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Stoudamire Done For Season With Knee Injury
Guard Damon Stoudamire ruptured his right patella tendon and left the court on a stretcher in the Memphis Grizzlies' 93-90 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. "We just lost a big, big part of the heart of this team by losing Damon," said coach Mike Fratello. The 32-year-old Stoudamire will undergo surgery pending an examination by team doctors in Memphis and will likely miss the rest of the season, said team spokeswoman Stacey Mitch. "It's really painful for the team to lose Damon," said Pau Gasol. "He's been a great leader for us and we'll miss his great finishes down the stretch." Stoudamire, who was originally said to have sprained his knee, ruptured the tendon while driving to the hoop in the second quarter. "I had a layup, but when I went up it felt like a sniper shot me," he said. "It was just a feeling I've never had." Stoudamire, who played more than seven seasons for the Blazers, was making his first appearance in his hometown after leaving to sign a four-year deal with Memphis in the offseason. He lay motionless with his head buried in his arm for a few minutes until being wheeled off the court. "What's crazy is that when I went from the court to the Blazer locker room, I cried. And I cried upstairs," Stoudamire said. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Damon Stoudamire Injures Knee, Carried Off Court
Stoudamire suffered a sprained right knee, said Grizzlies spokeswoman Stacey Mitch, and was being further evaluated at the Rebound Clinic in the Rose Garden Arena. Stoudamire, a Portland native who played more than seven seasons for the Blazers, slipped while driving to the hoop with just with 4:02 left in the half and Memphis leading 45-35. He landed on his back side, staying motionless with his head buried in his arm for few minutes until being taken off the court. Stoudamire, who signed a four-year deal with Memphis in the offseason, had four points, six rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Bloodied Kobe Scores 45; Grizzlies Win In OT
After Damon Stoudamire's pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of regulation drew Memphis even, the Grizzlies outscored Los Angeles 10-2 to begin the extra period, then held on for a wild 100-99 victory Wednesday night. The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, who scored 45 points on 13-of-37 shooting, missed a layup in the waning seconds, teammate Chris Mihm's putback rolled off the rim, and both teams were scrambling for the loose ball at the final buzzer. The victory was only the Grizzlies' second in the 20 games they've played on the Lakers' court. Bryant, gashed over his left eye in the second quarter when Miller pushed him in the face with his hand while driving, had three stitches to close the cut. Bryant was called for a flagrant foul with 8:24 to play for elbowing Miller in the face as Miller drove again. "Any player that was going to come down the lane at that point in time, I was going to let him know that he just can't walk through there," Bryant said. "I think we as a team have to do a better job of establishing that. And me, as a leader of the ballclub, I've got to take the initiative to do that -- and hopefully, everybody will see that. "This being our home court, people come here and think it's Hollywood and all sorts of stuff, so they think they'll come down [the lane] and look pretty and shoot jump shots and dunk the ball and finger-roll the ball and do all sorts of cute stuff. And we've got to stop that." Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Grizzlies Dec 2005 Archive
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The Memphis Grizzlies' big victory was dampened by an even bigger loss.
The Grizzlies never led the Lakers -- until the overtime.