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Inactive, but paying attention
Boston Celtics guard Gabe Pruitt, who played in just 15 games in the regular season and none so far in the playoffs, said he’s trying to pick up anything he can from the experience so he’ll be ready if called upon.
“I’m just learning a lot,” he said before Game 6 of the NBA finals. “I’m fortunate to be on a team that’s one game away from a world championship.”
Pruitt, a second-round draft choice in his first year in the league, scored 32 points in 95 minutes this season. He also played in the developmental league.
“It’s hard to sit here and not play, but I realize I need to wait my turn,” he said. “There are a lot of older guys ahead of me.”
Tall, and to the point
Lakers coach Phil Jackson stopped by the interview room for the obligatory pregame media availability.
And he didn’t dally.
Asked just three questions, Jackson stuck around for about two minutes before splitting. He gave little insight.
Asked about the Celtics injuries, Jackson said he was more concerned about his team. Asked about his team, he alluded to hockey injury reports that are notoriously uninformative, with descriptions like “upper body.”
“Upper body is good,” Jackson said. “Legs are sustaining.”
End of interview.
Bank shots
Sunday’s Game 5 in Los Angeles drew a 12.1 overnight rating, the highest overnight rating in prime time on network television since the May 21 season finale of American Idol. That was 42 percent higher than the 8.5 overnight rating the U.S. Open drew from 3 p.m.-9 p.m. ... Paul Pierce (Games 1 and 4) and Kobe Bryant (Games 3 and 5) were both voted the NBA finals player of the game, presented by T-Mobile, twice in the series. Fans voted for their choice, either by text message or on NBA.com, starting in the second half. Kevin Garnett won for the Game 6 clincher and the Celtics’ Leon Powe was the other winner, after Game 2.
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