- Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe: "Baby (Glen Davis) went into Muhammad Ali overdrive after draining the shot. 'You better know about me!' he screamed to Magic fans in the section behind the Celtics' bench. 'It's what I work on all the time,' he said later, in a more composed moment. 'It was just a feeling. I knew, 'Hey, you've got to shoot this.' When I shot it, I didn't even hesitate. It was just a feel. You always envision hitting the game-winning shot.' This was the gut-check game we've all been waiting for in the Celtics-Magic series. If you closed your eyes and blocked out the yahoos, you could almost pretend you were in Chicago. It was a game with 16 ties and 17 lead changes -- none bigger than the final one. It was a night when the Celtics reminded all that they are the defending NBA champs."
- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "Stan Van Gundy better be careful. If he keeps blaming himself everyone else is going to start blaming him, too. Numerous times over the last two seasons, when his team has lost a tough game, the Magic coach has fallen on the sword and taken the blame. He did it again after Boston's Glen 'Big Baby' Davis hit a buzzer-beater on the baseline to defeat the Magic 95-94 in Game 4 Sunday night. Here's the column I wrote from the game. 'My coaching decision on how to play the last play ended up getting us beat,?' Van Gundy said of the Magic's defensive alignment. 'This was on me. The only guy who made a mistake on the last play was me.' Maybe I'm an ol' softy on coaches, but I'm not buying it. I don't think Van Gundy lost the game; I think Big Baby won it."
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Like his predecessors at the point, Aaron Brooks has clear strengths and weaknesses, but when the Rockets have been their best this postseason, he has been a huge part of that, most obviously with his 34-point flight through the Lakers on Sunday. With Yao Ming out, the Rockets needed someone to step up, and they turned to him because he can be a dynamic scorer and that's what they needed. That is what is so often overlooked. He is not Chris Paul and never will be. He is a scorer, and the Rockets needed that in the backcourt when McGrady went down. When Yao plays, the Rockets offense is based on ball movement. Brooks gets them into their half-court sets and then takes his place at the 3-point arc. The Rockets' offense is not about one lead guard probing around screens and quarterbacking. Brooks doesn't do that because he is not directed to do that. He shoots because he is supposed to shoot. On Sunday, he did just what he was supposed to do on Sunday and did it spectacularly well."
- Harvey Araton of The New York Times: "Phase 1 would have to be, without question, no more international play, but Chinese officials scoffed when there were reports last October that Yao would retire from the national team. This is the burden he brought to Houston in 2002, the home front's belief in the contract of enduring nationalism. Many other N.B.A. players might have accelerated the toll on their bodies by playing international ball. You could argue that Manu Ginobili's dedication to Argentina has hastened San Antonio's decline. But what Yao gave at the office last summer was beyond the call, enough for a lifetime. 'A person in physics once told me if man was 60 feet tall, the first step he'd take, he'd completely crumble,' Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said before the Rockets surprised the Lakers in Game 4, 99-87. 'Gravity's a bitch. The taller you are, the more you've got on you. It's just the life of what it is, being a big guy.''
- Jeff Miller of The Orange County Register: "Their opponents were trailing, reeling and suddenly hurting more than ever. So the Lakers came out Sunday … and displayed the heart of a sixth-seed. They were outrebounded by a team with no center, a team that started 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes in the middle. They were outhustled by a team that knows -- absolutely knows now without Yao Ming -- it has no chance of winning anything of consequence this postseason. They were outclassed by a team that features Ron Artest, a player whose behavior once helped initiate an in-game riot. Sadly, the Lakers were the Fakers again, a team still just posing as a wannabe champion."
- Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Throughout the improvement seen in Mike Woodson's five-year tenure with the Hawks, his team has developed ways to defy the odds, winning when it seemed impossible and surviving when it appeared implausible. Yet here they stand, their season on the brink of being finished off by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been pretty impossible themselves. Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight at Philips Arena is perhaps their last chance to make a little noise against the Cavaliers, who own a 3-0 lead in the series and can send the Hawks off to summer vacation with a win. 'Only the strong survive. I truly believe that in playoff basketball,' Woodson said Sunday, his weary eyes betraying his bravado the morning after a backbreaking 15-point Game 3 loss. 'Right now, we've been hit. I like the way we played [in Game 3], though. We didn't quit. We kept playing. And a great team beat us. Do we throw in the towel for Game 4? Hell, no, we shouldn't do that. I'm going to push our guys to make sure they don't throw in the towel. Because if we force another game … anything can happen.'"
