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Shaq sits against Wizards with sore thigh
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-13 09:34
Shaquille O'Neal's bruised thigh kept him out of a playoff game for the first
time in his career. O'Neal was scratched about 20 minutes before the tip-off of
Thursday night's Game 3 between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards. The Heat
led the series 2-0.
Miami Heat's Shaquille O'
Neal, in street clothes, looks on during a timeout against the Washington
Wizards during the second quarter of game three in the second round of the
NBA Playoffs, Thursday, May 12, 2005, in Washington. [AP]
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The injury ended a streak of 164 consecutive playoff games for O'Neal, who
had never missed a postseason game — or a start — in 13 seasons with Orlando,
the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami.
O'Neal missed the last two games of the regular season with the same injury.
His movement was limited in the first-round series against New Jersey and in the
first two games against the Wizards.
"It's a medical decision, period," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It's never a
good thing if you have to have one of your best players out. That's never a
positive."
O'Neal scored 19 points in 26 minutes before fouling out in Game 1 on Sunday
and was obviously laboring when he scored 16 points in 37 minutes in Game 2 on
Tuesday. Through six postseason games, he has averaged 18 points, a career
playoff low, and 8.2 rebounds.
Alonzo Mourning was listed in the starting lineup in O'Neal's spot.
"I've been there when I want my body to do one thing and it does another,"
Mourning said. "So I sympathize with him, but we've got to move on."
O'Neal hasn't spoken with reporters since Saturday, but his wife, Shaunie,
offered a glimpse into his mind-set in an interview in Wednesday's Washington
Post.
"The other night he came home and said, 'You see me? I look like a bum. I'm a
bum, huh?' The last series against New Jersey, he kept calling me and saying, 'I
look slow, didn't I?' " Shaunie O'Neal told the paper.
O'Neal's absence is a fortuitous boost for the Wizards, who are without two
of their frontcourt players. Kwame Brown was suspended last week for the rest of
the playoffs, and Etan Thomas sat out Thursday's game with an abdominal
strain.
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