vincing and self-effacing during a 30-mi

[blueberryjerry]

LOS ANGELES -- The Milwaukee Bucks caught the Los Angeles Lakers in one of their worst ruts in decades, and Brandon Knight was able to take full advantage. . Knight scored 18 of his career-high 37 points in the third quarter, and the team with the NBAs worst record beat the injury-jinxed Lakers 94-79 on Tuesday night. "My teammates did a great job of running the floor and running the lanes and creating plays for one another, and I think that opened it up for me and a lot of other guys," Knight said. "But it started with our defence. We got after it. Part of that was them missing shots, but I want to give credit to our guys for contesting those shots." The Lakers ended the year the same way they began it -- with six straight losses. They had never ended a calendar year with more than three consecutive defeats in any of the franchises 65 previous seasons. Los Angeles will begin the new year 13-19 -- the teams first losing record since the 2002-03 season, when they also started out 13-19 following their third straight championship. The year was a distinctly sobering one for the Lakers, who mourned the passing of flamboyant owner Jerry Buss, longtime executive Bill Sharman and Vern Mikkelsen, who helped the team win four NBA titles in Minneapolis. They also got swept in the first round of the playoffs and had star-crossed Kobe Bryant in the lineup for only six games so far this season. Adding insult to Bryants injuries was the end of a 320-game home sellout streak last month. "I know an historic franchise like the Los Angeles Lakers will be fine," said Bucks forward Caron Butler, who spent the 2004-05 season with the Lakers. "Not having Jerry Buss at the helm anymore is a significant loss, but Jeanie and Jim and the rest of the Buss family know the business of basketball. They know the legacy of their father, and to restore that would be a wonderful feeling." Pau Gasol and Nick Young scored 25 points each for the Lakers, who shot 35.8 per cent from the field. Young, who led the team in scoring in each of the previous six games as a reserve, made his seventh start of the season. Gasol, who had missed three straight games and four of the previous six because of a sinus infection and bronchitis, returned to a talent-starved Lakers lineup already missing Bryant, Steve Nash and Steve Blake. Point guard Jordan Farmar played 21 scoreless minutes in his fourth game since returning from a torn hamstring, and sat out the fourth quarter after the hamstring tightened up. "We are down at the bottom," said coach Mike DAntoni, who used his eighth different starting lineup in as many games and 17th in 32 contests. "The injuries have torn everybody up, but we have to band together and figure it out. I thought Pau played hard, though he was rusty at first. He didnt look good in the first quarter, but then he picked it up." Trailing by 20 points with 9:43 remaining, the Lakers closed to 86-79 with a 26-4 run capped by Kendall Marshalls 3-pointer with 3:21 to play. But the determined Bucks were able to close it out for their second victory in 10 games. The Lakers were coming off narrow losses to Utah and Philadelphia, who entered Tuesday a combined 19-45 and last in their respective divisions when they faced them. DAntonis undermanned squad was even worse against a Milwaukee lineup that came in 6-24. But the Bucks beat them for the fourth time in five meetings, after winning only five of the previous 30. The Lakers missed their first 11 shots while the Bucks opened the game with a 14-0 run. Los Angeles didnt get its first field goal until Gasol hit a 14-footer from the lane with 5:08 left in the first quarter, but Milwaukee extended its margin to 21-4 on Ersan Ilyasovas 19-footer about 2 minutes later. Luke Ridnour made his fourth start of the season for Milwaukee and scored 11 points in 36 minutes. Frontcourt swingman John Henson missed his second straight game because of a high left ankle sprain that occurred on Dec. 20, and is expected to be sidelined for at least two more contests. NOTES: The Bucks, who entered the NBA in 1968-69, are 2-6 on New Years Eve. The only other victory came on the final day of 1969, when they beat the San Diego Rockets 143-126 in regulation with 35 points from future Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. ... The Lakers are 8-4 on New Years Eve and 4-2 since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. ... Lakers reserve G Xavier Henry was sidelined for the first time this season because of a bone bruise and cartilage abnormality in his right knee, and F Wesley Johnson didnt play because of gastroenteritis. . