--F Kenyon Martin showed Wednesday night that he's more than just a defensive beast.
After earning most of his props for his one-on-one defense against New Orleans forward David West, Martin enjoyed a strong offensive night in Game 5. He scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, finishing 7-for-9 from the floor.
"A close-out game," Martin explained. "I was just trying to come out and be aggressive."
Martin had only two points in the second half, but they were meaningful. With the game still in the balance, he slammed home a rebound for the first points of the fourth quarter.
--Knowing the Dallas Mavericks were already resting up for the second round, the Nuggets did not want to be at a competitive disadvantage by stringing out their series with the Hornets.
Dallas clinched its series against San Antonio on Tuesday and undoubtedly was rooting for New Orleans to add some miles to Denver's playoff odometer.
"It saves your energy," coach George Karl said. "We're hoping to make this a longer (playoff) run and we think we're good enough to do that. Saving your ... mental and physical energy is important. The good teams have a way of not putting must-win games on the board and stressful games on the board."
The Nuggets will have three days to prepare for Game 1 against the Mavs in Denver. Much of that preparation will be focused on defending All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki.
Kenyon Martin likely will draw the initial assignment against Nowitzki, and his effectiveness will dictate whether Denver will have to use more double-teams than it did against the Hornets.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "If we didn't make it (out of the first round) this year, I think they were going to break this team up. Finally we did it, and we've just got to keep focused." -- Guard J.R. Smith on Denver breaking its string of five straight first-round playoff losses.
