Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Perhaps the Rockets enjoyed their double-digit lead a little too much. And now the Hawks can enjoy the fact they’ve clinched a playoff berth. Former Hawk Josh Smith hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter and raised a finger to his mouth to quiet the Philips Arena crowd. It was one of two straight long-distance shots to give the Rockets a 15-point lead with 10:32 remaining. The Hawks called time out. Smith and another former Hawk Jason Terry used the break to further incite the crowd. Oops. The Hawks responded with a 32-8 run to end the game and steal a 104-96 victory Tuesday night. According to the NBA and Elias Sports Bureau, the victory clinched a playoff spot for the Hawks, their eighth straight trip to the postseason. “It was chippy and that was what really got us going,” DeMarre Carroll said. “If they were quiet and just did what they did, they wouldn’t have woke up Jeff Teague, they wouldn’t have woke up myself, they wouldn’t have woke up Paul (Millsap). I think that’s when it got chippy and Josh Smith was doing all this.”

Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte Hornets coach Steve Clifford said before Tuesday’s home game against the Los Angeles Lakers that rookie P.J. Hairston would again be inactive. Hairston was deactivated for Sunday’s road game against the Orlando Magic. Two sources confirmed Hairston missed a weight-training session Sunday before that game. Clifford said Hairston, a first-round pick and former North Carolina star, has fallen behind both Jeff Taylor and Troy Daniels in the rotation among shooting guards and small forwards. Clifford said that could easily change over the remainder of the season, but that would involve Hairston applying himself better as an NBA player. “P.J., to me, has the chance to be a very good player,” Clifford said. “His approach has to be where he is constantly learning what the NBA game is about. He’s hasn’t done that well. He hasn’t been terrible, nor has he done as well as I would like.”

Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post: The Nuggets are so inept they even botched the no-brainer firing of coach Brian Shaw. So consider the stumbling, bumbling actions of the NBA's lamest organization on a cold and gray Tuesday as fair warning to Mike D'Antoni, Chauncey Billups, Mark Jackson oranybody else with past ties to the Nuggets who might be crazy enough to believe he could lead Denver back to respectability. Only a fool would apply for this coaching vacancy. The Nuggets have a problem with a lack of professionalism. It starts at the top, with franchise president Josh Kroenke, and trickles down with an annoying drip, drip, drip to the locker room, where a brown cardboard box labeled "Phones" sits on a stool every game night, because irresponsible players developed a nasty habit of caring more about text messages than the final score. At approximately 9:30 in the morning, Nuggets management surprised Shaw with the news his services would no longer be needed after a mere 20 months and 141 often-miserable games on the job. Hey, why halt a downward spiral to a more desirable spot in the NBA draft lottery? It made no sense. Then, showing a complete lack of responsibility, neither Kroenke nor general manager Tim Connelly bothered to explain Shaw's dismissal until 6:32 p.m., when Connelly belatedly uttered a brief statement and took questions for less than three minutes.

Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: On Tuesday, the Nuggets got rid of their Josh McDaniels, a young disciple of a legendary coach who proved to be in over his head with his first head coaching job. And so, with coach Brian Shaw out the door, I began to think of veteran coaches who could instill discipline and change the culture at the Pepsi Center, a John Fox type, if you will. Perhaps Mike D'Antoni, who actually once coached the Nuggets before finding fame in Phoenix with his offense more NASCAR than basketball. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered. Is Chauncey the answer? The whole thing would be a fairy tale — Denver native Chauncey Billups, a Colorado legend and former Nuggets all-star, hired to coach and, really, save the franchise. Yes, Billups has been retired for like 37 minutes. Still, it just makes so much sense. His passion, presence and credibility are what this organization desperately needs. ... I can't see someone like Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson allowing himself to let Chauncey down. Would the Nuggets hire Billups? It'd be a gamble. But here's thinking he's the man who could revitalize his hometown team.

Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune: The Grizzlies pride themselves on toughness and unrelenting defense, on grit 'n' grind. All those hallmarks were on display Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, prompting Memphis coach Dave Joerger to offer praise for his team after the game. "I thought that was the hardest we've played," he told reporters. That might tell you a thing or two about the state of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz kicked off their four-game road trip by out-battling Memphis, 93-82, at the FedExForum, led by 21 points apiece from Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors and a 15-point, 24-rebound night from center Rudy Gobert. With the victory, the Jazz (23-35) claimed their first three-game winning streak of the season. "You know how I feel about all that, streaks one way or another," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "We could lose three in a row and I don't want to feel like the sky is falling. But I feel like what we're doing right now is playing good basketball." Make that really good when it comes to D-ing up.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: Several times this season, Joakim Noah has referred to Nikola Mirotic as the Bulls' X-factor. Mirotic's secret is out. And with Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson out injured, Mirotic is looking like one of the go-to closers. The rookie scored eight of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter of the Bulls' 97-92 victory over the Wizards on Tuesday night at the United Center. Repeatedly, Mirotic recognized his matchup, taking larger defenders to the perimeter and smaller defenders to the post.Not only did Mirotic post back-to-back 20-point games for the first time in his young NBA career, he now has scored 24 fourth-quarter points since Butler joined Rose and Gibson on the sidelines. "Niko's a stud," Noah said. "Floor spacing is very important in this league. Niko can do that very well." With Gibson still in a walking boot, Rose out four to six weeks after knee surgery and Butler out three to six weeks with a grade 2/3 ulnar ligament sprain and small bone impaction injury in his left elbow, Mirotic's role will be important.

Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: Vlade Divac was always coming back. His return was about as predictable as climate change. Though he began and ended his NBA career with the Lakers, his true colors were always purple and black. His finest seasons, his favorite teams, and except for the crushing conference finals in 2002, his best times involved his Kings. The only issue was this: How do you squeeze a 7-foot-1 global basketball icon, humanitarian extraordinaire, beloved Kings figure and his outsized personality into a box? You don’t. You punt, you flop, you run with him. Kings principal owner Vivek Ranadive suddenly seems to have all the right answers. He is starting to play like a veteran. He hires George Karl, and weeks later, crafts a position that accommodates Divac’s unique and expansive abilities. Officially, Divac rejoins the Kings as vice president of basketball and franchise operations. Unofficially, Vlade will be all over the map. ...So about squeezing a 7-foot-1 icon into a box? Why would anyone want to? Divac is an anomaly in this business, that one size who fits all. Endorse the move and embrace the man. In Sacramento, in his old flopping ground, Divac is almost larger than life.

Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group: Once upon a time David Blatt eyed the final box score following a preseason game. He was asked what jumped out to him, responding with some frustration about the number of three-pointers the Cavs took that October night. That was a sign of things to come. Layups and threes is what it's about for the Cavs. Going into Tuesday's contest, they were averaging the second-most triples since Jan. 15, a night they beat the Lakers. Averaging a shade more than 30 per game, the Cavs trailed only Houston, a team averaging 33.8 in that span. Prior to that date, the Cavs averaged only 23.9 three-point attempts, which was 10th in the league. The difference, according to Blatt is roster adjustments. J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert provide much more spacing. James Jones is getting minutes instead of Shawn Marion. Of course, Kevin Love continues to drift to the line as well. Then there's the return of James, who attracts so much attention the defense is often forced to leave one of the outside shooters.