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. . The Maple Leafs may not have had a pick until the third round, but they have made the biggest move of the second day of the Draft, dealing defenceman Carl Gunnarsson and a fourth-round pick in the draft to the St. . PETERSBURG, Fla. INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Like most kids growing up near Boston, David Blatt lived and breathed the Celtics. They were his team, the only team. Pressing a transistor radio against his ear, Blatt listened as legendary announcer Johnny Most described how Bill Russell grabbed rebounds and when John Havlicek "stole the ball!" At an early age, he was hooked on hoops. "I kind of had that NBA dream in my ear and in my heart," Blatt said. And now, its back in his life. Blatt was introduced Wednesday as the new coach of the Cavaliers, a team in transition as it prepares to select first in the NBA draft and make a strong run at LeBron James, the soon-to-be free agent who has several other teams making moves to try and get him. Blatt spent the past two decades in Israel, where he developed into a top international coach. Now, after winning numerous titles across Europe and guiding Russia to a bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics, Blatt is ready to take on the challenge of coaching on pro basketballs biggest stage. It was time to make the jump, and the Cavs helped Blatts overseas leap. "Absolutely its a challenge," Blatt said of his upcoming transition. "But Ive got to tell you, the game is not so different as people think it is. Its a little bit longer here. Perhaps the level of athleticism and speed all around the court is different. But its not like playing baseball and soccer. Its still the same game." Blatt isnt hung up on labels or perceptions. He doesnt consider himself an Israeli coach, European coach or any type for that matter. He doesnt favouroffence over defence. "Im a basketball coach," he said, "someone who through teaching and working with people and getting the most out of my players and staff has always seen the success of the team as paramount." The Cavaliers spent nearly six weeks looking for their third coach in three years before hiring Blatt, who recently resigned as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, a squad he led to this years Euroleague title. Cavs general manager David Griffin said Blatt was one of "five or six" candidates who had full-blown interviews and the club contacted as many as 11 coaches. "Hes truly the embodiment of every characteristic we most sought in a coach," GGriffin said. . . "Hes a guy who has passion, creativity and intelligence. As a coach, hes able to adjust in ways that make him special because of those things. He lives those things as a man as well. Because of all that, the players all feel him in a very powerful way. David is an authentic leader." The team hired finalist Tyronn Lue as an associate head coach under Blatt. Blatt understands theres a responsibility that comes with being the first at anything. He believes other European coaches are as qualified to coach in the NBA, but hes the one getting the chance. "I know Im carrying the torch, and I hope like hell I dont drop it," he said. "I dont plan to. It does mean a great deal." Blatt was charming, convincing and self-effacing during a 30-minute news conference at Cleveland Clinic Courts. Blatt said he had previous chances to come to the NBA, but the timing wasnt right. "Somebody told me the reason I did it is because I missed Boston lobster and macaroni and cheese," he cracked. "Theres something to that, honestly." Blatt is taking over a team that went 33-49 last season and underachieved for Mike Brown, who was fired on May 12, ending his second stint in Cleveland. Blatt believes the Cavs have the pieces to be a contender, and that its up to him to put them together. And that would be the case in any country. "I find a group of guys that want to be coached, that want to learn, that care about winning," he said. "Those are things I have to emphasize with them, that I have to strengthen and help them understand the right way to do it. "Ive coached enough great players in my life to know when guys are happy playing together and are seeing that doing it the right way brings and fosters the spirit you need to win, it doesnt make a difference where you coach." Blatt feels hes finally where he belongs. He had a great run overseas, but it was time to come back to where he started. It was time to come home. "I was happy and fulfilled in what I was doing," he said. "But I never, for a moment, lost the hope that I would come full circle and make my way back to the places where I grew up and to be part of something that was so much a part of me." ' ' '

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