Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: “‘I think I had to step up,’ said Pierce as he walked down the hallway to the dressing room late last night, a 106-104 overtime victory in hand. ‘I mean, at this point in the series, I don’t really feel like I’ve really had an imprint. I just think I had to do something.’ What he did was score nine points in the last period and six more in overtime. ‘He got to his spot,’ said coach Doc Rivers. That would be the right side of the foul line, a site from which Pierce launched the missiles that sunk Chicago. Down two in regulation, he stuck a 15-footer over Derrick Rose to create overtime. Then, with the Celts down a point with a little more than a minute to go in OT, he decided to get involved again. He went to ‘his spot’ and scored on the next three possessions – a 16-foot step-back and two 19-footers.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “This Bulls-Celtics first-round playoff series has been a closely contested brawl, and Tuesday’s Game 5 fit right in. Trailing by 2 points with 3.4 seconds remaining in the third overtime game in this series, the Bulls ran a trick play and created an open lane for center Brad Miller to drive to the rim. Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo reached out with one of his extra-long arms and smashed Miller in the mouth with an open hand trying to prevent the tying basket. Miller ended up on his knees, spitting not tobacco juice but blood. He eventually would need stitches to close a gash in his upper lip. Flagrant foul? Not in Boston, it wasn’t. And when a dazed Miller left his first free throw short and missed the rim trying to clang the second one on purpose, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead by hanging on for a 106-104 victory. This is the first time in NBA history any playoff series has had three overtime games, and there is at least one more contest left to play Thursday at the United Center.”
Pippen Ain’t Easy: “Rondo’s slashing hand came nowhere near the ball. It slammed into Miller’s neck and face. It was clearly a flagrant foul, but that was not the call. Miller ended up bloody, and surely dazed. He had to try and get it together quickly to attempt 2 free throws to tie the game. He missed the first, and there was Kevin Garnett clearly seen yelling at Miller that he was a choker. Garnett is either dim-witted, particularly mean-spirited or both. First, it’s hardly choking if you miss a free-throw after being the recipient of a flagrant foul like Miller was. Second — and someone might want to remind KG about this — you are the World Champions playing a team that was .500 on the year. They have already beaten you on your own floor. The series was tied at 2. And yet you have the gall to get on your high-horse and yell choke? You’re excited about that? You and your team should be humbled by your performance, not puffing out your chest and yelling things at the Bulls. You’d think a vet like KG would consider that the Bulls should be nowhere near sniffing a series win. But you get your hoot and holler on, KG.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “After more than a month of scouring the landscape and searching every nook and cranny, maybe just maybe we finally located the Magic Tuesday. The real Orlando Magic. Not the pretenders and imposters who ended the regular season with a flop and arrived in the playoffs with a fizzle. The team formerly known as the Magic actually showed up at Amway Arena amid a raucous, roaring sellout crowd and finally muscled, manhandled and buried Philly 91-78. Who said the Magic are soft? Dwight Howard and his teammates were so physically dominant that Philly Coach Tony DiLeo was relegated to complaining about the officiating. He claimed the refs ignored the three-second rule and allowed Howard to pitch a tent and start a campfire in the lane. Howard scored 24 points and yanked down 24 rebounds, including a phenomenal 10 offensive boards.
Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News: “Howard was credited with two blocks, but it sure seemed like more. Maybe because, as Iguodala said, he always seemed to be there. In so many ways, Dwight Howard is exactly what the NBA has needed. Charismatic with a thunderous game, he, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and a slew of others have reconstituted this into a league of likable and admirable heroes, guys who let you in on their fun. Late in the first half last night, when Howard was tagged with his third foul, he smiled toward some familiar faces in press row and said, ‘Do you believe that?’ It’s left the impression that he might be too nice, too deferential on the court too often. Just when it seems he is going to take over a game, the way Wilt did, the way Russell could, the way Shaq once could, he seems to step aside and let the others play. Not last night. Last night, he played hard, tough, maybe a little mean. That nice young man Stern spoke so fondly of was nowhere to be found, and the team on the brink finished the night asking Stern to basically eat his own words and suspend that ‘nice young man.’”
