Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Late in the Nuggets’ Game 2 win over the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge whacked Gary Harris in the nuts. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: Shouldn't come as a surprise, but hearing no expectation of disciplinary action on LaMarcus Aldridge's possible groin shot against Gary Harris. Deemed incidental contact. — Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) April 18, 2019 It surely helped that Denver coach Michael Malone defended Aldridge. Malone, via Mike Singer of The Denver Post: “If there was a windup, if there was something that looked really deliberate, that’d be different, but from what I saw, and I didn’t spend much time looking at it, obviously who cares what I think?” Malone said. “It all comes down to what the NBA thinks. In watching it, obviously Gary was unfortunately the recipient of that accidental blow but I didn’t see it as something that was premeditated or done with the intent to hurt Gary.” It also helps that Aldridge doesn’t have a reputation for dirty plays. But this is what I can’t get totally past: If Aldridge intended to take a cheap shot, how would it have looked any different?<doc-sep>Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge said Thursday he had no malicious intent when he hit Nuggets guard Gary Harris in the groin while fighting through a screen late in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. The blow from Aldridge’s left hand left Harris writhing in pain on the court with less than two minutes left in Denver’s 114-105 victory Tuesday. “I’m not a dirty player,” Aldridge said before warming up for Game 3. “I was just trying to get out of the way. I’m not that guy. I’m not worried about it.” The Nuggets contacted the NBA about the collision, but the league ruled it incidental contact, a league source said. Denver coach Michael Malone said he did not think the blow was intentional. “(Video) was sent to me from the truck in different feeds in slow motion,” Malone said Wednesday. “I will say this, I think we sent it (to the league) as an organization. Having had a chance to coach LaMarcus at the All-Star Game, I do not think he’s a dirty player. I don’t see that in his game. I think it was an accident. I think it was unfortunate. I don’t think there was any malicious intent. That’s not who LaMarcus Aldridge is.” Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, was at Tuesday’s game in Denver and apparently agreed with Malone. “If there was a windup, if there was something that looked really deliberate, that’d be different,” Malone added. “But from what I saw, and I didn’t spend much time looking at it, obviously who cares what I think. It all comes down to what the NBA thinks. In watching it, obviously Gary was unfortunately the recipient of that accidental blow, but I didn’t see it as something premeditated.” Spurs Nation: Get the latest Spurs news, analysis and features sent directly to your inbox Gay reached out to injured Cousins Wanting to console a former teammate, the Spurs’ Rudy Gay reached out to DeMarcus Cousins after the Golden State center tore his left quadricep in the Warriors’ 135-131 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday in Game 2 of their playoff series. “Yeah, I’ve talked to him,” said Gay, who played with Cousins for four seasons with Sacramento. “But it’s hard right now to get anything out of anybody after something like that. He’s an emotional guy already as it is, and for something like this to happen. … People don’t really understand how important our jobs are to us.” Cousins is out indefinitely. He suffered the noncontact injury while pursuing a loose ball in the first quarter. Cousins returned to the court in January after missing nearly a full year with a torn left Achilles tendon that occurred last season while with New Orleans. Gay, who tore his left Achilles in January 2017, called Cousins’ latest injury “heartbreaking.” Cousins signed a one-year deal with the Warriors hoping a strong return would make him a sought-after free agent this summer. “I know how much he wanted to play in the postseason, that being one of the factors why he went to that team in the first place,” Gay said. “He’s come so far, and he was finally starting to get to be himself. I hate to see him go down.” Nuggets greet coaching legend One by one, Denver’s players came over to shake the hand of a Nuggets coaching icon Thursday morning. All the while, Doug Moe, 80, beamed from ear to ear. “It’s neat,” he said. “These guys have been great.” Moe, who lives in San Antonio, attended the Nuggets’ shootaround at the invitation of coach Michael Malone. “He’s a legend,” Malone said. “I told all our players to make sure they go over to him and pay their respects.… When you are in hostile territory, it’s always good to have a friendly face.” Moe coached both the Nuggets and the Spurs during a 15-year career that spanned from 1976 to 1993. He ranks first among Denver coaches in regular-season wins with 432 and is second only to Gregg Popovich in Spurs history with 177. On ExpressNews.com: 7 Questions: How well do you know NBA playoff trivia? Moe guided the Nuggets to the playoffs in each of his nine seasons with the club, winning two division titles and leading the 1984-85 squad to the Western Conference finals. He also guided the 1978-79 Spurs to the Eastern Conference finals. “I can’t just outwardly root for either of them because I am friends with coach Malone and coach Pop,” Moe said. “I hope they both play great and one of them comes out the winner. I don’t know, I have a feeling it could be a tie.” Malone asked Moe if he wanted to coach the Nuggets in Game 3. “I actually invited him to coach tonight, and I would sit in the stands and have a hot dog and a beer, and he said, ‘Hell, no,’” Malone said. “He said, ‘Coach, that’s all you. I am going to enjoy the game.’” torsborn@express-news.net Twitter: @tom_orsborn Staff writer Jeff McDonald contributed to this story.