Schrempf Lost At Least Five Games With Foot Injury
Around the NBA
The Seattle SuperSonics moved back into first place in the Pacific Division this month after the Los Angeles Lakers lost Shaquille O’Neal to a knee injury.
The Sonics will attempt to keep that standing without All-Star forward Detlef Schrempf for at least the next five games, starting with tonight’s nationally televised contest against the Miami Heat (5 p.m, TNT).
The Sonics on Thursday placed the 6-foot-10 Schrempf on the injured reserve list with a partial tear of the peroneal tendon of the right foot. The peroneal tendon is the longest of the three tendons that connect the calf to the foot.
Schrempf, the team’s most versatile player, ranking second in rebounds (6.7) and assists (4.5) and third in scoring (16.9), apparently suffered the injury sometime in the past two weeks, but said it got progressively worse the past two games.
The earliest Schrempf could return to action is a home game against Detroit on March 11.
Michael Jordan’s 3-point try rimmed out with 1 second left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held Chicago to season lows in points and field-goal shooting to beat the Bulls for the first time in two years, 73-70, Thursday in Cleveland.
Chicago fell off pace to repeat last season’s 72 wins. The Bulls, who had 50 wins in 56 games last season, fell to 49-7.
The Bulls made 25 of 76 shots from the field (.329), eclipsing their previous season low of .337 against Indiana in December.
In Landover, Md., Elden Campbell scored 38 points and Nick Van Exel added 31 points and 12 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Washington Bullets 122-107, averting their first three-game losing streak of the season.
The Lakers, who had lost four of five games, improved to 3-4 without Shaquille O’Neal, out with a hyperextended left knee.
Karl Malone scored 32 points, including eight straight in the final 2:42, to help the host Utah Jazz beat the Toronto Raptors 118-114.
Malone finished with a triple-double, the second of his career, with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, but the Jazz saw a 15-point fourth quarter lead nearly disappear. The Raptors came within 107-106 with 3:05 left, but Malone took control, scoring eight consecutive points.