtside. O'Neal got the ball on the Lakers' first possession, made a crossover dribble move on the baseline and went up strong. Yao blocked it, and O'Neal wound up laying flat on his back. "At the beginning of the game I think I was trying too hard. He's 7-5, he's supposed to block shots. Everybody gets their shot blocked,'' O'Neal said. The Rockets got the ball to their big guy deep in the low post, and Yao scored on a jump hook just 24 seconds into the game. After Yao missed his second shot, he blocked yet another dunk by O'Neal and then beat him downcourt for a layup. Yao scored on a turnaround over Shaq with 9:27 left in the first, but his next field goal did not come until 4:22 remained in the fourth quarter as he expended most of his energy defending O'Neal. "It wore me out,'' Yao said through his interpreter. "I don't know how to describe it because I've never encountered somebody that strong before.'' Bryant made two free throws with 1:03 left before Francis tied it with a driving layup. A jumper by Bryant was followed by a Rockets turnover on a disputed out-of-bounds call, and Bryant made just one of two from the line with 18.8 seconds left to leave the Lakers ahead by three, 92-89. Francis then took a pass from Yao, dribbled once to his left and hit a straightaway 3-pointer to tie it with 13.4 seconds left. Bryant drove around Mobley for the final shot of regulation, but James Posey and Yao were there to force Bryant into a bad shot that missed everything, sending the game to overtime. Prior to the opening tip, O'Neal walked up to Yao and said something into his ear, drawing a smile and a nod from Yao. The Rockets usually have Eddie Griffin jump for the opening tip, but this time Francis motioned to Yao that be should do the honors against O'Neal. Referee Dick Bavetta tossed the ball up, and O'Neal won the tip. But the next three minutes were all Yao's. Game notes Francis' previous career-high was 39. ... Yao banged his left index finger knuckle midway through the first quarter, but it did not cause him to miss any time. ... Rockets F Eddie Griffin went down with a mild neck sprain late in the first quarter but returned to the game shortly thereafter. ... Rockets F Maurice Taylor returned after missing three games with Achilles tendon soreness. announcers are Bill Walton and ? ?
I don't know who the other announcer was but I like him solely for this exchange: Bill Walton- "I'd like to see some sort of zone defense from the Rockets with nobody guarding the ball." Unknown Announcer- "Who cares?" haha what countless other announcers have thought while working with Bill Walton