<doc-sep>They’re tough Nuggets to crack, as LaMarcus “Low Blow” Aldridge and all those basketball bullies down in San Antonio have discovered. In this NBA playoff series, have the Spurs come undone? Now, we all know the Nuggets have nowhere near the championship pedigree of a proud San Antonio franchise and haven’t even won a game in the Alamo City since way back in 2012. But there were indications during Denver’s 114-105 victory in Game 2 the Spurs know they must try to bully the Nuggets because winning a game of skill is out of the question. The last angry-man act of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich turned to parody, when he chased referee Kane Fitzgerald down the sideline and across the center-court line, in a surprisingly juvenile tantrum for a 70-year-old man, especially when it resulted in a costly technical foul that increased Denver’s lead to three points at a critical juncture of the fourth quarter. But even worse, and perhaps more telling: After the Nuggets increased their lead to a nearly insurmountable seven points with a few ticks under two minutes remaining in the game, Aldridge fought through a screen by smacking Denver guard Gary Harris below the belt and between the thighs, knocking Harris to the court with the kind of pain no man ever wants to endure. Thank you, Mr. Aldridge. I believe it has been so long that Denver had forgotten what the intense passion of the NBA playoffs was all about. And I have sensed the crowd in the Pepsi Center requires the team to fire up Nuggets fans rather than the other way around. Well, maybe Aldridge has finally given what this long-suffering and far-too-polite basketball town needed to get loud and crazy: a villain to boo unmercifully. “I do not think he’s a dirty player. I don’t see that in his game,” Malone said Wednesday after the Nuggets arrived in San Antonio on the eve of Game 3. “I think it was an accident, I think it was unfortunate. I don’t think there was any malicious intent there. That’s not who LaMarcus Aldridge is.” While Aldridge seems like a perfectly fine fellow in casual conversation, the history of the big man’s 13 seasons in the NBA suggests he has trouble keeping his hands to himself. In addition to well-documented and long-simmering bad blood with Serge Ibaka, video evidence isn’t hard to find of Aldridge blowing a fuse and trying to physically intimidate a foe. There’s no reason, however, for these Nuggets to be spooked or intimidated by a long losing streak in San Antonio. Why? They used to be the big, bad Spurs. But Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have left the building. Now the scariest thing about San Antonio is Popovich’s grumpy-bear glare. Let’s put it in words folks should understand in the Lone Star state. Don’t mess with Denver. The low blow on Harris by Aldridge merits a fine. While I originally thought a suspension was in order, I’ve reconsidered. The Spurs without Aldridge wouldn’t be a fair fight. Beating San Antonio, already short of basketball talent, would be too easy for Denver. While the Nuggets organization sent video of the low blow to the league for review, Malone did not push for a suspension, because he doesn’t believe Aldridge displayed premeditated intent to hurt Harris. “Who cares what I think?” Malone said. “It all comes down to what the NBA thinks.” At this point, it would be surprising if our old friend Kiki Vandeweghe and his pals in the NBA’s disciplinary office give Aldridge more than a slap on the wrist. The next time Aldridge shows his face in the Pepsi Center, however, I will be deeply disappointed if he’s not greeted with a song selected especially for him: “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” From The Nutcracker.<doc-sep>
SAN ANTONIO – Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Wednesday he didn’t see anything intentional about the Game 2 incident between LaMarcus Aldridge and Gary Harris that left Denver’s shooting guard on the floor writhing in pain late in the fourth quarter Tuesday night. While fighting through a screen with 1:52 left in the game, Aldridge appeared to swing his right arm and hit Harris in the groin. Harris immediately fell and hobbled back on defense in obvious pain. “It was sent to me from the truck in different feeds in slow motion,” Malone said, one day after his team fought back from a 19-point deficit to even the series 1-1. “I will say this. I think we sent it (to the NBA) as an organization. Having had a chance to coach LaMarcus at the All-Star Game, I do not think he’s a dirty player. I don’t see that in his game. I think it was an accident, I think it was unfortunate. I don’t think there was any malicious intent there. That’s not who LaMarcus Aldridge is.” Aldridge punched Gary in the balls. I can’t imagine how bad that felt pic.twitter.com/7BLw50wweU — Eshan Bhatt 👑 (@KingNugg_) April 17, 2019 Malone said he didn’t see anything that looked intentional, therefore he didn’t think a suspension was warranted. “If there was a windup, if there was something that looked really deliberate, that’d be different, but from what I saw, and I didn’t spend much time looking at it, obviously who cares what I think?” Malone said. “It all comes down to what the NBA thinks. In watching it, obviously Gary was unfortunately the recipient of that accidental blow but I didn’t see it as something that was premeditated or done with the intent to hurt Gary.” For the second consecutive game, Harris was phenomenal. He’s scored 43 points on 17 for 28 shooting through the first two games, and he’s hassled DeMar DeRozan on the defensive end. His play in the second half of Tuesday’s win – 14 points, two 3-pointers – was integral to the comeback. Asked how Harris was feeling a day after the blow, Malone laughed. “He’s able to breathe a little bit,” Malone said. “He’s feeling much better.” No lineup changes. Will Barton was benched for the entire fourth quarter Tuesday after shooting 1-of-10 from the field and 0 for 6 from 3-point range. For the series, Barton is 7 for 25 with four assists. He heard a smattering of boos in the second half after one shot from the corner hit the side of the backboard. Despite that, Malone said he plans to stick with his guy. “Kind of like with Jamal (Murray) last night, if I just yank him out of the lineup, that’s not who I am,” Malone said. “And I think it’d be an overreaction. It would look like I was panicking. Will’s gonna go out there and hopefully play great tomorrow, and if he’s not playing well, we know we can go to guys off the bench.”