December 31, 200421 yr ESPN Research Dikembe Mutombo honored LeBron James with a surprise birthday bash in Wednesday's game in Cleveland. In his last game as a teenager -- James turned 20 Thursday -- he went 0-5 from the floor with three points and five assists in 17 minutes. Despite the minimal output, James has a comfortable lead as the teenager with the most points, rebounds, assists, and steals in NBA history. Then, James was accidentally elbowed in the face by Mutombo late in the first half. James underwent a CT scan Thursday that revealed a broken left cheekbone. Once the swelling in his face goes down, James will be fitted with a protective mask that he'll have to wear during games until the fracture is fully healed. The Cavaliers don't play again until Monday at Charlotte. Meanwhile, Dikembe Mutombo's elbows have done a lot of damage over the years. Left in his wake were 25 affected players, five broken noses, 20 stitches. The log: April 20, 2004: Kenyon Martin, hit in the eye and retaliated by clubbing Mutombo across the arm. Received a technical foul March 31, 2003: Yao Ming, hit in the throat. Mutombo assessed flagrant foul Feb. 4, 2002: Vince Carter, hit in the gut May 16, 2001: Vince Carter, hit in the head. Carter did not return to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference playoffs May 6, 2001: Chris Childs, broken nose Feb. 26, 2001: Ray Allen, broken nose Jan. 13, 2001: Corey Maggette, eye trauma Dec. 28, 2000: Chauncey Billups, hit in the mouth, four stitches, fractured front tooth Feb. 6, 1999: Jayson Williams, broken nose May 4, 1999: Mark Strickland, broken nose May 8, 1999: Lindsey Hunter, left eye May 8, 1999: Christian Laettner, cut on face April 9, 1999: Chris Childs, lost a tooth; Marcus Camby, shot to throat; Admin Johnson, hit in the head; Patrick Ewing, hit in the head March 4, 1999: Kevin Willis, injured shoulder. Missed several games May 6, 1997: Dennis Rodman, retaliated and ejected with second technical foul April 12, 1997: Tom Gugliotta, broken nose Jan. 30, 1997: Antoine Carr, knocked senseless Jan. 4, 1997: Charles Oakley, four stitches to the lip Oct. 22, 1996: Michael Jordan, bloodied nose (preseason game) April 10, 1994: Robert Horry, hit in the head, fell to the floor Dec. 30, 1993: Chris Webber; Mutombo later ejected for taunting Chris Gatling Dec. 28, 1991: Robert Parish, hit the floor Nov. 29, 1991: Ricky Pierce, 12 stitches in forehead Link
December 31, 200421 yr One note about this was Mutombo's elbow to LeBron on Wednesday night sure looked like it hurt but it wasn't inentional or malicious at all, like some of those listed may be.
December 31, 200421 yr April 9, 1999: Chris Childs, lost a tooth; Marcus Camby, shot to throat; Admin Johnson, hit in the head; Patrick Ewing, hit in the head whoa he was busy that night
December 31, 200421 yr April 9, 1999: Chris Childs, lost a tooth; Marcus Camby, shot to throat; Admin Johnson, hit in the head; Patrick Ewing, hit in the head whoa he was busy that night 645473[/snapback] That one made me go like this :mischief2 when I read it. I had a day dream of everybody jumping off him and Dikembe swinging his elbows and yelling.
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