Charles Henderlite

Not that 23 points in a game can be considered a scoring slump, but for Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant , it could easily qualify as one. After five consecutive games of at least 40 points, four of which were 50 point games, the Memphis Grizzlies “held” Bryant to only 23 points. An impressive defensive effort for the Grizzlies considering they gave up 65 points to Bryant less than a week ago.

During the scoring spree Bryant had games of 65, 50, 60, 50 and 43 points. The Lakers were 5-0 during this stretch and currently hold the sixth spot in the Western Conference playoff race. The Lakers have 11 games remaining until the playoffs. The Grizzlies currently have the worst record in the league and are headed for the Lottery.

Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest is in trouble with the law again. It seems as though this guy can’t stay out of trouble. Artest was arrested Monday for domestic violence after a woman said he shoved her to the floor inside his home and prevented her from calling 911, a felony.

Artest has been excused indefinitely from the team. Although he is excused from the team he is not considered to be suspended, therefore, he will continue to be paid.

For those that remember the 2004-2005 season, Artest was at the center of a brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans. Artest was suspended for 73 games and the playoffs for his role in the brawl.

This latest incident with Artest only adds to the Kings woes who are suffering through a dismal 27-32 season thus far. In the highly competitive Western Conference the Kings are almost assured of missing the playoffs this year.

Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is expected to return tonight against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ming has been out since he broke his right leg on Dec. 23. This will be a big boost for the Rockets going into the final 23 games of the season. The Rockets were 20-12 in Ming’s absence and currently hold the fifth spot in the Western Conference.

Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade has announced that he will delay surgery and rehabilitate his dislocated left shoulder with the goal of returning for the playoffs. Wade was hurt Feb. 21 at Houston.

Los Angeles Clippers guard Shaun Livingston will miss the remainder of this season, and potentially all of next season following a gruesome landing during a fast break lay-up against the Charlotte Bobcats Feb. 26. Livingston suffered tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) , posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) , medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral meniscus in his left knee. He also suffered a patella dislocation. Hopefully this injury is not career-ending; it would be a shame for the NBA to lose such a great young player.

In a weekend packed full of stars, none shined brighter than Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant . Bryant won the All-Star game’s MVP honors after putting up 31 points in a 153-132 victory by the Western conference.

The main event was never quite the contest it was hyped up to be. The West led by as many as 33 points before the East put up any serious competition, but by then it was too late. Phoenix’s Amare Stoudemire had 29 points for the West and the high scorer for the East was the Cavalier’s LeBron James with 28 points.

In other weekend events, Boston’s Gerald Green won the slam dunk competition and Miami’s Jason Kapono took the 3-point crown with a record-tying final round of 24. Miami’s Dwayne Wade won the skills challenge after posting a time of 26.4 seconds which easily beat Kobe Bryant’s time of 45.8 seconds. The sophomore’s won the Rookie challenge 155-114 with New York Knicks forward David Lee being named the game’s MVP with 30 points. And in the match-up of the weekend Charles Barkley beat Dick Bavetta to win the Race for Charity competition. This was a classic race between Barkley, 44, and Bavetta, 67. Barkley ended up running the final half-length of the court backwards to show up the NBA referee.

The Boston Celtics finally snapped their franchise-record 18-game losing streak on Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks . The previous franchise mark for futility was 13 games. The 117-97 win is the Celtics first victory since Jan. 5.

With the victory the Celtics avoided inching closer to the record the Cleveland Cavaliers would love to shed. The Cavs losing streak spanned two seasons (1981-82 and start of the 1982-83 season) and reached a pitiful 24 games.

Paul Pierce scored 32 points in only his third game back from an injury while Gerald Green chipped in 21.

It happens every year. Players chosen for the All-Star game mysteriously manage to get injured and alternate players are chosen to replace them. This year has turned out to be no different than the others. Seattle’s Ray Allen and Utah’s Mehmet Okur were chosen as injury replacements on Tuesday and Atlanta guard Joe Johnson was added today by NBA commissioner David Stern.

The selections come after Phoenix guard Steve Nash , Denver guard Allen Iverson and New Jersey guard Jason Kidd pulled out of the game due to injuries. While the injuries are legitimate, it will be a big disappointment for NBA fans hoping to see these three superstars participate in the event. Hopefully these players heal up and start the second half of the NBA season healthy and well rested.

The NBA announced the addition of Dallas Mavericks guard Josh Howard and Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to the Western Conference’s All-Star roster. It’s the first All-Star game for both players.

Anthony was snubbed for selection to the roster a couple of weeks ago even though he is the NBA’s leading scorer. For those that remember, Anthony was involved in a brawl with the New York Knicks back in December. The NBA responded by suspending Anthony for 15 games.

But should someone that missed such a large chunk of the first half of the season be allowed to play in the All-Star game? I guess you wouldn’t have to look any further than Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal . O’Neal missed all but 10 games of the first half and fans still voted him into the starting lineup for the Eastern Conference. Apparently a hurt Shaq is still better than the second best center in the East. But unless a rule is implemented that states a minimum game requirement in order to be eligible for the All-Star game, situations like this will continue to happen.

The All-Star game is scheduled for Feb. 18 in Las Vegas. It should be a great showcase of the NBA’s best talent.

The return of Miami Heat center Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t have come at a better time. The defending NBA champions have spent almost the entire season below the .500 mark following a 3-3 start. Now with O’Neal back in the lineup after recovering from knee surgery, the Heat are going for a season-high 5-game winning streak Wednesday night against a Boston Celtics team that is currently riding a 14-game losing streak.

The Heat currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. At 23-25 the Heat are only 6 games behind the Detroit Pistons for the East’s no. 1 seed, and 5 1/2 games behind Southeast division leader Washington. Not a bad situation for a team dealing with as many injuries as the Heat have had.

Last night’s match-up between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns saw the Suns entering the game riding a franchise record 17-game win streak, the longest such streak in the NBA in over a decade. The result of the game saw both streaks come to an end.

Up to this point Phoenix was the only team that had yet to suffer a loss in the New Year, but the ‘Wolves Kevin Garnett took it upon himself to remedy that situation. The Suns were unable to find an answer for Garnett down on the block, leading to Garnett finishing with a game high 44 points and 11 rebounds.

The loss was the only defeat the Suns suffered in the month of January. The 17-game win streak set a new franchise record for the Suns, easily breaking the previous mark of 15 the team set earlier this season. Phoenix has won 33 of their last 36 games after starting the season a dismal 0-4.