David Moore of The Dallas Morning News: “These Mavericks have always been at their best when expectations are lowest. They have shown us this side of their personality time and time again. The Mavericks flourish in the underdog role. They play free and easy when no one thinks they will win. They embrace this role the way they never have as favorites. Former coach Avery Johnson tried to flip the psychological switch. He made this a tougher team in many ways. But he is a former coach today because he could not redefine the Mavericks’ essential nature. He could not turn them into frontrunners. How was that, Dr. Phil? This series always meant more to the Mavericks than San Antonio. So what if the Spurs advanced? This team knew it wasn’t going to win the championship without Manu Ginobili. The stakes were much higher for the Mavericks. ”
48 Minutes of Hell: “First and foremost, I want to congratulate the Dallas Mavericks. They were the better team this series. They played inspired ball on both ends of the floor. Anyone interested in criticizing their poise or defensive tenacity has the burden of proof firmly placed on their shoulders. Dallas has the talent and depth to cause some trouble this postseason. I wish them luck as they head into the second round. Before I address the numerous frustrations I felt during tonight’s loss, I want to take a brief moment and thank Tim Duncan. During the closing stretch, Tim Duncan was dialed in. He made his final 8 field goal attempts of the second half. When the entire team looked resigned to the idea of defeat, Duncan was draining mid-range jumpers and trying his damnedest to coordinate our defensive efforts (our perimeter defenders did not keep up their end of the bargain). He was a relentless competitor to the end, unlike many of his teammates. It may sound odd, but his 4th quarter effort made me as appreciative of him as I have ever been.”
Jason Quick of The Oregonian: “Houston, needing one victory to end the best-of-seven series, had scrapped and clawed its way back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter. In fact, the Rockets had taken a 68-64 lead when they came out of a timeout with 8:52 left. That’s when Blake emerged from the huddle, walked onto the court and did a U-turn to face his teammates. Standing near midcourt, he delivered his succinct yet pointed message. Brandon Roy recalled the moment distinctly. He said it wasn’t delivered in a rah-rah manner, or out of panic. And it wasn’t like it was a great revelation to his teammates. ‘It wasn’t any secret,’ Roy said. ‘But as soon as he said it, I walked away and I was like, ‘It is now or never.’ And I decided I was going to do whatever I can to get this win. It was like ‘Let’s go do it.’”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “‘You got to play with some composure and we didn’t do that, in the fourth quarter especially,’ Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. ‘Early in the game, they tried to push it up and down and we got into a frenzied pace ourselves. We have to have more control and patience than we showed tonight. That group we had at the start of the fourth quarter, we just didn’t play with the confidence and the composure you need to play with in the fourth quarter of the game. We just put them on the line. We made some really silly fouls at the start of the fourth quarter. You can’t do that. It’s too tough against a team like that.’ There were corrections to be made. But after Yao Ming scored 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, there were three he had on the top of his list: ‘Get the ball inside. Get the ball inside. Get the ball inside.’”
Benjamin Hochman ofThe Denver Post: “It’s Anthony’s passing, a la John Stockton, that is emblematic of an unselfish Nuggets team doing whatever it takes to win its first playoff series in 15 years. Anthony is second on the Nuggets with 5.8 assists per game, not bad for a forward counted on to lead his team in scoring. Point guard Chauncey Billups leads the team with 6.5 assists per game heading into Game 5 tonight at the Pepsi Center, with Denver looking to clinch. ‘When we play with the pass and less dribbling, we have success, we find points, we have big numbers,’ said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team is up 3-1 after Monday’s historic 58-point blowout in New Orleans. ‘We’ve had explosive players at different times and different situations. Any time Carmelo puts seven assists up, we have a heck of a chance of winning. The way to go from good to really good is the pass.’”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “‘We have six guys who kind of enjoy playing him. He’s a great player, but I think Dahntay (Jones) gets 10 to 15 (minutes), and he probably wants 25. (Anthony Carter) takes him for whatever period that may be, six or seven minutes. Chauncey (Billups) gets him the rest of the time. All of them pride themselves in trash talking between them as to who does the best job. And the biggest key, I think, is our big guys can kind of figure him out a little bit. You can ask them to chase him and switch to him. Our strength is against their strength a lot.’ At the top of Karl’s list of ‘Paul’s Priorities’ is his team finishing out quarters, because Paul has had a tendency to do that himself. Therefore, the Nuggets have double-teamed Paul at the end of quarters. ‘Usually, our bench is in then,’ Karl said, ‘so that helps us a little bit.’ The other priorities are forcing Paul to the right side of the floor, being wary of the Hornets’ ‘catch-up’ games, which allow Paul to take a more active role if New Orleans is trailing by a big number, take away the middle of the floor if Paul is on the left side, because ‘he likes to get to the middle of the floor and attack into the teeth of the defense in certain personal ways.”
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
