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NBA kicks off season with familiar faces
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-03 20:50
The NBA kicked off the season's first full night of games with some familiar
faces in old places. Phil Jackson was reunited with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers,
and Ron Artest was on the court again in a Pacers uniform.
Bryant welcomed Jackson back in style Wednesday night, hitting a 23-foot
jumper with 0.6 seconds left in overtime to lift Los Angeles to a 99-97 victory
over the Denver Nuggets.
"The win wasn't important for me, it was important for the team," Jackson
said. "But getting the win is twice as nice."
Bryant had 33 points and swished home the game-winner. He then ran, fist
clenched, to the other end of the court and chest-bumped with Devean George and
celebrated a victory in Jackson's first game back with the Lakers.
"It was a big game for us," Bryant said. "We are a young team and we had to
battle back to get the win."
Like Bryant and Jackson, Artest was perfectly behaved. He played OK, too,
especially considering he missed most of last season, as Indiana beat Orlando
90-78. He had 16 points, three rebounds and five assists.
"This is going to be a process for him," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I
would think it's going to be 20 to 30 games before he really starts to feel
comfortable after being off for that long."
Artest knows he'll be forever linked to the Nov. 19, 2004, brawl between the
Pacers and the Detroit Pistons, when he ran into the stands after being hit in
the face by a drink and pushed the fan he thought responsible. He hit another
who came onto the court, and bore the brunt of the blame for the worst brawl in
U.S. sports history.
The victory Wednesday night spoiled the return of Brian Hill to the Orlando
bench.
Larry Brown also had his Knicks debut ruined as Boston beat New York 114-110
in overtime.
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