Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/10786
2B – Daily News – Thursday, May 20, 2010 Lakers hold off Suns Raiders move on from JaMarcus Russell era ALAMEDA (AP) — The JaMarcus Russell era ended in Oakland two weeks ago when the Raiders released the former No. 1 overall draft pick after just three unproductive sea- sons. Raiders coach Tom Cable now wants to look to the future. Speaking after the team’s first open practice since making the move, Cable said Wednesday that the organization is moving on and no longer con- cerned about Russell. ‘‘Let’s not talk about someone who is not on our team anymore,’’ Cable said. ‘‘It’s done, it’s over and we have to move forward.’’ The Raiders did that when they released Russell on May 6, cutting their losses after spending more than $39 million trying to develop him into a fran- chise quarterback. Russell won only seven of his 25 career starts, completing 52.1 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns, 23 interceptions, 15 lost fumbles and a passer rating of 65.2. The poor play combined with the high salary and lofty status as the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft has left Russell near the top of the list when it comes to biggest busts in NFL history. Newly acquired Jason Campbell, the favorite to take over as the starter this season, said he talked to Russell after the move and offered words of encouragement. ‘‘I told him there are things that happen in pro- fessional sports that are out of our control and the only thing you can do is just move forward and don’t let anything get you down,’’ Campbell said. ‘‘Like I told him, he’s still young in his career. I think the thing he has to do in the summer is put the work in, and then when his opportunity comes again just do your best.’’ Campbell was acquired during the April draft from Washington in a trade for a 2012 fourth-round draft pick. The team showed confidence in Campbell by MCT photo The Lakers’ Andrew Bynum and the Suns’ Robin Lopez wrestle for a rebound,Wednesday. LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers are halfway to another NBA finals, and their fans already know who they want their dominant defending champions to play next. Pau Gasol scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant had 21 points and 13 assists, and the Lakers roared away in the final minutes for a 124-112 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night to claim a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals. Ron Artest scored 18 points for the Lakers, who won their eighth straight playoff game and moved within strik- ing distance of a tantalizing NBA finals showdown with the Boston Celtics, who lead Orlando 2-0 in the East. For the second straight game, the chants rained down from the Staples Center crowd in the final minutes: ‘‘We want Boston!’’ The Lakers remained unbeaten at home in the postseason despite a much-improved effort from the Suns, who lost the opener by 21 points. Phoenix tied it at 90-all heading to the final period of Game 2, but Gasol and Bryant flawlessly led the Lakers to another high-scoring victory. ‘‘We’ve been able to play both styles of basketball,’’ Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. ‘‘We like to control the pace, but we feel comfortable if it’s an accelerated pace.’’ The Lakers certainly seem to be accelerating the Suns’ exit from the playoffs after hitting better than 57 per- cent of their shots and scoring a jaw- dropping 252 points in the first two games. Game 3 is Sunday night in Phoenix. But unless the Suns figure out a way to stop Los Angeles’ versatile, poised offense, Beantown and Hollywood could be just a few days away from another chapter in their storied rivalry. ‘‘We can’t slow them down,’’ Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said. ‘‘I thought we played well offensively, but every time we tried to make an adjust- ment to slow them down offensively, they would go somewhere else. There’s a good reason they’re the world champs, but we’ll keep plugging away, keep trying.’’ The Lakers have lost only one best- of-seven playoff series in franchise his- tory after taking a 2-0 lead, winning the other 41. The 15-time champions haven’t won eight straight games in the same postseason since their famous one-loss run through the 2001 playoffs. The crowd enthusiastically booed Amare Stoudemire, who on Tuesday belittled Lamar Odom’s 19-point, 19- rebound performance in the opener as ‘‘a lucky game.’’ Stoudemire appeared determined to back up his words with aggression, finishing with 18 points and six rebounds while Odom had 17 points and 11 boards in another superb game off the bench. Grant Hill scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter while Phoenix erased a 14-point deficit, playing with more efficiency and aggression than in Game 1. But the Lakers went back ahead by 11 midway through the fourth with a 9-0 run, and the Suns couldn’t stop Bryant and Gasol from executing their two-man game to per- fection. Bryant set up Gasol for two tough baskets in the final minutes, with Gasol scoring with a flourish and drawing a foul each time. After scoring 40 points in 35 minutes in the series opener, Bryant embraced being a creator, repeatedly finding his teammates out of double teams while setting a career high for assists in a playoff game. Jason Richardson scored 27 points for Phoenix, and Steve Nash had 11 points and 15 assists. Jared Dudley hit five 3-pointers. Los Angeles led 65-56 at halftime, hitting better than 57 percent of its shots after making 58 percent in Game 1. Bryant had 11 points and nine assists, repeatedly making the Suns pay for double teams. But the Suns roared back in the third, hitting 14 of 22 shots with Hill’s 14 points and 12 from Richardson, who thrived against Artest’s defense. Lakers center Andrew Bynum appeared to be moving more fluidly, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first half — more than he managed in the previous three games combined, when his injured right knee began hindering him. NOTES: Suns reserve Leandro Bar- bosa had blood on the back of his head after falling into the first row of cam- eras when his shot was blocked early in the fourth quarter. ... The Suns had more 3-pointers in the first half (6) than they managed in all of Game 1 (5). ... Before the game, Jackson said he had discussed taking a pay cut to return to the Lakers next season. Jackson is making about $12 million this season, and the 10-time champion coach hasn’t said whether he’ll return in the fall. ... Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Danny DeVito, Hilary Swank, David Spade, Anthony Anderson, Rob McElhenney, Eliza Dushku and former Lakers star Rick Fox were among the celebrities at the game. Scoreboard MLB West Division Texas A’s American League WL Pct GB 23 18 .561 — 20 20 .500 2.5 Angels 19 23 .452 4.5 Seattle 14 25 .359 8 East Division WL Pct GB Tampa Bay 29 11 .725 — New York 25 15 .625 4 Toronto 24 17 .585 5.5 Boston 21 20 .512 8.5 Baltimore 13 28 .317 16.5 Central Division Minnesota 24 16 .600 — Detroit WL Pct GB 22 17 .564 1.5 Chicago 16 23 .410 7.5 Cleveland 15 23 .395 8 Kansas City 16 25 .390 8.5 ——— Wednesday’s results Detroit at Oakland, late Boston 3, Minnesota 2 Kansas City 8, Cleveland 4 Los Angeles 3, Chicago 2 Tampa Bay 10, New York 6 Texas 4, Baltimore 3 Toronto at Seattle, late Today’s games Detroit (Bonderman 1-2) at Oakland (T.Ross 1-1), 12:35 p.m. Kansas City (Hochevar 3-2) at Cleveland (Talbot 5-2), 9:05 a.m. Toronto (R.Romero 4-1) at Seattle (J.Vargas 3-2), 12:40 p.m. Tampa Bay (J.Shields 4-1) at New York (Pettitte 5-0), 4:05 p.m., MLB Minnesota (Liriano 4-2) at Boston (Lester 3-2), 4:10 p.m. Baltimore (Matusz 2-3) at Texas (Feldman 1-4), 5:05 p.m. Los Angeles (E.Santana 2-3) at Chicago (Peavy 3-2), 5:10 p.m. Tuesday’s late result Oakland 6, Seattle 5, 10 innings West Division National League WL Pct GB Padres 23 16 .590 — GIANTS 22 16 .579 .5 Dodgers 22 17 .564 1 Colorado 19 21 .475 4.5 Arizona 16 24 .400 7.5 East Division WL Pct GB Philadelphia 24 15 .615 — Florida 22 19 .537 3 Washington 21 20 .512 4 Atlanta 20 20 .500 4.5 New York 19 22 .463 6 Central Division WL Pct GB Cincinnati 23 17 .575 — St. Louis 23 18 .561 .5 Chicago 19 22 .463 4.5 Pittsburgh 18 22 .450 5 Milwaukee 15 25 .375 8 Houston 14 26 .350 9 ——— Wednesday’s results San Francisco at Arizona, late Atlanta 5, Cincinnati 4 Chicago 4, Philadelphia 1 Florida 5, St. Louis 1 Houston 7, Colorado 3 Pittsburgh 6, Milwaukee 4 Washington 5, New York 3 San Diego at Los Angeles, late Today’s game Today’s games San Francisco (Lincecum 5-0) at Arizona (R.Lopez 2-2),6:40 p.m.,CSNBA Chicago (Dempster 2-4) at Philadelphia (Blanton 1-2), 10:05 a.m., WGN Cincinnati (Leake 4-0) at Atlanta (Hanson 3-3), 10:05 a.m., MLB Florida (N.Robertson 4-3) at St. Louis (Wainwright 5-2), 10:40 a.m. Milwaukee (Narveson 3-1) at Pittsburgh (Maholm 3-3), 4:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Maine 1-3) at Washington (Atilano 3-0), 4:05 p.m. Colorado (Jimenez 7-1) at Houston (Oswalt 2-5), 5:05 p.m. San Diego (Correia 4-3) at Los Angeles (Kershaw 3-2), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday’s late results San Francisco 7, San Diego 6, 12 innings Los Angeles 7, Houston 3 NBA Conference Finals Best-of-7 Wednesday’s result L.A. Lakers 124, Phoenix 112 L.A. Lakers lead series 2-0 Other series Boston leads Orlando 2-0 NHL Conference Finals Best-of-7 Galaxy Philadelphia at Montreal, VERSUS Philadelphia leads series 2-0 Other series Chicago leads San Jose 2-0 MLS WESTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA 7 0 2 23 15 2 Salt Lake 4 3 1 13 15 9 QUAKES 42 1 13 11 7 Houston 4 4 1 13 12 10 Colorado 4 3 1 13 9 7 Seattle 3 3 3 12 9 12 FC Dallas 2 1 5 11 10 9 Chivas USA 3 5 1 10 10 12 EASTERN CONFERENCE WL T Pts GF GA New York 5 3 0 15 8 9 Columbus 4 0 2 14 10 5 Toronto FC 3 4 1 10 11 13 Chicago 2 3 3 9 11 12 Kansas City 2 3 2 8 8 8 New England 2 5 2 8 10 14 Philadelphia 1 5 1 4 7 15 D.C. ——— Today’s games Columbus at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN2 Los Angeles at FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. DEALS