Nuggets don’t want to get into officiating

Kenyon Martin is, if nothing else, a deeply practical man.

And he can run the numbers in his head. That and the knowing sense that his wallet would get lighter with the more words he uttered in the locker room.

“I’m saving my money, man,” said the Denver Nuggets forward. “ . . . I already gave them $25,000.”

This is why he didn’t want to comment on the officiating in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. This followed a 103-94 victory by the Lakers on Wednesday night at Staples Center, giving them a 3-2 lead in the series.

If he got to talking, well, who knows where it would all end?

“I’m not going there,” he said. “I’m going to save my money. If I start, I’m not going to stop.”

There are, after all, little mouths with big appetites to feed in the Martin household.

“I’ve got three -- I’ve got an 8-, 6- and a 4-year old. I’m saving my money,” said Martin, who had 12 points and five rebounds in 36-plus minutes of action.

The beauty of the NBA is that you can say an awful lot without saying anything without adding money to the coffers of NBA charities.

If only the Nuggets had handled the beginning of the fourth quarter (slowing the Lakers’ 11-0 run) so adeptly.

Carmelo Anthony’s way of handling the issue was to put it away: an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of approach.

“It’s gone now,” he said. “Nothing really we can do about this game. It’s over with. No need for us to complain about no refs, no calls. For what? We still have to go out there. We’ve got Game 6 in Denver Friday. Go home, take care of business and come back here.”

Denver Coach George Karl did speak about it, and framed it under the category of “gamesmanship in the press conferences regarding officiating.”

“I’m not going to get fined,” Karl said. “I’m not going to get into the game of -- [Lakers Coach] Phil [Jackson] is so much better at it than I am, so much more philosophical about the whistle and how it changed.

“It was a very difficult whistle to play. No question about that. Every player in my locker room is frustrated, from guards to big guys. Look at the stat sheet. [Pau] Gasol goes after at least 20 jump shots, 20 shots to the rim and gets one foul; our big guys have 16.”

Not that the Nuggets were discounting the significant impact of the 11-0 run by the Lakers to open the final quarter.

“That was the difference in the game, I think,” Martin said. “We missed a few easy shots. I know I missed a few right around the rim. They came down and got a couple of easy baskets, a couple of open jumpers.”

Anthony, who had 31 points, said his ankle still felt a bit sore but added “it felt good tonight.”

What didn’t feel good was the Lakers’ increased focus on him.

“The Lakers aren’t going to let me beat them,” said Anthony, who missed 14 of 23 shots. “That’s just the way it is. Every time I get it, I’m seeing two, three people at a time.

“So I take it as a sign of respect. If they were out there and backing off of me and not even worrying about me, then I take it as disrespect.”

--

lisa.dillman@latimes.com