Kidd Asks Forgiveness in Return to Home Court

Jason Kidd gave the Phoenix Sun fans what they’d come to expect from him on the court, then asked them for forgiveness.

In his first home game since his arrest Jan. 18 on a charge of striking his wife, Kidd had 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds Wednesday night in a 101-92 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies at Phoenix.

Afterward, he asked to appear on the Suns’ postgame radio show on the America West Arena court.

“The biggest thing I want to ask from the fans is your forgiveness, for you to forgive me,” he said to applause from the remaining fans.

“I promise you one thing,” he said. “That will never happen again.”

Cheers drowned out scattered boos when Kidd was introduced in the starting lineup before the game.

The cheers got louder when Kidd made a slick pass to Rodney Rogers for an inside basket that gave Phoenix an 89-87 lead with 4:10 to play. Kidd followed with a layup through traffic, then got another assist to Shawn Marion, whose 17-foot shot made the score 93-87 with 3:02 remaining.

After Michael Dickerson’s 22-foot shot made the score 93-91 with two minutes to go, Kidd got his 10th assist on Cliff Robinson’s jumper, and Phoenix was up, 95-91 with 1:50 to play.

Milwaukee 116, Denver 111--Ray Allen scored 32 points at Milwaukee as the Bucks gave Coach George Karl his 600th victory.

“I’ve coached a lot of good players,” said Karl, the 17th coach in NBA history to win 600 games. “You can’t win that many games without great players.”

Atlanta 102, Toronto 97--Dikembe Mutombo had a season-high 29 rebounds and scored 21 points to lead the Hawks at Atlanta.

Detroit 112, New Jersey 103--Jerry Stackhouse had an unusual triple-double--30 points, 10 assists and 10 turnovers--in leading the Pistons at East Rutherford, N.J.

Orlando 100, Washington 96--Pat Garrity made a three-point shot, and Darrell Armstrong forced a turnover and made a layup in the final minute at Washington as the Magic ended the Wizards’ five-game winning streak.

Boston 102, Indiana 96--Antoine Walker scored 22 points at Indianapolis as the Celtics extended their winning streak to a season-best four games.

Around the League

Center Hakeem Olajuwon, who has asked the Houston Rockets to trade or release him, said he would like to play with the Miami Heat this season. “That’s my goal,” Olajuwon told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel before Tuesday night’s game against Miami. “It’s supposed to be confidential, but the idea is to play there.” Olajuwon said he has not spoken to anyone in the Heat organization. . . . New York Knick forward Latrell Sprewell and Atlanta Hawk center Dikembe Mutombo were named to the Eastern Conference All-Star squad as replacements for Heat center Alonzo Mourning and Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced. . . . Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas of the Cleveland Cavaliers, whose promising career has been slowed by serious foot injuries, will have season-ending surgery next week on his broken left foot. . . . Former Boston Celtic coach M.L. Carr has left the team after more than three years as executive vice president of corporate development. . . . Hall of Famer Nate “Tiny” Archibald was appointed coach of the National Basketball Development League team in Fayetteville, N.C.