Major League Baseball 1 7 0 3 4 16 NOTE: Three points for victory, one point for tie. American League BOSTON—Placed RHP Josh Beckett on the 15-day DL.Selected the contract of RHP Joe Nelson from Pawtucket (IL). CLEVELAND—Placed OF Grady Sizemore on the 15-day DL. Recalled OF/1B Shelley Duncan from Columbus (IL). MINNESOTA—Recalled RHP Jeff Manship from Rochester (IL). Optioned INF Matt Tol- bert to Rochester. SEATTLE—Reinstated OF Milton Bradley from the restricted list. Optioned RHP Sean White to Tacoma (PCL).Transferred LHP Erik Bedard from the 15- to the 60-day DL. TORONTO—Granted 1B Randy Ruiz his release and announced he has signed with Rakuten (Japan). Recalled OF Jeremy Reed from Las Vegas (PCL). National League ARIZONA—Recalled OF Gerardo Parra from Reno (PCL). Optioned OF Cole Gille- spie to Reno. CHICAGO—Recalled RHP Jeff Stevens from Iowa (PCL). Placed RHP Esmailin Cari- dad on the 15-day DL. FLORIDA—Placed RHP Chris Leroux on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 18. Recalled RHP Tim Wood from New Orleans (PCL). HOUSTON—Waived INF Kazuo Matsui.Pur- chased the contract of INF Oswaldo Navarro from Round Rock (PCL). NEW YORK—Placed LHP Jonathon Niese on the 15-day DL, retroactive to May 17. Selected the contract of RHP R.A. Dickey from Buffalo (IL). Golden League CALGARY—Agreed to terms with LHP Brant Stickel. ORANGE COUNTY—Acquired the rights to OF Sergio Pedroza from Victoria. National Basketball Association NEW JERSEY—Announced the contract of general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will not be renewed. American Basketball Association ABA—Granted an expansion team to Lafayette, La., nicknamed United, to begin play in the 2010-2011 season. National Hockey League ATLANTA—Signed G Edward Pasquale and G Chris Carrozzi. NEW JERSEY—Signed D Eric Gelinas and D Dan Kelly. OTTAWA—Re-signed F Ryan Keller to a one-year contract. ST. LOUIS—Re-signed F Adam Cracknell. National Football League CHICAGO—Signed S Danieal Manning to a one-year contract. DENVER—Announced the retirement of G Matt McChesney. SEATTLE—Released TE Patrick Devenny and WR Victor James. Signed TE Michael Allan and QB J.P. Losman. Motorsports NASCAR—Placed driver Clint Bowyer on probation until June 16 for aggressive driving. Tennis ITF—Banned Wayne Odesnik for two years for possessing a prohibited substance without a therapeutic use exemption. College BYU—Denied a request by RB Harvey Unga to be readmitted for the fall semester. IOWA STATE—Dismissed OT Scott Houghton from the football team for violating team rules. MINNESOTA—Announced men’s basketball G Justin Cobbs will transfer. UNC GREENSBORO—Named Wes Miller men’s assistant basketball coach. extending his contract through 2011, giving him a $4.5 million deal for that season on top of the $3.14 million he is owed this season. Campbell was thrown right into the mix at the team’s mandatory minicamp the week after the draft and said he felt much more comfortable this week after having more time to study the offense. ‘‘My main thing right now is just getting a feel for the whole offense, the offensive linemen, what are their set points and receivers, what routes they run the best,’’ he said. ‘‘Each guy you’re trying to get a feel for. It takes time, it takes a lot of work, but I’m definitely excited about what I’m seeing.’’ Cable said he saw a big difference in Campbell from the minicamp 2 1/2 weeks ago and likes the way his new quarterback is progressing. Cable is not ready to name a starter from a group that includes Campbell, Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye and Kyle Boller, saying those decisions will be made in training camp. Gradkowski is missing the offseason workouts after tearing a pectoral muscle while lifting weights last month. Gradkowski underwent surgery and is expected to be healthy for the start of training camp. Once there, he will try to win back the job he got after Russell was benched midway through last sea- son. Gradkowski provided an immediate spark, lead- ing comeback wins over Cincinnati and Pittsburgh before being sidelined by a knee injury. Instead of being rewarded with the starting job, Gradkowski once again will have to compete for it. He said he understood the move and that the com- petition will only be beneficial to the team. ‘‘That’s what we’re looking forward to,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m just looking forward to getting back and com- peting and knowing the games we had last year, we were fired up and we did some really good things last year. I’m excited to build on that and start out from the beginning.’’ NOTES: Cable said the team has had no talks about adding free agent WR Terrell Owens. ... WR Chaz Schilens will likely be held out until training camp as he recovers from a left foot injury that sidelined him for eight games last season. ... DE Matt Shaughnessy was out with a strained ham- string. ... Cable said there was nothing new to report on contract talks with DE Richard Seymour, who was designated as the team’s franchise player.