Fuente: © FIBA (Federación Internacional de Basket)
http://www.fiba.org/

FIBA: USA - Artest, Sara lead Pacers

/noticias.info/ INDIANAPOLIS (NBA) - Ron Artest, Sarunas Jasikevicius and the Indiana Pacers put an emphatic end to the Cleveland Cavaliers' nine-game winning streak.

Artest scored 11 of his 21 points in the first half and played stifling defence on LeBron James as the Pacers posted a 98-76 victory over the Cavaliers. Jasikevicius, the Lithuanian superstar who is in his first NBA year, had a season-high 17 points off the bench.

The 2004 Defensive Player of the Year, Artest held James, who is likely to play for Team USA at the FIBA World Championship 2006 in Japan, to just four points on one of nine shooting in the opening two quarters as Indiana took a 47-30 lead.

The NBA's third-leading scorer, James fared a little better in the second half and finished with 19, well below his season average.

"It was hard work out there tonight (against Artest)," said James, who made six of 20 shots.

"He's a great defender. I tried to use my quickness and get by him, but I missed a lot of shots I usually make. I should have attacked more, but the game was out of reach early because we couldn't make shots."

Indiana led, 25-15, after the first quarter and pulled away with a 14-5 run early in the second period. After Alan Henderson's follow shot drew Cleveland within 25-17 with 11 minutes left, Jermaine O'Neal answered with a basket and Jasikevicius and Stephen Jackson hit consecutive three-pointers to push the lead to 33-17.

O'Neal added a dunk and, after a free throw by James and a jumper by Larry Hughes, Artest capped the burst with a layup and two free throws to make it 39-22 with 5:09 remaining.

O'Neal contributed 15 for the Pacers, who have won three straight following a two-game losing streak.

Bryant gets hot late to lift LA

In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant struggled through a dismal first half before scoring 29 of his 34 points after the break as the Lakers rolled to a 108-96 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

After taking at least 34 shots in each of his last three games, Bryant was a bit more selective after a cold start in this one. He was two of seven from the floor in the opening two quarters and did not score in the second half until a three-pointer midway through the third, which gave Los Angeles a 58-57 lead.

Bryant, who finished 12 of 26, had a jumper with 3:10 left to push the lead to 68-64, converted a three-point play with 92 seconds to go and finished the quarter with a pair of three-pointers, including a 27-footer just before the buzzer.

The 27-year-old superstar was just two of 16 from three-point range entering the contest, but made four of five from the arc against the SuperSonics.

Seattle's French teenager Johan Petro started at center and played 11 minutes but did not score. notas_de_prensa_archivo