Mike Monroe's NBA beat notebook

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA112606.10C.BKNnbabeat.notebook.2d17e5c.html

Web Posted: 11/25/2006 09:39 PM CST
San Antonio Express-News

The Nuggets, who beat the Warriors 140-129 on Friday, hadn't scored so many points in a non-overtime game since 1991. They had not had as many assists (42) since 1990. Common denominator in those benchmarks? Coach Paul Westhead, whose fast pace-no defense approach was dubbed "crap-a-doodle" by Hall of Fame coach Alex Hannum. Westhead's Nuggets were the Magic's opponent in 1990 when Scott Skiles set an record for single-game assists (31) in a game I covered. After the game, Nuggets guard Walter Davis grabbed me and demanded I expose Westhead's system as fatally flawed. "Scott Skiles just got 31 assists," Davis moaned. "Scott Skiles!" ...

The Celtics' home-court loss to the Knicks on Friday brought out more than just boo birds. Things got ugly late when some fans started a "Fire Doc" chant. Even worse, Celtics star Paul Piece had no comment on the fans' actions in regards to Doc Rivers. Way to back your coach, Paul. ...

Speaking of booing, you've got to love Kings fans, who have the longest memories in the league. They still boo Derek Fisher, now a Jazz guard but formerly a Kings-killer when he played for the Lakers. They also still boo Robert Horry, now with the Spurs. ...

Funny moment last week when Paul Millsap checked into the game for Utah. The Jazz's two rookie regulars are Ronnie Brewer and Millsap, and arena PA announcer Dan Roberts introduced " Ronnie Milsap" as the guy checking in for Carlos Boozer. Ronnie Milsap is a country-pop musician who had his biggest success in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Shot-happy Andrea Bargnani , who's logged 27, 25 and 24 minutes in Raptors' past three games, finally got his first assist in a victory over the Cavs. ...

Floppy-haired Cavs forward Anderson Verejao reported having a nightmare last week. In it, someone had cut off all his hair. Said teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas : "He'd drop about 10 pounds if he ever cut off all of his hair." ...

What did Larry Brown do over the weekend? Spent it in the Hamptons with his family. Brother Herb Brown, an assistant for the Hawks, said Larry enjoyed finally having the time to do so.