New Orleans coach Byron Scott was presented with the Red Auerbach trophy before Tuesday night's game.

Scott easily outdistanced Boston's Doc Rivers in voting for the Coach of the Year award. The Hornets finished with a 56-26 record – an 18-game improvement over last season – and the No. 2 seed in the highly competitive Western Conference.

"There is not a coach in this business right now that has a better job than I do," Scott said.

David Moore

There have been reports that friction between Jason Kidd and Byron Scott led to Scott's departure from New Jersey.

Kidd and Scott prefer to avoid the subject these days. But Kidd did have some nice things to say about his former coach when Scott was named Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

"I think that's great," Kidd said. "He deserves that award. He probably should have gotten it when he was in New Jersey.

"I'm happy for him and his team. They fought all year."

David Moore

It was inevitable. Sooner or later, Josh Howard was going to hear the taunts from fans near the Mavericks' bench.

It happened at the start of the second quarter, when a fan yelled out: "Come on Howard, you and me. We'll go out after the game and get so high. After this game, you can get high all you want."

Eddie Sefko

When it came time to make one final run in the last 24 minutes of the game, Avery Johnson made the call to go smaller and start Brandon Bass.

The move got the desired results, with Bass coming up with six points and five rebounds in the third.

Eddie Sefko

Jerry Stackhouse said the players-only practice Monday was a chance for the players to bond with each other.

"It's just about bringing it to the table once the game starts," he said. "All the X's and O's are good, but sometimes it's the guys coming together and figuring out what works better. We're the ones in the game.

"We needed to smell the gym a little."

Eddie Sefko

Jerry Stackhouse was ejected with 1:47 remaining after picking up his second technical foul. Both technicals stemmed from confrontations with Hornets star Chris Paul.

Stackhouse said the second technical was "the weakest call ever." It came after he swiped at the ball from behind Paul and hit the point guard in the chest during a break-in play.

Tim MacMahon

Josh Howard finished his nightmarish series on the bench, playing less than three minutes in the fourth quarter. Avery Johnson opted to play reserve Devean George at small forward during the Mavericks' frantic comeback attempt.

Howard averaged 12.6 points on 28.3 percent shooting during the series. He was 6-of-14 in Game 5 but missed eight of his final 10 shots.

Tim MacMahon

Center Erick Dampier played only 7:33 and did not get off the bench in the second half. Dampier finished with no points and no rebounds.

Dampier started the game defending power forward David West, who scored on the opening possession. Dampier switched a few possessions later to guard center Tyson Chandler, who promptly got three dunks.

Tim MacMahon

The Mavericks made the Jason Kidd trade with winning a championship this season in mind. But Kidd, who is entering the final season of his contract, said it is too early to call the deal that sent Devin Harris to New Jersey a failure for Dallas.

"It didn't work out the way we wanted it to, but sometimes you have to be patient for good things to happen," said Kidd, who averaged 8.6 points and 6.8 assists during the series.

Tim MacMahon