Jordan ‘Mom’ Hoax Prompts Inquiry
The NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to find out who made a bogus telephone call to the Target Center claiming Michael Jordan’s mother had been hospitalized.
Jordan found out about the call at halftime of Tuesday night’s 99-95 loss to the Wolves, after he had scored 17 points to set an NBA record with his 788th consecutive game in double figures.
NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said Wednesday the league was working with the Wolves to investigate the call. Criminal charges are possible if the caller is identified.
Jordan was informed when he went to the locker room that someone claiming to be his brother Larry had called the arena’s command office to say his mother had been rushed to a hospital.
Jordan said he eventually determined the call was a hoax, but he missed the first 3:14 of the third quarter trying to make sure, and admitted he was shaken by the incident.
“It was one of those things that you don’t want to just let it fall by the wayside. Anything can happen,” Jordan said. “It turned out to be a hoax. Fortunately it was that. Those types of things you just have to grin and bear it, and move on.”
Jordan, who set the record for most consecutive double-figure scoring games, won the NBA player of the month for December.
Seattle coach George Karl, who led the SuperSonics to an 11-3 mark in December, won coach of the month. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan, who averaged 19.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.77 blocks, won rookie of the month.
Female refs ‘doing fine’
Neither Dee Kantner nor Violet Palmer welcomed the new-found fame.
“Hopefully,” Kantner said upon being named to the NBA officiating staff, “a lot of this attention will eventually go away.”
Two months into the season, NBA players and fans appear to have turned their attention away from the pioneering women, who became the first female officials to work regular-season games in any of the major U.S. professional sports leagues.
The “disappearance” of Kantner and Palmer is high praise.
“That’s the way we hoped it would be,” said Rod Thorn, the league’s vice president of basketball operations. “Because they have done a good job, a lot of the furor surrounding them has died down.”
Their reputations are softening even the most ardent skeptics.
“I guess it’s going all right,” Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said. “I haven’t heard of any problems.”
There have been moments worth watching. Kantner just smiled and walked away when Utah’s Karl Malone patted her on the backside after being whistled for a foul on Dec. 18.
But Charlotte Hornets coach Dave Cowens says, “Because it was different, we had to talk about it. They’re doing fine.”
More homecourt wizardry
In Washington, the Wizards wrapped up a perfect year in their new home Wednesday night with a 118-91 victory against the Toronto Raptors.
Tracy Murray and Chris Webber scored 22 points each as Washington shot 59.1 percent to improve to 8-0 at the MCI Center.
Free throws
Shaquille O’Neal, sidelined since Nov. 19 with a strained abdominal muscle, will return Friday night when the Los Angeles Lakers play the Atlanta Hawks… . Dallas Mavericks general manager Don Nelson has agreed to remain as coach through the 1999-2000 season. Nelson, who replaced Jim Cleamons as the team’s coach Dec. 4, said he will turn over the coaching duties to a new coach at the end of the 1999-2000 season to concentrate on his GM duties.