Kenyon Martin insisted he wasn’t annoyed. Amused, yes. Angry, no.
Injured Knick Tim Thomas, displaying the IQ of an ice cube and the common sense of cole slaw, insisted he wanted back in the Knicks-Nets series so he could “hit somebody.” He singled out Martin, called him phony tough, and said he wanted a fight set up between the two. That’s part of what Martin found so amusing before last night’s Game 3 at the Garden.
“He’s talking about calling Don King,” Martin said. “Lock me and him in a room together and see who’s going to come out.”
Martin, labeling Thomas “a career underachiever,” yesterday smiled at Thomas’ accusations but it was clear he had little regard for the Knick who was injured in Game 1 of the series, the victim of a Jason Collins flagrant foul.
“It’s hilarious. I feel privileged he’s spending time thinking about me,” Martin said. “The question to me is how I’m not a tough guy. Take a poll around the league, I’m pretty sure if you ask people who they want on their team, they’re not going to say Tim Thomas.”
The Nets gladly will say “Kenyon Martin,” who again showed his two-way value in the endgame last night, helping preserve an 81-78 Nets victory that brought a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. With the Nets reeling and leading by one, Martin, during a 19-point, 15-rebound effort, snuffed a Penny Hardaway drive, simply taking the ball away from the Knick with 1:05 to go. Martin then scored a 3-point play with 25.9 seconds left that proved to be the margin of victory and an 80-76 lead.
Yeah, the Nets appreciate him.
“The guy is unreal. He made a great defensive stop down the stretch then made the and-1 that gave us the lead,” Lucious Harris said.
“I was feeling a little down because I had just missed two free throws,” Martin said of his mood before the 3-point play, a sequence that proved his worth again.
“My teammates have never questioned how hard I play. In Milwaukee they questioned [Thomas],” Martin said in his anti-Thomas assault. “People know what they’re going to get out of me every time I step on the floor. I’m not like Pandora’s Box. Like if you open it up, you don’t know what you’re going to get; that’s him.
“Like somebody said, he’s a career underachiever. He ain’t done nothing in his career. I’ve been to the Finals twice. We came up a little short, but I’ve won games. Everywhere he’s gone, he’s been questioned.”
Thomas said he wanted his Knicks teammates to retaliate in the “two games left” in the series that the Nets had led 2-0. If true, then Thomas forecast a Nets sweep.
“He’s basically writing off his team, talking about they’ve got two games left. ‘But I’m not playing, though,’ ” said Martin, feigning to be Thomas speaking. “I guess street clothes make you a better observer, but I let my play speak for itself . . . You’re down two games and you still continue to talk and you had nothing to do with either game? It’s funny.”
Thomas referred to Martin as “fugazy,” a slang term for fraud from the movie “Donnie Brasco.” Martin couldn’t let that pass, either. Asked if he knew what “fugazy” meant, Martin replied, “Tim Thomas.”
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Fightin’ words
Push came to shove for Kenyon Martin and Tim Thomas before, last April 29 in the Nets’ first-round playoff series with the Bucks. Here are the details on a possible rematch:
KENYON “Fugazy” MARTIN // TIM “Whiny” THOMAS
26 // Age // 27
6-9, 240 // Height, Weight // 6-10, 240
Dallas // Hometown // Paterson, N.J.
Cincinnati // College // Villanova
Criminal Justice // Major // None
By Nets, 1st, 2000 // Drafted // By Nets, 7th, 1997
16.7 ppg, 9.5 rpg // 2004 Stats // 14.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Jan. 2004 vs. Corey Maggette; Jan. 2002 vs. Tracy McGrady // Tune-up Fights // May 2001, vs. Orlando fans
