The Nuggets led the Mavericks by as many as 17 points late in the third quarter, but midway through the fourth the Mavs started to make a run, cutting the deficit all the way down to six. A would-be blowout was suddenly a two-possession game; was this where the Nuggets would fall apart?
Not quite. With the ball in his hands and just two seconds left on the shot clock, Carmelo Anthony nailed a 25-footer that left the Mavericks so disgusted that Antoine Wright drew a tech foul, putting Chauncey Billups on the free throw line to push Denver's lead safely back to double-digits once and for all. From there, Denver cruised to a 124-110 series-clinching victory.
"Yeah, that was a spark," Anthony said after the game. "If I told you I knew it was going in, I'd be lying to you. That was a lucky shot. It went in. I think that shot right there sparked the momentum for us."
DALLAS -- Following the final buzzer of Game 3 of the Mavericks-Nuggets series, several players had to be restrained.
Josh Howard and Antoine Wright of the Mavericks were seen going after the referees at mid-court of the American Airlines Center. Assistant coach Darrell Armstrong almost pulled Howard's jersey off trying to get him to walk toward the locker room.
In the middle of the scrum was Denver's Keynon Martin who was laughing and yelling.
DALLAS -- He sat in the Nuggets locker room with ice on his knees and right elbow smiling.
He also looked tired.
But Carmelo Anthony had a reason to be. He made the biggest shot of his NBA career, a 3-pointer with one second to play, to give the Nuggets a dramatic victory over the Mavericks on Saturday.
The victory has pushed the Nuggets to a 3-0 lead in this Western Conference series. And Game 3 was ugly. The three days off between Games 2 and 3 might have something to do with it. The 61 fouls called also bothered the flow of the game.
But when it was time for something special to happen, Anthony made it so.
Take a look at that picture. What do you see? I mean, aside from Doc Rivers' look of abject terror while being subjected to the Derrick Rose Experience. See that thing on his lapel? If you look closely (don't squint, there's a bigger picture after the jump), you'll see it's a pin with the initials "C.D."
The National Basketball Coaches' Association announced last week that they were dedicating the 2009 playoffs to Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, who was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last month, and they're honoring him by wearing a lapel pin featuring his initials. For a coach known for his sartorial elegance (his players nicknamed him "Daddy Rich" for his fine suits), it's only fitting that he's being honored with a fashion accessory.
Isiah Thomas once cornered me in a hallway and issued a warning, mob-boss-like. "If you squeeze me again, you'll be sorry," he said. I'm not certain what warranted the threat -- and it's nice to know I haven't awakened to a horse's head in my bed -- but it was a classic snapshot of what King Isiah was like when he ruled the world, when he was a two-time NBA champion, when he was the best little man who ever played the game.
Now, years later, he is humbled, deleting the mountains of scandalous cache in his personal hard drive and rebooting himself amid the smallest of templates. He is escaping New York, where his dreadful tenure as boss and coach of the Knicks was exacerbated by a sexual-harassment case against him, and attempting to salvage his career and life at Florida International University, where a basketball team that hasn't had a winning season in 10 years played to average crowds of 693 fans last season.
Every year, it seems a couple teams vow to become faster. But the easiest way to affect speed-flavored change is by changing the coach, as you'll see with this chart organizing the teams by pace (slow on the left, faster on the right) and quality (good teams at the top, bad at the bottom) to date.
The two significant changes from last season: New York under Mike D'Antoni is among the quickest-pace teams in the league, while Larry Brown's Bobcats have become slower than even San Antonio. Big surprise, right?
Larry Bird has been frank with his concern about the Pacers' image problem, telling the Indy Star last month, "All the off-the-court problems have been a disaster for us. ... It's something we said we were going to clean up and we're doing that."
Jones is about as professional as they come and would be a great influence on Indy's roster, but HoopsHype cites a source claiming Jones will be waived immediately, which would explain why cash was included. Williams will be reunited in Dallas with Rick Carlisle, who coached Williams his rookie year. I'm not entirely sure how he fits in with the Mavs or whether his prospects for playing time will be increased, but a fresh start will probably do him as much good as it will the Pacers.
NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.
1. Dallas Morning News. Rick Carlisle wants his Mavericks to be a team of jerks. "'How do you get guys to be nasty? Well, I think hating the opponent is a start,' Carlisle said." I wonder if this means the annual Nowitzki-Nash gala is off? 2. Gelf Magazine. "Why stat-heads and scouts need to kiss and make up to advance the sweet science of the NBA." (That's half of a self-link.) 3. Indy Cornrows. Someone out there is willing to defend Jamaal Tinsley and explain why he's in a feud with Jim O'Brien. That someone is ... Peter Vescey. 4. Associated Press, via GSoM. The Warriors are getting rid of mascot Thunder because of Clay Bennett's swag-jack. Team Robert Rovell reveals Thunder might get ditched in China next week.
5. Los Angeles Times. Wait, Lamar Odom is going to L.A.'s point guard now?
6. Fast Break. Meanwhile in Oakland, Don Nelson can't decide who will man the one for the Warriors.
In February, Devean George blocked the Mavericks' first attempt to save themselves from acquire Jason Kidd. He knew the decision would be unpopular -- fans in Dallas booed him during his first appearance after the trade fell through -- but he was content "being the bad guy" while exercising his contractual rights as a soon-to-be restricted free agent who'd be losing his Bird rights.
Considering the whole debacle (and that the re-worked trade for Kidd not involving George cost Mark Cuban an extra $11 million), it seemed a foregone conclusion that George would be given the boot this summer. Instead, it's the exact opposite. From Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News:
George and the Mavericks reached an agreement Wednesday on a new, two-year contract worth about $4 million, according to George's agent, Mark Bartelstein. Bartelstein said the deal includes an option for George to return to free agency after next season.
"He's excited about returning to the Mavericks," Bartelstein said. "He's excited about playing for [new coach] Rick Carlisle. Rick made a great impression on him and came to visit him a couple of times."
I admit, I'm more than a little surprised that the Mavs wanted George back, and not only because of any lingering feelings of resentment about the botched trade. The fact is, George is woefully unproductive. He averaged just 3.7 points and 2.6 boards in 15.5 minutes per game. Looking at his stats independent of playing time, he posted a paltry 7.06 PER, far below the league average PER of 15.0 and ranking 312th in the entire league. And yet, for some reason, the Mavs not only kept him but also gave him the option to decide how long he wants to stay. Brilliant.
Next to Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop was the clear #2 most valuable asset Dallas sent away to New Jersey in the midseason acquisition of Jason Kidd. He was the best defender the Mavericks had at a key defensive position. Surely, we would have helped some in rejecting the advances of David West and Tyson Chandler in Dallas' five-game first-round loss to New Orleans. He wouldn't have flipped the series -- but he would have helped.
Apparently, the Mavericks think so too, as the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reports Diop has reached a five-year deal with Dallas for the full mid-level. That will take DeSagana right through his prime (he's 26), and could leave Dallas with one of the best defenders in the league at center, which seems important as Andrew Bynum, Amare Stoudemire, Al Jefferson, and Greg Oden hang around the West.
The key question, one partially answered by the signing: how will Rick Carlisle use Diop? In three seasons under Avery Johnson, Diop averaged no more than 18 minutes a game. You might blame foul trouble, but Diop recorded only 1.9 fouls per game this season in his 17 minutes with Dallas.
Johnson is (was?) a notorious micro-manager, and his constant in-game substitutions always offered an opportunity for jokes for road crowds. Diop's never going to be even so good as a Dikembe Mutombo on offense, but with a steady diet of minutes, he could at least become a Mark Eaton type anchor through his prime.
Cherry Picking recaps Wednesday's NBA playoff action.
DALLAS -- He sat in the Nuggets locker room with ice on his knees and right elbow smiling.
Take a look at that picture. What do you see? I mean, aside from 
Isiah Thomas
In February, 
Next to 
