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| Lakers C Andrew Bynum |
By John McMullen
Philadelphia, PA - Just about every historian will pull the fall of the Roman Empire out of their hip pocket when discussing the collapse of any "dynasty."
In truth, however, the Roman Empire's collapse was more of a slow, steady decline over a period of approximately 320 years, culminating on Sept. 4, 476, when Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain.
The latest "NBA dynasty" collapsed over a period of six days. That's how long it took the Dallas Mavericks' own German chieftain, Dirk Nowitzki, and his teammates to vanquish a classless Los Angles Lakers club.
Jason Terry was the star Sunday in Game 4 as the Mavericks tied the NBA postseason record for three-pointers in a 122-86 rout that swept the two-time defending champs out of the playoffs.
Despite playing just 25 minutes off the bench, Terry made nine three-pointers to match an individual postseason record and scored 32 for the third-seeded Mavs, who moved on to face either Memphis or Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.
Holding Kobe Bryant to 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting and scoring seemingly at will, Dallas shot better than 60 percent and took a big lead in the first half it never gave up.
"We ran into a buzz saw," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Lopsided and anti-climactic, the game turned ugly, too, when two flagrant fouls on the Lakers added sportsmanship to the list of things they did poorly on Sunday. Both Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were ejected from the game for separate flagrant type 2 fouls.
Odom threw a shoulder into Nowitzki as the Mavs forward was running near the three-point line, knocking him off his feet. But it was nothing compared to the elbow Bynum hit the 6-foot J.J. Barea with moments later. As Barea drove the lane and jumped for an easy layup, Bynum elbowed him in the ribs beneath the right arm pit, sending him to the court in a heap, where he laid for several minutes.
Bynum removed his jersey as he walked off the court -- strutting past the Dallas bench, where players were being held back.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle refused to comment on the fouls, saying: "Their actions are their actions. People can judge them on that."
Plenty of other people did.
"Those two cheap shots were unnecessary," NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley said. "Andrew Bynum has to be suspended. The Dallas Mavericks just kicked their [the Lakers] ass, plain and simple."
"Maybe [the NBA will] want to send a message because it was a cheap shot in a Game 4," Chris Webber added. "They need to set a precedent. It's funny to me the cheap shots come from the guys who have been hiding behind Kobe's cape."
It may be a bit of an oxymoron but you can lose like a champion, with your head held high, battling to the final minute. The Lakers, at least some of them, chose another direction, going out as chumps.
It was hard not to criticize the effort level of Pau Gasol throughout this series as Nowitzki tortured him, while the lack of sportsmanship shown by Ron Artest earlier in the set, along with Odom and Bynum in Game 4 speaks for itself. Even the old, tired claims of selfishness began to surround Bryant again.
All the while, Jackson, the "greatest of all-time," coaching in perhaps his last game, sat there almost disinterested. The trademarked off-putting smirk, covering up what likely was disgust at his own charges. Zen Master or not, Jackson had to be boiling under his unflappable outward demeanor, suffering through his only sweep in 21 different postseasons.
"It's been a wonderful run," Jackson said. "As Richard Nixon said, you won't be able to kick this guy around anymore."
Perhaps it was apropos that Jackson brought up Nixon.
All dynasties fall. For Kobe and Phil, their Watergate will forever be the "Mother's Day Massacre" in north Texas.
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