Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “By its end, security was permanently perched by Kenyon Martin’s mother, who had beer poured on her during the game. Martin himself, felt compelled to yell into the crowd in defense of his mom during a break in the second quarter. Carmelo Anthony’s wife, La La Vasquez, was fed up to the point where she retaliated with words and by throwing an object before leaving the game altogether in the fourth quarter. Nuggets assistant coach Jamahl Mosley left the bench early in the night to make certain Martin’s mother was alright. Obscenities were shouted nearly all night at Martin’s girlfriend, Trina. And Nuggets director of team security, Bobby Simmons, scurried back and forth through it all. Rex Chapman, Nuggets vice president of player personnel, was among the Nuggets’ brass who were all severely turned off by if all. ‘Short of a game I saw in Belgrade a couple of years ago where they were throwing chairs and setting off flares, it was about as dangerous a venue I’ve been in,’ Chapman said.”
Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports: “Girlfriend at his side, fury on his tongue, Kenyon Martin made the slow walk from the Denver Nuggets’ locker room early Tuesday morning. He had already unloaded nearly a half-dozen f-bombs on Mark Cuban, as well as a couple more on the media, and now he needed one more target to complete his hat trick of profanity. How about some fans? As K-Mart strolled down the hallway to the American Airlines Center’s loading dock, he passed a handful of Dallas Mavericks supporters still reveling in an arena bar. ‘[Expletive] you [expletives]!’ Martin shouted, flashing his middle finger for emphasis. ‘We ain’t coming back here!’ All that was missing was some tender music, a cute third-grader and an ‘NBA Cares’ backdrop. NBA Playoffs 2009: Where profane happens. From Cuban to K-Mart to a couple pockets of idiot fans, there wasn’t much for the NBA to be proud of Monday, and that’s a shame considering Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the Mavericks and Nuggets produced one of the most thrilling games of these playoffs.”
Jim Reeves of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “It’s going to take history-making mettle to get the Mavs to the top of this mountain, but they took the first step with a hold-your-breath-and-pray 119-117 victory over the Denver Nuggets at the AAC to avoid elimination in Game 4 of this NBA Western Conference semifinal series. In a game spiced by flagrant fouls (3 on the Mavs), technicals (7 total, 4 on the Mavs) and multiple confrontations on the court and in the stands, the Mavs refused to take the easy way out and just fade away, as many of us admittedly thought they might. ‘We were nastily determined to somehow win,’ coach Rick Carlisle said. ‘We came into the huddle at one point and talked about keeping our poise and not getting any more [technicals]. I just thought that the way we fought was great, and I didn’t want to take that away from any of those guys during the game. ‘It’s one thing if you’re unnecessarily getting them, [but] I thought the reason we were getting them is because we wanted to win the game so bad.’”
Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: “Defensively, the Nuggets had no answer for Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki. He hurt the Nuggets with a wide array of shots, and made free throws to seal the victory. Rebounding went the Mavericks’ way. Not much went right for the road team. Nuggets coach George Karl lamented the team’s defensive effort. ‘In general it was a very fast game for a playoff game,’ Karl said. ‘They’ve got great offensive players. We have to play fast but also play smart. I don’t know if we were committed to playing the smart possession as well as we needed to win in Dallas on the road against a good team. ‘We didn’t seem to get a defensive feel for (Nowitzki) or the team. My only disappointment was we didn’t try to win it with our defense. We tried to win it with our offense.’ Nowitzki’s 44 points and 13 rebounds were punctuated by the manner in which they came.”
Sekou Smith of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Getting swept by Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals has a way of draining all of the positive energy associated with the Hawks’ best season in over a decade. Just as tough, Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said, is the immediate shift in the perception of the Hawks around Atlanta and around the world. The Hawks were the toast of the town after their Game 7 win over Miami in the first round, only to be skewered by fans and pundits for being on the wrong side of a 3-0 series deficit to Cleveland before Monday night’s Game 4 loss. ‘In this league it’s always, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ ‘ Johnson said. ‘The regular season is over and done with. We started a fresh, new season in the playoffs. And we were decent in the first round. We did enough to get by. But in this round, we haven’t done anything to make people respect us.’”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “The Hawks got almost nothing easy and were held to just 32 percent shooting, which set a franchise record for lowest field goal percentage allowed in a playoff game. It permitted the Cavs to overcome the subpar offense as LeBron James scored 27 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. ‘My belief is you have to defend to win on the road, especially in the playoffs,’ coach Mike Brown said. ‘Our group understands that and respects it and embraces it.’ In many ways it was a throwback to playoff games of the past few years, when the Cavs routinely won games of this nature. Especially on the inside, where they have been victimized at times this season. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith combined for five blocks, three steals and 27 rebounds to give the Hawks nothing easy. Had the offense not turned it over 18 times, costing 22 points, the Cavs may have held the Hawks to close to 60 points.”
