Irregular Heartbeat Sends Olajuwon Back To Hospital
Around the NBA
Hakeem Olajuwon checked into a hospital Sunday after the Houston Rockets center noticed an irregular heartbeat during halftime of a game for the second time in less than two weeks.
Team doctor James Muntz said the 33-year-old Olajuwon was in good condition at Houston’s Methodist Hospital, where he arrived about 10:30 a.m. Sunday after leaving the Rockets in Washington, D.C.
The abnormal rhythm, or arrhythmia, appears similar to an episode Olajuwon had 12 days before and once in 1991. Muntz said the 7-foot Olajuwon is otherwise in good health, and the arrhythmia does not mean he has a heart problem.
“He has a perfectly normal heart,” Muntz said. “We don’t think that arrhythmia is career-threatening. We don’t think it’s life-threatening.”
Olajuwon noticed the irregular heartbeat during halftime of the Rockets’ 103-99 victory over the Washington Bullets on Saturday night.
Trainers took his pulse and consulted with team doctors, who determined it was safe for Olajuwon to play in the second half, Muntz said. Olajuwon played 39 minutes in the game, scoring 34 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.
Rockets spokesman Tim Frank said the star center felt “a little funny” while returning to the team hotel from a post-game dinner.
“He went to lay down. We called our trainer, our trainer checked him out and team officials decided it was in the best interest to fly him back and get our own doctors to take a look at him,” Frank said.
Cardiologist Tony Pacifico, an arrhythmia specialist, said he would wait until today to see if the heart corrects its own rhythm. If not, doctors will shock it back into sync with a defibrillator.
The doctors said they still can’t tell if the arrhythmia is sporadic or chronic and are considering putting Olajuwon on a drug to help keep his heartbeat regular.
Knicks fans finally see what Childs can do
New York Knicks fans waited more than four months to see why their team signed point guard Chris Childs to a $23.4 million contract in July. Now Coach Jeff Van Gundy wants to make them wait at least a week more before they can see Childs fulltime in the Knicks’ starting lineup.
In the wake of Childs’ fabulous fourth quarter Saturday, Van Gundy maintained the Knicks may play four more games before he decides whether Childs or Charlie Ward is his starter.
Childs, who returned from a broken leg 13 days ago, started two games while Ward had a bruised left buttock. With both healthy Saturday, Van Gundy chose to start Ward. He ended the game, however, with Childs. The former New Jersey Net rallied the Knicks to a 41-point fourth quarter, ending their three-game losing streak.
The Knicks haven’t played a better quarter this season. With a group that included only one starter - Charles Oakley - Childs recorded seven of his nine assists in the fourth quarter and did not commit a turnover.
“Chris does a great job of bringing the ball up the court,” said John Starks, who scored 13 in the final quarter. “That’s the way basketball ought to be played.”
Pistons hold Kings to 66 points
The Detroit Pistons held the visiting Sacramento Kings to 16 points in each of the first three quarters and Grant Hill had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 95-66 victory Sunday night.
Hill, who played only 31 minutes, had nine points in a 21-2 run that helped the Pistons take a 31-16 lead after the first quarter.
The lead grew to 26 in the second quarter and 35 in the fourth quarter as the Pistons held the Kings to the second-lowest point total ever by a Detroit opponent.
Latrell Sprewell scored 28 points and Joe Smith had 10 points and 11 rebounds as Golden State defeated Portland 98-70 at San Jose, Calif.
The Trail Blazers shot a season-low 30 percent after shooting 52 percent over their previous four games. Portland also tied its season-low for points scored.