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "Most of the time statistics take a dip in the playoffs. This is due to the generally slower nature of the game, the heavy scouting involved and good old-fashioned pressure. For the great ones, like Michael Jordan, it was the inverse. Jordan got better in the postseason throughout his career as he increased his scoring average more than three points a game. So with that in mind, consider what James has been doing over the last three weeks. His 47-point outburst in Saturday's Game 3 to get the Cavs to a 3-0 lead over the Atlanta Hawks heading into Monday's Game 4 is only the centerpiece of what has been an elevation in his play and overall production."
- Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "LeBron James will want to sit back and see what's up. The only thing he probably won't do is play out the final two years on his deal. Then, he'd be dealing with the new rules of the collecting bargaining agreement -- and that's an unknown. The CBA runs out at end of the 2010-11 season. One fallacy out there is that the Cavs will have tons of money -- enough to sign a superstar free agent -- in the summer of 2010. That might not be true, especially if Varejao and Ilgauskas get new contracts and the Cavs have first-round picks in 2009
and 2010. Now, if they lose Varejao in free agency, don't extend Ilgauskas and clear the deck of some other contracts, they could have a lot of cap space. But that might not behoove them in the long run. Whatever happens, James is expected to sit tight this summer and not sign an extension. He probably doesn't want to get buyer's remorse like Hornets guard Chris Paul did. Sources say the Hornets are like a house of cards and could tumble at any time. - Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "Nuggets history awaits. Denver is one victory from advancing to its second Western Conference finals, joining a five-game loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985. It could come tonight in Game 4 at American Airlines Center. But not easily. 'We know Game 4 is going to be harder than Game 3, especially after everything that's going on right now,' forward Carmelo Anthony said, referring to the controversial ending Saturday. 'We're expecting another tough game. We just have to come in more focused than we were in Game 3.' The Mavericks obviously are motivated to extend the series. But history is against Dallas. One major-league baseball team and two NHL teams have rallied from 3-0 down to win series. No NBA team ever has, though three have forced a Game 7. 'I don't think we're going to get overly excited or overly happy about their position,' Nuggets coach George Karl said."
- Jean-Jacques Taylor of The Dallas Morning News: "You never lose a game because of one play at the end. Victory or defeat is always the culmination of hundreds of little plays that occur throughout the contest, which is why the Nuggets will eventually advance to the Western Conference finals against the Lakers-Rockets winner. The question is whether the Mavs can summon the intestinal fortitude to overcome the profound disappointment of Game 3 and the frustration of the series to salvage at least one game. After all, no Mavs team has been swept in a seven-game series. It's also important for Mark Cuban, coach Rick Carlisle and general manager Donnie Nelson not to let Wunderlich's terrible call cloud their view of this team. The Mavs are a good team, but they're not nearly long enough or athletic enough to compete with the NBA's best teams. One awful call doesn't change that. Much work needs to be done in the off-season."
- Jim Kleinpeter of The Times-Picayune: "With the June 25 draft a month-and-a-half away, Marcus Thornton has drawn heavy interest from NBA teams wanting to see him up close in workouts. Tigers teammates Garrett Temple and Chris Johnson, both seniors, and junior Tasmin Mitchell are also drawing some interest. But Thornton, 6 feet 4 and 210 pounds, is the one with a chance to be drafted in the first round, which comes with a guaranteed contract. As many as 23 teams -- including the Hornets -- have requested workouts, according to Thornton's agent, Brian Elfus. 'I knew it was going to be good, but not this good, ' Elfus said. 'We can't accommodate everybody. He's going to be a busy guy.' After taking some time off to recover from the bumps and bruises of the season, Thornton said he's refreshed and ready to get down to business. He finished his last exam Tuesday and is in Chicago to work out under Josh Oppenheimer, a trainer who also works with former Tigers standout Tyrus Thomas and his Chicago Bulls teammate Ben Gordon."
- Al Iannazzone of The Record: "Vince donated $1.6 million to help build 'The Vince Carter Sanctuary' in Bunnell, Fla. It's scheduled to open Aug. 17. ... The Vince Carter Sanctuary will feature three buildings, including the Michelle Carter-Scott Community Center, where patients will dine, sit and talk, and can come to an auditorium to see performances. Vince has given his mother a Bentley and Mercedes-Benz on Mother's Days, but this tops all of those presents. Michelle said she doesn't need any more 'tangible' Mother's Day gifts. This is one that keeps on giving. 'Vince has done a lot of things and this probably is the one thing that he has invested in that has made me the most proud,' Michelle said. 'It can be so far-reaching and so good for a lot longer than Vince or I are still on this Earth. This $1.6 million investment at the end of the day is going to be priceless because it's going to save so many people. How can you put a price tag on somebody's life or somebody who's had a wonderful life, lost it and now has it back?'"
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