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: “It’s important for Paul Pierce to get his points and draw the defense to free up others. Kendrick Perkins has to be a force inside on both ends of the court now. Ray Allen always will draw defensive attention even when his shot is not falling. But under the current circumstances, Rajon Rondo is the most critical Celtics entity. Ruminate on that for a second. Pierce and Allen are locks for the Hall of Fame and Perkins is forced to do his own job and make up, too, for the defensive absence of Kevin Garnett. But the fate of the Celtics rests in the oversized hands of a 6-foot-1 guy so skinny that the very sight of him is a reminder to floss. On any given night this spring, you can most accurately track the possibility of Green success based on Rondo.’”
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: “The 3-point shot was a primary weapon on the road for the Magic this season, feeding comebacks and quieting crowds. But they missed 22 of 27 attempts in Game 4 against the vaunted Celtics’ defense. The Magic shot just 40 percent overall while the Celtics hit at a 53 percent clip. ‘This league is big on missing and making,’ point guard Rafer Alston said. ‘They won the game by making. So we’re not thinking about taking bad 3-pointers. We’re having good looks.’ Alston, by his own admission, is struggling mightily. He is an icy 7-of-29 (24 percent) from the field, including 1-of-12 from 3-point range. Coach Stan Van Gundy wouldn’t discuss possible lineup changes. But if he isn’t thinking about replacing Alston as the starter with Anthony Johnson, he might be toying with returning rookie Courtney Lee to his role as starting shooting guard in place of J.J. Redick to provide Orlando with more scoring, given Alston’s slump.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “While Brooks’ quickness gave the Lakers trouble, especially with the lane left open by the absence of the Rockets’ usual low-post scorer, Shane Battier’s job did not change. However, Battier had a career playoff-high 23 points, making six of 12 shots, all but one from beyond the 3-point arc. Battier often has said his field-goal attempts are a good measure of the quality of the Rockets’ ball movement. The benefits of that movement might have never been clearer than on Sunday. ‘One leads to the other,’ he said. ‘Usually when you have a great shooting day, it’s because you had good ball movement. When we hold the ball, those 3s are a lot more contested, and you don’t shoot as great a percentage. We have to shoot 30 or 40 3s to win this next game. That’s how we’ll try to make up for the loss of Yao’s points. The thing about ball movement, it’s contagious. When one guy does it and you have success, the ball seems to zip around a lot better. When you don’t see it out there, people are holding it; people are less inclined to do it.’”
Jeff Eisenberg of The Press-Enterprise: “Although Coach Phil Jackson dubbed the Lakers a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ team after Monday’s practice, he noted that they have typically played their best games immediately after an ignominious loss. In January, they crushed Cleveland after back-to-back losses against San Antonio and Orlando. In February, they followed an ugly home loss to Charlotte by sweeping a six-game road trip. And in March, they vanquished the memory of a 17-point shellacking at Portland by winning at Houston two days later without big men Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. The Lakers may have to beat the Rockets again tonight without Odom, who is questionable as a result of a lower back contusion. Of more concern, perhaps, is finding a way to keep Houston point guard Aaron Brooks out of the lane. With Yao and Tracy McGrady sidelined due to injury and Ron Artest suffering through a 4-for-19 shooting performance Sunday, Brooks has become the unlikely catalyst for Houston’s offense, scoring a game-high 34 points on 12-for-20 shooting. The quickness of Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar would seem to give the Lakers a better chance to contain Brooks off the dribble, but Jackson insists he’s sticking with veteran Derek Fisher at point guard.”
Daniel Kaplan & John Lombardo of the Sports Business Journal: “The Orlando Magic is poised to receive a $100 million loan that would make the team what is believed to be the first midtier franchise to complete a financing since the credit markets froze in September. The deal, led by the team’s banker, Goldman Sachs, would finance the Magic’s contribution for its new arena plus other costs. ‘There is a thaw, but that’s not to say the borrowing costs are at the rates prior to the current economic environment,’ said Alex Martins, the Magic’s chief operating officer. ‘Having said that, we are pleased with the fact that there is a market out there to finance our contribution to the arena.’ The deal is expected to close in 30 days and comes in year when the Magic will lose between $15 million and $20 million despite winning the league’s Southeast Division. The team currently is competing in the Eastern Conference semifinals. ‘Our playoff run will ultimately determine how much we lose,’ Martins said.”
John Canzano of The Oregonian: “Brooks is making it. On the court, and off. I’m proud of the guy for that. Maybe you are too. He’s a guy who has shown some grit and personal growth. And as society goes, sometimes it’s the modest personal wins that end up feeling like big victories. The announcers called him ‘Little Aaron Brooks’ on Sunday. I laughed at that. Aaron Brooks? Little? Sheesh. We have a society with a corporate world filled with quitters. And our sports are full of quitters. Coaches quit. Teammates quit. People quit jobs, and quit caring. And we’re living in a country where everyone is suddenly looking for a bailout. So yeah, when I think about the college-aged Brooks using fatherhood, school and a basketball dream to beat the temptation to throw in the towel and run away, I think about a guy who came up big.”
(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood NBAE/Getty Images)
