NBA
Late-arriving Murray leaves with win, cash

By Steve Kelley
Seattle Times staff columnist

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LOS ANGELES — The plane was late and Ronald "Flip" Murray was the last player on the floor for yesterday morning's practice. Just as he walked out, Michael Cooper, his coach in the NBA's Rookie Challenge Game, offered $1,000 to anyone who could make a shot from half court.

"To tell you the truth, I didn't think I'd have to pay anybody," said Cooper, whose Sophomores beat the Rookies last night, 142-118. "We have all these big guys, and big guys don't shoot half-court shots.

"So who would make it? The guy who comes in late. He hadn't even warmed up."

Murray's day barely had begun and already he was ahead $1,000.

"I got in about a half-hour late, but my first shot of the day was that one," Murray said.

Cooper, however, said that because Murray was late for practice. He was fining Flip exactly $1,000.

"He's going to pay me," Murray, the Sonics' backup guard, said with a wink. "He said he would."

In the free-for-all game, Murray scored 25 in 21 minutes, with a game-high 10 assists.

"That was just me going out there and having fun. Taking it back to my younger days, like I did when I would take the game out to the playground," Murray said.

"I had a chance to go out there tonight and freelance and just relax and show people that I can play."

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