Basketball

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Blake Griffin soared over  an automobile and into a new stratosphere on Saturday with an  awe-inspiring performance to win the NBA’s slam dunk contest.

Former president of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Trevor Rose said yesterday that he was neither prepared nor willing to run for the presidential post at GABA’s AGM and elections held last Sunday.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, (Reuters) – The defending  champion Los Angeles Lakers were left embarrassed after their  worst loss of the season, a 109-89 thrashing by the Charlotte  Bobcats on Monday.

Plaisance Secondary School and Marian Academy Secondary School were the first two teams in winners’ row on the opening day of the United Insurance Inter-School Mashramani Basketball Competition.

The New Amsterdam Warriors convincingly defeated long time rivals, Rose Hall Panthers 77-35 as the Mashramani basketball tournament continued at the New Amsterdam basketball court on Saturday.

The Berbice Amateur Basketball Association (BABA) in collaboration with the Region 6 Mashramani Committee will be tipping off a Mashramani Basketball competition today in Berbice.

BOSTON, Reuters) – Point guard Rajon Rondo, the  NBA’s assist leader, turned into a scorer yesterday and paced the  Boston Celtics to a 91-80 triumph over their Eastern Conference  rivals, the Orlando Magic.

NEW ORLEANS, (Reuters) – All-Stars Kobe Bryant and Pau  Gasol combined to score 66 points and lead the twice defending  NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-95 win against the New  Orleans Hornets on Saturday.

CLEVELAND, (Reuters) – The Cleveland Cavaliers  plunged new depths when they set an NBA record for the most  consecutive losses in a single season at 24 after losing  111-105 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday.

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – New Jersey Nets head coach Avery Johnson has been fined $25,000  for improper conduct towards an official during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the NBA  said yesterday.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Antonio McDyess beat the  buzzer by tipping in Tim Duncan’s missed shot to lift the San  Antonio Spurs to an 89-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on  Thursday.

ORLANDO, Florida, Reuters) – LeBron James scored  an NBA season-high 51 points on Thursday as the Miami Heat  topped the Orlando Magic 104-100 and closed in on the Boston  Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference.

TORONTO, (Reuters) – The struggling Toronto Raptors  will be without forward Linas Kleiza for the remainder of the  season after he underwent surgery on his right knee, the NBA  team said yesterday.

OKLAHOMA CITY, (Reuters) – Kevin Durant continued his  prolific scoring streak with 43 points on Wednesday to lift the  Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-93 victory over the New Orleans  Hornets.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Kobe Bryant helped the  limping Lakers to a 114-106 win over the Houston Rockets in  overtime on Tuesday as the defending champions ground out the  win despite another sub-par performance.

MIAMI, (Reuters) – LeBron James added to his former  team’s misery by helping the Miami Heat to a 117-90 blowout win  over Cleveland on Monday, handing the reeling Cavaliers their  single-season record 21st straight loss.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Former Los Angeles Lakers  Hall of Famer Magic Johnson said yesterday he agreed with general manager Mitch Kupchak that the NBA champions might benefit from  making a deal to add energy to the team.

NEWARK, New Jersey, (Reuters) – The New Jersey  Nets gave a rude welcome to one time trade target Carmelo  Anthony on Monday, beating his Denver Nuggets 115-99 in his  first visit to New Jersey since the proposed deal broke down.

DALLAS, Texas, (Reuters) – The Dallas Mavericks  kicked off the Super Bowl week party by sending the Washington  Wizards to their 24th straight road loss with a 102-92 win on  Monday in front of the cheering Pittsburgh Steelers.

The newly-established Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) initiative has released the names of 23 junior players 21 years and under to commence training with the YBG Elite Programme.