Post by kevinfelixlee on May 19, 2011 14:08:20 GMT 8
DALLAS — As diminutive point guard J.J. Barea keeps growing in popularity with the Dallas Mavericks, so grows his fan base.
He might have landed his biggest supporter yet after his 21 points in 16 minutes off the bench helped the Mavericks to a 121-112 victory Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder runescape power leveling to open the Western Conference finals.
"J.J. Barea has a great story, worked his butt off and now killing on the big stage," Los Angeles Lakers 7-0 center Andrew Bynum wrote via Twitter.
"Congrats you deserve it!"
He might have landed his biggest supporter yet after his 21 points in 16 minutes off the bench helped the Mavericks to a 121-112 victory Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder runescape gold to open the Western Conference finals.
"J.J. Barea has a great story, worked his butt off and now killing on the big stage," Los Angeles Lakers 7-0 center Andrew Bynum wrote via Twitter.
"Congrats you deserve it!"
It was Bynum who flattened Barea on a drive to the basket late in the finale of Dallas' sweep of the two-time defending champion Lakers. Bynum rs gold was ejected and later said he was embarrassed that Barea — generously listed as 6-0 by the NBA— kept getting to the basket for uncontested layups.
Barea did the same to the Thunder and will try again Thursday in Game 2 in Dallas (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).
"I think (Bynum is) just happy for me. That's good," said Barea, an undrafted point guard from Puerto Rico who signed with Dallas as a free agent in 2006. "He enjoys
The Thunder didn't, particularly when Barea ran the pick-and-roll with Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 48 points.
The Mavs made an average of 12 three-pointers against the Lakers, so the Thunder were reluctant to gamble off the two-man action and leave the shooters open.
"It's tough when you have a guy like Dirk setting it," Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant said of the 7-footer's screens. "You don't want to leave him totally wide open. And that's what Barea runescape money is really good at, finding the seams in the defense. They have shooters around him, as well. When he's penetrating, it's tough to stop."
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said Barea is "deceptively tall." Teammate Jason Terry said he's a "midget."
Barea is easy to overlook. He often goes unrecognized, though he has dated Zuleyka Rivera, who was Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Universe 2006.
"I think if his head would be normal size, he'd be 5-4," Nowitzki said Wednesday to laughter. "But his head is so big so it makes him about 5-9."
Even Barea's teammates have questioned his staying power. He played in 33 games as a rookie, averaging 2.4 points in 5.8 minutes.
"When I saw him the first time I thought, 'He's going to have a tough time because he's too small,' " Nowitzki said. "But he's got heart, man."
Terry, a 6-2 guard in his 12th season, found that out quickly, too.
"If you look at him, he's not the first guy runescape items you'll pick up at an open run at a park," Terry said. "I really didn't think he could do much, especially because I was taller and I had length. He looked slow to me. But he's able to get to where he wants on the floor."