Burnt, shot, stabbed, charred, hoisted

1. A highlight from either of tonight's games
2. My mindstate throughout

Did remember this Simmons line halfway through the Dallas/Rockets blood-letting, and it gave me something to believe in:

Has there ever been a one-on-one matchup quite like "Dirk Nowitzki vs. Amare Stoudemire"? Neither guy has any chance of stopping the other, nor will they care. It's going to be like watching the best Rucker Park showdown ever.

Jermaine O'Neal and Sheed have been talking all week about how excited they'd be to meet in the next round. Can he do no wrong?

Sad to see T-Mac go, but at least no one can question his heart or will to win this one. For what it's worth, that series probably made him the best shooting guard in the league. And between him and KG, there's definitely something bad-assed about not being able to get out of the first round; seems like it should have happened to AI.

Perspective: T-Mac is twenty-five and only getting better. I'd still bet on him and Yao getting a ring in the 8-10 years of prime he has left.

Never liked Avery Johnson as a player but it's hard not to get behind him as a coach. He's such a straight shooter it hurts.

Best thing that happened on TNT tonight: at 12:41AM, Barkley revealed "I'm bilingual--I speak profanity and English." I'm assuming he's said it before, but that tells you what kind of a night it was.

Set your clocks now for Suns/Mavs. And in the meantime, umm, go Wizards!!!