Pacers' R. Miller Scuffles With Lakers' Bryant After Buzzer Shaq Stuck in Middle as Peacemaker By KEN PETERS .c The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (March 1) -- This time, it was Kobe Bryant and Reggie Miller swinging at each other. Shaquille O'Neal had 33 points and 12 rebounds to lead Los Angeles to a 96-84 victory over Indiana on Friday night, but the Lakers' Bryant and Pacers' Miller fought briefly on the court immediately after the game. The melee spilled over onto the scorers' bench, with O'Neal apparently trying to play peacemaker. Miller appeared to be walking toward Bryant after the game when the two suddenly started throwing punches. That fight happened after an incident-free game in the rematch of O'Neal and Brad Miller, the former Chicago center O'Neal took a swing at Jan. 12 in Chicago. Then, O'Neal threw a haymaker at Brad Miller after being fouled hard by him and Bulls teammate Charles Oakley. Bryant had 25 points against Indiana, and Robert Horry had nine points -- including a 3-pointer that gave the Lakers an 87-79 lead with 1:51 left to play -- and 11 rebounds. Jermaine O'Neal had 18 points, just four in the second half, and 10 rebounds for Indiana. Ron Artest has 18 points and 10 rebounds. Brad Miller also had 10 rebounds, and he scored nine points. Reggie Miller had five points. O'Neal earlier said he considered the skirmish a thing of the past, and did not intend to retaliate unless he was provoked again. He approached Miller, acquired by the Pacers earlier this month, before tipoff Friday and the two tapped fists in a friendly gesture. O'Neal then quickly asserted himself on the floor, scoring 11 of the Lakers' first 13 points, several on dunks over Miller, to give Los Angeles a 13-2 lead in the first four minutes. O'Neal was suspended for three games, costing him more than $700,000 in salary, and fined $15,000 by the NBA for throwing the roundhouse right that nicked Miller's ear in the fourth quarter of the Bulls' 106-104 overtime win at Chicago nearly two months ago. Miller was suspended for one game and fined $7,500 for committing the flagrant foul that led to O'Neal's haymaker. Oakley was suspended for two games -- one for accumulating too many flagrant foul points; the other for his simultaneous flagrant foul against O'Neal -- and fined $10,000. Miller is just one of the new faces on the Pacers, a changed team from the one the Lakers beat 109-90 on Jan. 9. Indiana acquired Miller, Artest, Kevin Ollie and Ron Mercer in a Feb. 19 trade with Chicago, giving the Bulls Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richardson and a conditional second-round draft pick. The new-look Pacers gave the Lakers a run for their money until the fourth quarter. Although they took their only lead of the game at 70-69 with 2 1/2 minutes gone in the fourth quarter, the Pacers missed 12 of their first 14 shots in the period and went a stretch of 6:22 without a field goal. Notes ... Artest, a physical defender who was slowed by a sprained left ankle Friday night, had held Bryant to 9-of-25 shooting with seven turnovers in the overtime win in Chicago when O'Neal was ejected. Bryant did better against Artest and the Bulls on Feb. 6 at Staples Center, going 14-for-28 and scoring 38 points in a 97-89 win, although he did have eight turnovers. ... Los Angeles F Samaki Walker, his ailing right elbow slow to heal, is doubtful for Sunday's game against Houston. ... Los Angeles beat the Pacers 109-90 in Indiana on Jan. 9, when Bryant scored 31 points. ... The Lakers are 25-4 against the Pacers in Los Angeles and 43-14 overall. AP-NY-03-02-02 0131EST
Kobe is the best guard in the nba but he is an ass , i hate him and the way he that he is trying to look cool and act like Jordan this is simply pathetic .
dammit i must be weird, because i love all the players everybody else hates. Kobe is awesome, and Reggie used to be.
Kobe is the best guard in the nba and I enjoy watching him. But, he does way too much posturing on the court. I don't like his demeanor. Reggie is Reggie.
OK I have to side with Reggie on this fiasco for the simple reason 7 seconds left Kobe showed disrespect by launching a three over Reggie's head clearly if anybody has played college ball or even high school ball My coach always said never direspect the other team by making either a dunk or a nail to the coffin so to speak with seconds left when your winning by 10 or or even 5 in some cases. This is basic lak of respect for the game and the way it is played. You won enjoy the win do not rub it in like Kobe did. my prediction Kobe gets 5 Games Reggie gets 3 Robert horry gets 2 Austin gets 1 maybe Shaq gets 1 Their will be alot of charity getting free money for this fiasco. Just got this from the wire: Bryant's late shot attempt was at the urging of coach Phil Jackson, who told his team to shoot before the 24-second shot clock ran out I stand corrected this was Phil's fault.
I think you're mistaking heart for ego. Iverson is not nearly the egomaniac that Miller and Kobe are. Give me an example of when Iverson's ego shone through.
