Notebook: NBA Investigating Game 1 Ring-Of-Fire-Fiasco

**duncan228** · 05-06-2008

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...k.4042e00.html

Spurs notebook: NBA investigating Game 1 ring-of-fire fiasco
By Mike Monroe
Express-News

NEW ORLEANS — An NBA spokesperson said Monday that the league continues to investigate the incident that delayed Saturday's Game 1.
Powerful fire extinguishers required to douse flames in a ring of fire through which Hornets mascot “Super Hugo” jumped during the break between the first and second quarters left a powdery residue on the court. It took more than 20 minutes to remove the residue.

The Hornets likely will be fined for precipitating the delay.

Spurs forward Robert Horry, whose participation in Game 1 marked his 234th playoff game, putting him just three games shy of Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA record, could not recall having endured a similar delay in his previous 233 postseason games.

“I've seen a lot of crazy stuff,” Horry said, “but never anything like that. You would have expected them to think that through better before they tried it. I'm pretty sure we're never going to see something like that tried again, at least not in these playoffs.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took a decidedly forgiving tone about the incident.

“Hopefully,” he said, “that's over with. We all know it wasn't a great move. We all make mistakes.”

Thomas Alva Popovich? Popovich was much less forgiving after Monday morning's shootaround when a New Orleans reporter persisted in prying for information about what adjustments Popovich planned to deal with Hornets power forward David West.

Here was their exchange during a postpractice press session:

Reporter: “Will you try to change up your defenses on David West a little tonight?”

Popovich: “We're probably going to do four or five things you've never seen before in basketball.”

Reporter: “I sense sarcasm.”

Popovich: “You sense correctly. We're going to spend the afternoon re-inventing the light bulb. Those CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs)? There are a lot of people who have problems with them, so we're going to think of something different.”

Reporter: “Might you try to use (Bruce) Bowen on David tonight?”

Popovich: “That's a good idea. Look at this guy right here. He's got all kinds of ideas. Let's do that. What's (West) going to do? Get 30? Let's put Bruce on him. What's Bruce weigh? About 90 pounds? He'll just knock the (snot) out of him.”

Truth squad: Hornets swing man Bonzi Wells deserves an award for his brutal honesty.

Asked Monday if he deserved the flagrant foul he was assessed for tossing Bruce Bowen to the floor in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Wells did not equivocate.

“Probably,” he said. “I hit him across the face.”

He never feared the league might suspend him for the play.

“There was no malice to it,” he said. “I was going for the ball and my hand ended up in the wrong place.”