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tended to drive down long-term rates to encourage borrowing and spending.
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• Lakers' Metta World Peace suspended 7 games for elbow, will miss playoff games
• EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) -- Metta World Peace harmed much more than his own tattered reputation when he viciously elbowed Oklahoma City's James Harden in the head.
• The Los Angeles Lakers troublemaker also deprived his team of his services as their starting small forward and defensive stopper for at least six playoff games while he serves his 10th suspension in the past decade.
• The NBA suspended World Peace for seven games on Tuesday for the inexplicable blow that gave Harden a concussion, keeping the former Ron Artest sidelined for most of the first postseason round.
• World Peace was ejected from Sunday's game against the Thunder for striking Oklahoma City's top reserve. He claimed the blow was an accidental, overzealous celebration of a dunk, yet even Kobe Bryant and his Lakers teammates weren't defending his inexplicable actions.
• "It's hard to get into a guy's head and know exactly what happened in that situation," Bryant said. "I haven't really spoken to him about it. You've really got to ask him."
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