- Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News: "The oldest team in the NBA was nearly rescued by the youngest rookie on either roster Thursday night. Roddy Beaubois was this close to being one of the team's all-time surprising playoff heroes. And then, in head-scratching fashion, his electrifying play was brought to a halt by his own coach. With it went another lost season for the Mavericks who were 97-87 losers to the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. Game 6? Game over. And no one can say it had to be that way for Dallas. ... Beaubois finished with 16 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. He caused Spurs coach Gregg Popovich considerable matchup problems, forcing him to go with Keith Bogans, who has a minimal offensive game, at a time San Antonio was struggling to score. Even Jason Terry, who replaced Beaubois, wondered where the rookie went with the game and the season on the line. 'It was the same thing he did all year. The kid can play,' Terry said. 'Whether he was out there or not, that's another story.' Today, it's not another story for the Mavericks. It's THE STORY."
- Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com: "Perhaps all the close games the Mavs played and the big minutes required of Jason Kidd throughout the season took their toll. But this series will serve as another eye-opener for Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 33 points and topped 30 points in three games. Kidd is locked in for two more years at more than $8 million a season. His three playoff runs with the Mavs are the three worst of his 14 postseasons and includes just one series win. Jason Terry will earn more than $10 million next season and his shooting percentage in the last two postseasons, both below 39 percent, are his worst. Nowitzki left the podium following Game 6 answering one final question regarding his intent this summer. He can opt of his contract which would pay him $21.5 million in his final season. Rather surprisingly, he left his options open. He's earned $124 million in his 12 seasons in Dallas. But perhaps he's looking around now after first-round exits in three of the last four seasons and thinking his championship window is closing. The Kidd experiment is a failure. The Mavs have reshaped the roster and will probably have to do so again this summer. Perhaps even loyal Dirk could have a change of heart."
- Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News: "Just as he'd done hundreds of times before, Manu Ginobili ran
toward George Hill expecting to get the ball. The two teammates were about to cross paths on a weave just outside the 3-point line Thursday night, and Ginobili -- hands open, a determined scowl on his face -- did not look like a man any timid playoff novice should deny. Had this moment happened a half-hour earlier, Hill might have deferred to Ginobili without a second thought. But Hill's ears were still ringing from a blunt message Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had just given him at halftime. 'To hell with the rest of the team,' Popovich told Hill. 'Go get your name in the paper. Go score.' So when Ginobili reached for a handoff in the third quarter of the Spurs' series-clinching 97-87 victory over Dallas at the AT&T Center, Hill only clutched the ball tighter. Then he spun away from Ginobili, pulled up just outside the free-throw line and swished a jump shot. 'I was like, ‘I'm up here with the ball, and I can make a play just as good as they can,' ' Hill said. 'As a young player, you want to kick the ball to the Big Three. But that's all out the window now.' " - Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic: "They ruined the party, muted a city, and eliminated a dangerous team. And still the Suns filed off the court without a trace of euphoria. This was business. Now, it's personal. After a stout and much-appreciated 99-90 victory over the Trail Blazers on Thursday in R.I.P. city, here's some friendly advice: Forget about basketball for a few days. Leave the Tim Duncan voodoo dolls in the drawer. Conserve your energy until it matters. Armageddon -- and the Spurs -- will be here soon enough. 'It's great. It's an honor,' Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. 'I told our guys we really don't look at past history. This team has never played San Antonio in the playoffs. That's the way we look at it.' Good luck with that one, coach."
- Jason Quick of The Oregonian: "The team that all season would never quit, never did on Thursday. But the season that endured a litany of injuries finally received its fatal blow at the Rose Garden when the Phoenix Suns beat the Trail Blazers 99-90 despite a spirited comeback spearheaded by the shooting of Martell Webster. Phoenix, the third seed in the Western Conference, eliminated the sixth-seeded Blazers 4-2 and advanced to play San Antonio in the conference semifinals. Portland hasn't won a playoff series since 2000. After trailing nearly all game, including by 12 points at halftime and 16 in the third quarter, the Blazers forged a 76-76 tie with 8:07 remaining in the fourth. The comeback was fueled by two three-pointers from Webster and a three from Rudy Fernandez, two bench players who had been largely absent all series. But as Phoenix did all series, particularly in Games 5 and 6, they weathered the Blazers' best punches. 'I'm proud of the guys,' said coach Nate McMillan. 'I thought we fought all year long. With everything that they had to go through, all the injuries, we're not making excuses, but they had to fight through a lot, and we had guys to step up and play and be productive.' "
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times: "The video doesn't lie. And when Andrew Bynum saw how he was slow to get back on transition defense after Lakers Coach Phil Jackson pointed out that fact over and over and over again during Thursday's video session, Bynum could only listen. Then again, it was either listen or sit on the bench. Bynum listened -- playing 27 minutes, 28 seconds -- being active on defense and offense, being that force in the middle the Lakers needed. Bynum ran his seven-foot, 285-pound body back hard and with a purpose, getting in position to be a defensive factor for the Lakers during their 111-87 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series at Staples Center. It wasn't a threat from Jackson, but he had gotten his point across to Bynum. 'It was more like, ‘This is what we need,' ' Bynum said. 'It was in the tape. You couldn't really deny it when they show it to you every single time. You see you're not getting back on the tape.' Bynum was a force on offense as well. He scored a playoff-career high 21 points."
