By Simon Fishler
SportsLine Staff Writer
May 28, 1999

While New York Knicks president Dave Checketts was found to be a liar, Spurs star Tim Duncan was simply on fire.

It was a bizarre weekend for Checketts and the Knicks.

First, Checketts flat-out denied he had met with former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson in April about taking the place of Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. Then he clumsily came clean, lamely trying to clear his guilty conscience with a statement during the second half of the Knicks' Game 3 victory over the Hawks.

If Dave Checketts mouth is moving, he might be lying(AP)

For the kids out there: When you're fibbin' … you're fizzlin' … .

New York went on to sweep the series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, becoming the first eighth seed to get that far.

The Knicks president ended up apologizing to Van Gundy for lying about the meeting with Jackson, but Mr. Checketts would do well to think before opening his mouth and embarrassing the organization.

Duncan, meantime, was averaging 29 points per game in the Spurs' sweep of the Lakers to lead San Antonio into the Western Conference Finals. That's sizzlin'.

Against the Lakers the second-year forward played the best ball of his career. Not only was he pouring in the points, he was a defensive force inside. Duncan has averaged 23.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in the Spurs' eight playoff games.

And now he and the Spurs have the luxury of getting some rest on the tail end of this whirlwind season while they await the winner of the Portland-Utah series.

Sizzlin' ... The Countdown

5. Let the cameras roll

Spike Lee will get all the free publicity he wants and more in the upcoming Knicks-Pacers conference finals, which begin Sunday. Any predictions on how many times the television cameras pan in on Spike at his courtside seat at Madison Square Garden during his verbal jousts with Reggie Miller? Maybe the networks can just go to a split screen to keep viewers constantly updated on the pair.

4. Going in different directions

While Orlando's Chuck Daly eased into retirement, Portland's Mike Dunleavy was named coach of the year. Daly, 68, said it was time to get away from the daily grind, having already won two NBA titles with the Pistons. He leaves with a 713-488 career mark.

Dunleavy, who won the award for the first time, was rewarded for leading Portland to a 35-15 record and a Pacific Division title. And with the Blazers six-game win over Utah, he still has a shot at the NBA title.

3. Lucky 13

By the way Jerry Krause giddily gyrated, you'd have thought the Chicago Bulls had won another title. OK, so the roly-poly Bulls boss was fired up to get the No. 1 pick in the draft … but the bigger story at the lottery was the Hornets jumping from the 13th position to No. 3.

2. Sky's the limit

Vince Carter joined the league in relative obscurity, but he was a big reason the Raptors were thinking (gasp) playoffs toward the end of the season. That, as much as his 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists -- as well as routinely making the highlight reels with acrobatic dunks -- made him a slam-dunk winner of the Rookie of the Year Award.

1. Spurring them on

With 70 points in the last two games at the Great Western Forum, Tim Duncan led the Spurs to a sweep of the Lakers and into the conference finals, turned out the lights for good at the antiquated structure and established himself as the hottest player in the NBA. Whew, what a week.

Fizzlin' ... The Countdown

5. Life after Daly

Chuck Daly's gone from the Orlando bench and with him went the credibility the Magic had by having a Hall of Fame coach running the show. While Daly eased into retirement (he insists it had nothing to do with Penny Hardaway), Hardaway has the option of signing with another team when he becomes a free agent on July 1. Orlando could be looking at a lottery season next year without their best player and one of the best coaches in the game.

4. Same old sad story

It seems every year the Hawks make the playoffs, and then in a blink of an eye they're gone. Once again, just like every time since the formation of the conferences in 1970, the Hawks didn't get to the conference finals. This time Atlanta was swept by the Knicks in the second round because they simply couldn't put the ball in the hoop, setting four-game futility marks for points scored (306) and shooting percentage (31.6 percent).

3. That Clipper luck

The Los Angeles Clippers had about a 20 percent chance of landing the top draft pick in the lottery. The Charlotte Hornets had less than a 1 percent shot of landing in the top three. But never mind the numbers, these are the Clippers we're talking about. And once again the perpetually pathetic Clips took the dive. The Hornets got the No. 3 pick overall and the Clips tumbled to No. 4.

2. School's out

The talent, oh my, is there. But the maturity isn't. Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice. Maybe the best trio in the NBA. Rice summed up the Lakers' season after they were swept from the second round by the Spurs: "It boils down to teamwork. We weren't together. They (Spurs) were together." Well put.

1. Liar, liar

Hey, this Dave Checketts guy might have a future career in politics.