Post by RockawayHoya on Mar 3, 2007 9:00:20 GMT -5
DENVER -- With ice wrapped around both knees and a towel draped around his neck, an exhausted Dikembe Mutombo felt his age.
Earlier, though, he didn't.
"The old man can still rebound," Mutombo said after becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record over 20 rebounds in a game, finishing with 22 boards in the Houston Rockets' 108-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 22 rebounds for Denver Friday night. Mutombo is the oldest player in NBA history to grab 20-or-more rebounds in a game. The previous "record" was held by Hakeem Olajuwon, who grabbed 20 rebounds in a game in November 2001, about two months shy of his 39th birthday.
Mutombo, who will turn 41 in June, is the first player to reach 20 rebounds in a game past the age of 40.
"They had all these young guys around me," he said. "I still got to the ball."
Denver's Allen Iverson found the stat hard to believe -- not that Mutombo grabbed 22 boards but that he's as old as he is.
"He's 40?" laughed Iverson, who had 19 points. "Man, he's doing great. What can you say about him? They lose a great player like Yao Ming [to a fractured tibia], and have a great backup center like that. You talk about him being 40 years old, he's got many more years to play."
sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270302007
Earlier, though, he didn't.
"The old man can still rebound," Mutombo said after becoming the oldest player in NBA history to record over 20 rebounds in a game, finishing with 22 boards in the Houston Rockets' 108-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 22 rebounds for Denver Friday night. Mutombo is the oldest player in NBA history to grab 20-or-more rebounds in a game. The previous "record" was held by Hakeem Olajuwon, who grabbed 20 rebounds in a game in November 2001, about two months shy of his 39th birthday.
Mutombo, who will turn 41 in June, is the first player to reach 20 rebounds in a game past the age of 40.
"They had all these young guys around me," he said. "I still got to the ball."
Denver's Allen Iverson found the stat hard to believe -- not that Mutombo grabbed 22 boards but that he's as old as he is.
"He's 40?" laughed Iverson, who had 19 points. "Man, he's doing great. What can you say about him? They lose a great player like Yao Ming [to a fractured tibia], and have a great backup center like that. You talk about him being 40 years old, he's got many more years to play."
sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=270302007