- Jeff Miller of The Orange County Register: "Know what’s most needling about the Lakers’ arrogance? It’s well earned. The franchise has won 15 NBA titles. The head coach has won 10. The star player has won four. We’re talking about arrogance justified, arrogance rooted in achievement, which, thinking about it, isn’t the worst character trait of all. These current Lakers also are the reigning league champions. So when one of them says they absolutely, unequivocally control their own fate regardless of what their opponents do, it becomes doubly needling because ... They’re right. It’s undeniably true. This remains the Lakers’ world, with every other NBA team just sort of here in case Kobe Bryant breaks his leg or he and his teammates lose interest. That’s what we learned in Game 5 of this opening-round series. When the Lakers choose to play hard, really play hard, when they opt to unleash their 'raw energy,' as Phil Jackson called it, they are still the best team in the NBA."
- Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: "The Lakers’ 111-87 Game 5 rout of the good guys has turned us all into diagnosticians. What can the Thunder do to beat the Lakers, both in Game 6 tonight and in the future, when possible Thunder glory no doubt still will go through Los Angeles. Ideas are long in supply. But here’s what the Thunder should do differently to take down the Lakers, either tonight or in some season to come. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The Thunder shouldn’t change a thing. Don’t tinker with the lineup tonight, which Scott Brooks says he won’t do. Don’t overhaul the roster after this magic carpet ride ends, which Sam Presti repeatedly has said he won’t do. ’Twould be to no avail. What plagues the Thunder -- the skill and dominance of 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum -- is unfixable. It’s not just the Thunder that has no personnel answer to the twin towers. Every team in the league is overmatched. 'There’s a reason they’re defending champions,' coach Scott Brooks said. ... As Brooks twice has pointed out during this series, the Thunder is a young team, and in three years, it still will be a young team. A high-priced free agent would upset Presti’s carefully manicured salary structure and perhaps his meticulously constructed clubhouse atmosphere. And be of little help against Gasol and Bynum without fanatical effort and running your butt off."
- Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: "There is a train of thought that in order for the Bucks to win the series against the Hawks they have to win Game 6 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The thinking is if the Bucks lose Game 6, the Hawks would have the momentum when they return home to Atlanta for Game 7 on Sunday. But Bucks coach Scott Skiles isn’t buying into that theory and contends his players shouldn’t feel any pressure. 'This isn’t real pressure; pressure is perceived,’ Skiles said. 'There are a lot of people in jobs with legitimate pressure. … This is a basketball game.’ "
- Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel: "Herb Kohl is so pleased with the leadership team that the hands-on owner has wisely allowed them to overrule him on personnel decisions. 'A lot of things I've suggested have not gone down,' Kohl said. 'But it's been all right, because finally they make the decisions with whatever input I have. The things they've wanted to do have been right. And some of them I didn't agree with, without going into specifics. I thought they were making a mistake, but they have been right every time so far.' Whether it was taking a risk on Brandon Jennings in the lottery, giving a division rival cap space for John Salmons or signing Jerry Stackhouse, everything has worked. 'Sometimes you have a good coach and a good general manager but they don't have any chemistry,' Kohl said. 'They have the ability as grownups to work together. They have a sense of who they are. And they both have accomplished enough so they don't have to worry about establishing themselves.' No matter what happens from here, the results need to be rewarded in such a way that the Hammond-Skiles team, which shares a unified long-term vision on how the Bucks can get even better, remains a fixture in Milwaukee."
- Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Hawks, a team supposedly on the rise, have been bested by an underdog missing its best player. Their confidence after the first two games is gone, replaced by panic at the end of Game 5 and disbelief at how they’ve lost control of the series. 'They’re just beating us,' said center Al Horford. 'Straight up. Tougher than us, better than us. Just playing better.' If all of that isn’t enough, the Hawks will take the court in Milwaukee knowing that losing the game could have ramifications into the summer. Hawks management is putting off decisions about coach Mike Woodson’s future and other personnel matters until after the playoffs. Woodson’s contract expires in two months, and star guard Joe Johnson is eligible to become a free agent. Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. wouldn’t address those issues directly Thursday, but again emphasized that the franchise is focused on postseason success. 'It’s our third straight year in the playoffs, and we expect to go far,' he said. ... Gearon was at Philips Arena on Thursday to offer 'moral support' and said he was glad to see that players and coaches were disappointed but not tense. He said he hasn’t been around the team as much this season, but plans to travel to Milwaukee as a further show of support. 'We are in a defining moment of our franchise,' Gearon said. 'It’s the first time in my six years as owner that the expectations are higher. That’s a good thing.' "
- Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: "Tyreke Evans had Stephen Curry on his heels and Brandon Jennings trailing by a lap. He had friends badgering him about the chase for 20-5-5 and his team in a free-fall during the final weeks. He survived the marketing blitz and the burden of celebrity and still, somehow, seized the trophy. Rookie of the Year. Good for Tyreke. There isn't a more humble youngster in the game. More importantly for the Kings, there isn't a more diligent worker in the league. Morning. Noon. Night. You would be amazed. You can find the quiet rookie bouncing a ball or strengthening his body at the oddest of hours. He wants to be great, wants to be the best. He wants to win, and that's what matters most."
- Jeff Blair of the Globe and Mail: "After watching the happy-go-lucky manner in which the Raptors greeted their elimination from the playoffs on the final night of the regular season -- all but having a sing-along and spraying champagne around the locker room -- it is impossible to argue with LeBron James. But it's one thing when a corn-fed, white, middle-aged, overweight sportswriter can say he's never seen a team accept choking so readily, and quite another when a guy whose opinion holds sway muses about it, especially after an opinion column in the Toronto Star suggests the Raptors partied their way out of the playoffs, a charge that has not been sufficiently riposted. It speaks of a group of athletes with a remarkable lack of self-respect and a management team that for some reason let it go unchecked. Montreal Expos manager Felipe Alou used to worry about his team being perceived as a 'small team' -- small not in stature or even within the game's economy but small in the sense of getting the 50-50 calls to go their way during a game. There's no zone rating or statistical measure for that. But there are teams that leave that type of an impression, and this year's Raptors were like that."
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