Marbury Turns Cold Shoulder
Minnesota Timberwolves’ management suffered some anxious moments wondering about the impact of Stephon Marbury’s comments on life in Minneapolis after they were published in Sports Illustrated.
Among the remarks made by the New York native:
Referring to his two-week stay in Minneapolis practicing for the 1994 U.S. Junior World Games team: “I hated Minnesota, and that was in the summer. It was culture shock. By the time we were done, I couldn’t wait to go to Argentina.”
About money (his contract is up after next season): “People are talking about me taking less money for the good of the franchise. I’m not taking less money for anybody. This is a business.”
On living in the land of 10,000 lakes: “People know Minnesota isn’t the greatest place for me. I’ll never say I like living in Minnesota. No one likes living in 20-degree weather all the time.”
On being in New York: “Before the game (Dec. 11 at Madison Square Garden), I was stretching in the middle of the floor and caught myself looking down at the logo. I felt like I was playing at home, where I belonged. Then I had to smack myself upside the head and get back to reality.”
The tone of the story suggested that Marbury doesn’t want to stay with the T-Wolves beyond next season - his third in the NBA. After Wednesday’s home loss to Phoenix, Marbury spent more than 20 minutes disputing the intent of his comments, saying he was “misrepresented.”
“I would never tell anyone that I hate Minnesota. … I was only expressing my feelings about living here,” he said. “That article was not intended to let people know about me staying or leaving.”
Marbury, who left Georgia Tech after his freshman season, has had difficulty adjusting to the Twin Cities.
On the courts
Jeff Hornacek scored 23 points and John Stockton had 22 points and 12 assists as the Utah Jazz won their seventh straight game Monday in Salt Lake City, 106-99 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett scored 21 points and Cherokee Parks had 11 points in the game’s last 15:48 to help the Minnesota Timberwolves rally for a 103-87 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Minnesota is three games over .500 for only the third time in team history.
At Sacramento, Calif., Mitch Richmond scored 14 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and made a big defensive play as the Kings rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 96-90.
With the Kings clinging to a 90-86 lead, Richmond blocked Rex Chapman’s 3-point attempt, retrieved the ball and passed to Tariq Abdul-Wahad for a dunk that put Sacramento ahead 92-86 with 29 seconds left.