It was vintage Kobe Bryant: after scoring 37 points with Houston’s Ron Artest guarding him in a March 11 win over the Rockets, the league’s reigning MVP brushed off his latest encounter with one of the game’s most fearless, dominant defenders, saying, “It wasn’t much of a battle. I kicked his [butt] tonight.”

So if that was then, what will things be like now between Bryant and Artest, two of the fiercest competitors whose respective teams will square off tonight in Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal?

To be fair, the Rockets are sure to throw their other defensive guru, Shane Battier, on Bryant throughout this series.

But the Bryant-Artest matchup intrigues me the most.
In the past, both have talked about their friendship and mutual respect for one another. But come tip-off, it’s strictly business. The Los Angeles Times previews the Bryant-Artest and Yao Ming-Andrew Bynum matchups in today’s paper.

Aside from the anticipated Bryant-Artest duel, the other matchup I’ll pay most attention to will be Denver’s Kenyon Martin guarding Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki. Martin has been adamant about defending the taller Nowitzki straight up, and we saw that much in Sunday’s Game 1 between Dallas and Denver, which the Nuggets won, 109-95.

Prior to the series, the blunt Martin told reporters he would “go right after” Nowitzki, and do everything possible to slow Dallas’ seven-foot scoring machine, from holding and grabbing to pushing.

On Sunday, Martin provided all of the above and then some, as the tempermental forward picked up a technical foul for a first-quarter shove that sent Nowitzki flying across the baseline. But Martin had his share of help; Chris Andersen and Nene both defended Nowitzki, who went scoreless during Denver’s 15-2 fourth-quarter run.

And heading into tonight’s Game 1 between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, there’s some concern that the defending champs might be too thin up front to defend the likes of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, all of who stand 6-10 or taller.

-Chris Silva

My playoff bracket is a bit off. As long as the Atlanta Hawks defeat the Miami Heat in today’s Game 7, my Eastern Conference bracket will be safe. But I didn’t have the Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets advancing, so I was wrong on that end.

Either way, I still have the Lakers advancing; I’ll take them over the Houston Rockets in six games. And I still think the Nuggets will be in the conference finals as well, so I’ll take them over Dallas in seven games. In the East, Cleveland is the obvious choice over either Atlanta or Miami, while there will be no rest for the Boston Celtics, who draw the Orlando Magic in the second round. I’m going with the Magic in this one, especially after all those overtime games the Celtics just played with the Chicago Bulls.

I had a chance to catch up with Desmond Mason before the Champions of Youth Gala for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County on Thursday at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Since we’re in the midst of a highly entertaining first round of the playoffs, I decided to pick Mason’s brain about all that’s transpired through the first 13 days of postseason.

The biggest surprise for Mason was the Denver Nuggets’ 121-63 Game 4 victory over his former team, the New Orleans Hornets.

“I know (head coach) Byron Scott let those guys have it because that’s something he doesn’t tolerate,” Mason said.

I also got Mason to comment on the point guard play we’ve seen throughout the first round. San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Denver’s Chauncey Billups, Chicago’s Derrick Rose and Boston’s Rajon Rondo all have elevated their teams at one point or another.

“In that point guard position I think Rondo is probably playing the best,” Mason said. “Right now he’s playing really solid basketball, really taking up a lot of the scoring slack that they lost with (Kevin) Garnett. If (Rondo)’s not playing the way he’s been playing, I think they’re out.”

As far as the second round goes, Mason said he was looking forward to seeing the Denver-Dallas series.

“It’s going to be a good series, man,” he said. “It’s going to be interesting to see who wins that series but I like the way that Dallas is playing. Denver’s playing tough, too. They’re both playing tough, but I really like the way Dallas is playing right now.”

And finally, I asked Mason for his pick to win it all. He thought about it for a few seconds, but couldn’t commit to one team.

“I think Lakers-Cleveland in the Finals, if I had to make a decision,” he said.

MORE FROM THURSDAY NIGHT

I had one leftover story from last night’s gala that didn’t make it into my original story. So here it is:

Thunder TV color analyst Grant Long, who served as the event’s emcee, didn’t have a Boys & Girls Club growing up outside of Detroit in Romulus, Mich. But during his first few seasons playing with the Miami Heat, Long said he was the spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Club in Miami.

During his opening remarks, Long told a story about his visit to a local Club with some Thunder players.

Long recalled a young boy, who couldn’t have been older than eight or nine, ask members of the Thunder a peculiar question: were they born or adopted into their families. After everyone gave their answer, Long felt as though the kid didn’t get the response he was looking for. That stuck with Long. So he made it a point to find the child before he left and ask him exactly what he was looking to get out of that question.

“I did find him at the end of the day and I told him simply that it doesn’t make a difference how you get into a family,” Long said. “What makes the family is the fact that there’s someone there when you come home that loves you, respects you and provides an environment for you to grow and thrive, and give you an opportunity to do something with this life. And after that I looked at him and I felt like he got the answer he wanted. At the end of the day, that’s when I realized, ‘that’s what the Boys & Girls Club will do for the members.’ They provide a place that kids go to that they can call their own.”

KUDOS TO ALL!!

