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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2003)
May 21. 2003 (Tljr ^ïortlanù ©bacrüer Page BS S ports Hopes High for NBA Draft Thursday Dallas Keeps Finding Ways to Win (AP) — Everyone wants LeBron James, the pro jected No. I pick in the NBA draft. There’s only one team and city that desperately need him. And that 'sCleveland, just a 40-minute drive from his Akron home. "The last time LeBron was here, we had a 1 1/2-hour waiting list,” said waitress Cindy Grindstaff, crossing her fingers before carrying away a tray o f drinks at a steak house across the street from Gund Arena. “We need LeBron," she said. This week, almost everyone in Cleveland is saying or thinking the same thing. On Thursday, the Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets - who tied for the league’s worst record - will have the most chances (225 o f 1,000) in the NBA draft lottery, where the top prize this year is the right to draft James, the hyped high school hoops star from nearby Akron. Any o f the 13 teams in this year's lottery would love to have James, the 18-year-old who probably would have been the No. 1 overall pick a year ago, too. The Cavaliers covet him. The 6-foot-8 James could immediately help Cleve land, possibly as the point guard they didn’t have last season when they went 17-65. James would help fill the Gund, which drew an average o f just 11,497 fans this season - the league’s lowest figure and a drop o f nearly 4,000 per game from last season. The team w on’t disclose its season ticket base, but it has dropped significantly in recent years. The hometown kid would bring the franchise some much-needed national attention. The Cavaliers have not played on network TV in three years, and the exposure, plus having James, could help the club sign free agents who have been turned off by the city’s rough winters and the team ’s rougher records the past few years. James, who will soon sign a multimillion dollar en- Mavericks take early lead in Western finals 15 LeBron J a m e s so a rs u n d er th e b a s k e t. The high sc h o o l se n io r is e x p e c te d to b e th e No. 1 pick in T hursday's NBA draft. (AP photo) dorsement deal with Nike, Adidas or Reebok, also could provide a shot in the arm for Cleveland’s economy. David G ilbert, president o f the G reater C leve land Sports C om m ission, w hich w orks to attract m ajor sports events to the city, said Jam es' influence on the business vitality m ight be d if ficult to quantify. if even bright things get you down. Happy 1st B-Day Javlen McDonald Love Your Family Wally Tesfa I Residential & Commercial Realtor (A P )— The Dallas Mavericks missed their first free throw and made their final 49. Yep, 49 in a row. That superb free throw shooting - along with a few defensive gim micks from Don N elson’s book o f tricks - was how the Mavericks pulled ofl'a stunning comeback and beat the San Antonio Spurs 113- 110 Monday night in Game 1 o f the Western Conference finals. The Mavericks closed the game with a 24-9 run after falling behind by as many as 18 points and trailing nearly the entire game. Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 38 points, going 17-for-17 from the line, and Michael Finley was 1O-for- 10 at the stripe while scoring 26. Nick Van Exel was 7-for-7 at the line for 14 points, and Steve Nash was 6-for-6 and scored 22. NBA playofifhistory includes 10 games in which a team made all o f its free throws, with the best o f the bunch a 28-for-28 performance by Phoenix in 1989. That makes what Dallas did even more impressive, given that they were O-for-1 from the line after Eduardo Najera missed the first one with 2:25 left in the first quarter. That was the same first quarter in which this game looked totally dif ferent from the way it ended. Tim Duncan was nearly unstoppable, Dallas was frustrated, and it looked as though the Spurs might turn it into a runaway. T he three-h o u r, one-m inute Dallas M avericks g uard S te v e N a sh drives th e ball around S a n Antonio S p u rs g u a rd Tony Parker in th e first h a lf o f g a m e 1 o f th e W estern C on feren ce finals in S a n Antonio, Monday. Dallas won, 1 1 3 -1 1 0 . (AP photo) game sure didn’t turn out that way. After Dallas fell behind 101-87 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the Mavs made theircomeback, Finley ended it by driving around his defender and scoring on a floater over Duncan for a 111-110 lead with 14 seconds left. Duncan shot an airball from in close while being double-teamed, and Nowitzki made two free throws with 4 seconds left for a three-point lead. The Mavericks wouldn’t allow the Spurs to attempt a tying 3- pointer, choosing instead to foul Cheeks (A P )— Trail Blazers coach Maurice C heeks has reportedly met w ith Bos- ÌY f o o t c lon C cltics 8eneral m anager Chris W allace to discuss (be B lazers’ GM opening. According to The Oregonian, the two met in Los Angeles Monday night. v J 1 ▼ 1 candidate FREE L o n s join our depression research study Have you or someone you care about been experiencing some or all o f the following symptoms for at least a few months? 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