Bryant and Ford garner NBA weekly honors (Agencies) Updated: 2005-11-08 08:53 Los Angeles guard Kobe Bryant and Milwaukee Bucks
guard T.J. Ford were named the NBA's top players for the week ending November
6th.
Bryant earned the award for the Western Conference for leading the Lakers to
a 2-1 start while averaging 36.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.7 assists a game.
He has been reunited with coach Phil Jackson after the two split when they were
defeated in the 2003-04 NBA Finals by the Detroit Pistons.
The 27-year-old had 33 points, including the game-winner with less than one
second left in overtime, in a 99-97 season-opening victory over the Denver
Nuggets on Wednesday. Bryant notched 39 points in a 122-112 loss to Phoenix on
Thursday. His 37 points, eight rebounds, and five assists helped lead the Lakers
past the Nuggets, 112-92, in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Ford got the honor for the Eastern Conference by leading the Bucks to their
first 3-0 start since the 2001-02 season. He averaged 16.7 points, 10.3 assists
and 5.7 rebounds in the three games. The 22-year-old missed the entire 2004-05
season after he bruised his spinal cord in a accident during a game against
Minnesota on February 24, 2004, and had cervical spine surgery nearly three
months later.
Ford began his outstanding week by just missing a
triple-double with 16 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds in a 117-108
overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers to start the season. He scored 21
points in a 110-96 win at New Jersey on Wednesday and netted 13 points and 11
assists as the Bucks won their home opener against the Miami Heat, 105-100, on
Saturday.
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