This just in: the Thunder finished second in the NBA in the number of player community appearances this season, with the L.A. Lakers leading the league. The Thunder also finished second in “fan connections,” behind the Dallas Mavericks.

Contact Chris Silva at csilva@thunder-nba.com.

Can it get any better between the Celtics and Bulls playoff series? I certainly hope so, and judging by the first six games, it has to. It’s been a masterpiece of a series, and now it comes down to a Game 7 in Boston after last night’s triple-overtime affair that fell in the Bulls’ favor. I’ve already watched the highlights four times this morning. Figured you might want to do the same.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are probably breathing a collective sigh of relief right now. The Rockets are in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1997 after their 92-76 Game 6 win over the young Portland Trail Blazers.

Moving on, the Orlando Magic easily advanced to the second round sans Dwight Howard and Courtney Lee. Since Howard’s suspension kept him from sitting on the Magic bench, the Defensive Player of the Year decided to Twitter throughout Game 6.

And in Miami, at least one Heat player has already guaranteed a Game 7 in Atlanta; Game 6 between the Heat and Hawks is tonight.

Be sure to comeback later this evening, when I’ll have Desmond Mason’s take on what has been an amazing first round of the playoffs.

-Chris Silva

Count the Denver Nuggets among the teams that have punched a ticket to the second round of the playoffs. The Nuggets advanced past the first round for the first time since 1994 with their 107-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Orlando, Boston and Houston can all wrap up its first round series with wins tonight.

The Magic will have to do it without Defensive Player of the Year Dwight Howard, who was suspended for Game 6 after throwing an elbow at Philly’s Samuel Dalembert, and rookie guard Courtney Lee (fractured sinus). Pretty bad timing if you’re a Magic fan.

In Boston, they’re talking about exhaustion from all the minutes played through the first five games between the Bulls and Celtics.

And in Houston, the Rockets are hoping defensive guru Ron Artest can step it up on the offensive end tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers.

-Chris Silva

If you find yourself craving a cocktail on Cinco de Mayo, I strongly suggest you grab one at Bricktown Brewery, where Thunder head coach Scott Brooks will serve as a guest bartender. Brooks is doing this to raise money for the fire victims in east Oklahoma County. He’ll tend the upstairs bar from 5-7 p.m. Word on the street is that the Thunder will also announce a special donation.

The biggest headline from last night was the Dallas Mavericks eliminating the San Antonio Spurs from the playoffs with a 106-93 Game 5 win. The Spurs haven’t been knocked out of the first round since 2000. And while many critics are yapping about this being the end of an era for San Antonio, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein disagrees….

The Celtics and Bulls put on another spectacular show last night. This time, the Celtics flourished in the extra frame, defeating Chicago, 106-104, to take a 3-2 series lead.

Moving forward, the Denver Nuggets could advance to the second round for the first time since 1994 with a win tonight over the New Orleans Hornets. As Dave Krieger of the Denver Post points out, closeout games aren’t easy.

And finally, the Hawks-Heat series is at 2-2 heading into tonight’s Game 5 in Atlanta. Hawks fans are still waiting for All-Star Joe Johnson to step it up.

-Chris Silva

The Lakers joined Cleveland as the first teams to advance to the second round, thanks to L.A.’s series-clinching 107-96 win over the Utah Jazz last night. Both Dallas and Houston can follow suit tonight.

But the most interesting match-ups are the Boston-Chicago and Philadelphia-Orlando series, which in my opinion have been the most exciting series so far. Both series are locked at 2-2 heading into tonight’s games.

The first round has been centered around point guards. Think Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups. Rondo is averaging 23.3 points, 10.0 assists and 10.3 rebounds. Rondo has so much raw talent that he could probably play center field for the Boston Red Sox.

Meanwhile, maybe it’s a good thing that tonight’s Game 5 between the Sixers and Magic is in Orlando and not Philly. Those crazy Philly fans stood up their Sixers in a closely played Game 4 simply by not showing up to the Wachovia Center, where there was close to 6,000 empty seats. While Philly is better known as the City of Brotherly Love, it also goes by the moniker, The City That Loves You Back. Apparently, that doesn’t apply to the Sixers.

-Chris Silva

Looks like two of my playoff picks might bow out early with the Dallas Mavericks holding a 3-1 series lead over San Antonio and the Houston Rockets also with a 3-1 edge over Portland. Oh, well. Can’t predict ‘em all.

The Los Angeles Lakers can wrap up their first-round series against the Utah Jazz with a win tonight at the Staples Center. Count Kobe Bryant among the Lakers who don’t want to return to Salt Lake City.

The Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets, meanwhile, have a chance to put their opponents on the brink of elimination in a pair of Game 4s tonight. Both Denver’s Carmelo Anthony (elbow) and New Orleans’ Chris Paul (knee) are banged up. Both teams are expecting a rough-and-tumble affair tonight.

Down in South Beach, center Jermaine O’Neal has found a role with the Heat just in the nick of time.

-Chris Silva

The Thunder got some nationally televised love this morning.

Actress/singer and Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” this morning, and she took the stage donning a Kevin Durant road jersey. Here’s the link to the video.

-Chris Silva