(AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

TNT’s “40 Games in 40 Nights” NBA Playoffs coverage continues on Monday, April 20th with the Chicago Bulls @ Boston Celtics (Game #2) at 7 p.m. ET, followed by Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs (Game #2).

TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com

Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Chris Webber

Smith on the Miami Heat / Atlanta Hawks series: “The Hawks have a great starting five but their bench, other than (Ronald) “Flip’ Murray, is pretty light. The one thing Miami has is one great player and a nice bench with (Michael) Beasley. If the Heat can get into the Hawks bench, it’s going to be a long series for the Hawks.”

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Game #1: Philadelphia 76ers (100) @ Orlando Magic (98) - Philadelphia leads series 1-0

Announcers: Matt Devlin, P.J. Carlesimo; and Laura Green reporting

Carlesimo on Philadelphia 76ers point guard Andre Miller: “Andre Miller is strong enough to shoot over people and he can create some space with his size. He’s not really offensive-minded. He looks to pass first and he can post you up. He is a very good mid-range shooter, (he’s) not a deep shooter. He’s good inside and really good at throwing the ball ahead; he ignites their fast break.”

Carlesimo on the 76ers offensive style: “Philadelphia can beat you off the dribble and that gets them to the free throw line because they’ll break down the half-court defense.”

Carlesimo on how the injuries to Magic guard Hedo Turkoglu and forward Rashard Lewis can affect their game mentally: “Players at this stage in the season who get hurt know they are going to play. They need to get off to a good start, if they miss some (shots), then they start thinking about the injury. If you make a couple (of shots), then you forget about (the injury). Rashard and Hedo need to get off to a good start, then they won’t think about the injuries at all.”

Carlesimo on the versatility of 76ers forward Andre Iguodala: “Andre Iguodala is a very tough cover (on defense) because he’s not a great three-point shooter. He’s really good at putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim. He’s an unselfish player and a willing passer so he’s very difficult to guard.”

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T-Mobile Halftime Report

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber

Barkley on the Magic needing to speed up their game: “I don’t think they run enough and they need to get Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis going. One of their weaknesses is that they walk the ball up and down the court and they live and die by three (point shots). They need to speed the tempo up so those guys can get more easy baskets instead of relying on the three. (An up-tempo game) would also help Dwight Howard because he’s the most athletic big man in the league.”

Smith on the Jazz chances at stopping Lakers guard Kobe Bryant: “Certain guys have a chance, a mental chance against (Kobe Bryant) but (Utah Jazz guards) C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer don’t.”

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Carlesimo on 76ers forward Andre Iguodala: “(Andre) Iguodala is a one-man fast break. He gets the rebound and busts it out.”

Carlesimo on the 76ers being revitalized when Dwight Howard was out of the game: “You have to give Philadelphia a lot of credit but you have to wonder if the (eye) injury to Dwight Howard, they took him to the locker room, breathes a little bit of life into Philadelphia.”

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Game #2: Miami Heat (64) @ Atlanta Hawks (90) - Atlanta leads series 1-0.

Announcers: Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello; and Cheryl Miller reporting

Hawks guard Joe Johnson on the home crowd at Philips Arena: “I’m anticipating a very hostile crowd (at Philips Arena). It’s going to be rowdy in here and we’ll try to knock the opposing team off their (game). We feed off the crowd more than anything here at home and I think that’s what gives us that extra boost. We have to take care of things here at home and figure it out on the road.”

Fratello on Heat guard Daequan Cook losing confidence in his shooting in the second half of the season: “After the All-Star Game, (Daequan Cook) took a downward turn and his minutes were cut. He started questioning his shot. That’s something he can’t do, he has to shoot the ball make shots for this Miami team to have a chance.”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Hawks forward Josh Smith at halftime.

Smith on taking advantage of home court early in the game: “We wanted to set the tone right away, let them understand that we have home court advantage and we’re going to take advantage of it. I was watching the games yesterday and I saw how many home teams lost. We didn’t want to be one of those victims so we had to come out and play hard and establish ourselves early. The adrenaline is rushing in my body, I’m trying to run the floor, get easy points for our team and get the momentum running on the defensive end.”

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T-Mobile Halftime Report

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber

Smith on Miami and Atlanta having deficiencies in their games: “Miami can still get back in this game or they can get blown out because both teams (Atlanta and Miami) have glaring deficiencies. That’s why they are four and five (seeds) in the East, which (means they) are not really great teams. Atlanta plays a lot of one-on-one basketball, they don’t run a lot of set plays, they let guys go one-on-five so you get transition baskets against you. Miami takes quick shots, they don’t like to run through the offense. Instead of being happy with the possession, they are trying to score again and bring it out. We’ve got 24 more seconds, let’s run the clock and get it. But when Atlanta moves the basketball and moves it around, this is when they’re at their best, they’ve got five guys who can do something with it. You should let everybody touch it instead of letting one guy touch it in a possession.”

Barkley on the Orlando Magic needing to give center Dwight Howard the ball down the stretch: “I have a problem with (the Magic) not giving the ball the last few minutes of the game to Dwight Howard. I use this analogy, he’s not the greatest free throw shooter, but I never see a team say, let’s not get the ball to Shaquille O’Neal down the stretch. Shaquille O’Neal has never been a great free throw shooter, but he clearly has been one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA, he won championships in L.A. and Miami. (Howard) is not a great free throw shooter, but every time Orlando needs a basket down the stretch they go to other guys. I don’t understand that. You’ve got to get that ball to Dwight Howard. When you set him in a pick and roll you take him away from the basket. He’s one of the best offensive rebounders in the game; get him the ball on the box.”

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Fratello on three teams making a statement in their first game of the series: “The Lakers, Cleveland and (now) Atlanta are the ones who have shown, ‘we’ve earned home court over the entire season and now we are going to make it pay off for us with convincing victories.’”

Fratello on the NBA coaches dedicating the 2009 NBA Playoffs to coaching great Chuck Daly, who is battling pancreatic cancer: “(Chuck Daly is) one of my all time favorite people. A friend, a guy you could turn to if you are a coach and you had a question and he’d be very honest with you. This is just a symbol from the coaches that they understand the battle they are involved in with the Playoffs and they have a lot of passion for it and they want Chuck Daly to have the same kind of passion in battling what he’s going through right now. We wish him the best and he’s in everyone’s prayers, Chuck and his family.”

TNT’s Cheryl Miller interviewed Hawks head coach Mike Woodson after the third quarter

Woodson on the Hawks’ need to hold onto the lead in the fourth quarter: “We are still trying to build a wall and be patient about our defense and not let them get a lot of play at the rim. They had a better third quarter, we got lax in the last five minutes so we’ve got to pick it up in the fourth quarter. Playoff basketball is made of runs and they made a run in the third. We’ve just got to come back in the fourth quarter and start doing the things that we did to get us the lead in the first and second quarter.”

Stockton: “It’s kind of scary when the leading coach, up by 19 points, says, ‘we’ve got to pick it up in the fourth quarter,’ when they were only outscored by one.”

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Game #3: New Orleans Hornets (84) @ Denver Nuggets (113) - Denver leads the series 1-0.

Announcers: Marv Albert, Reggie Miller; and Marc Fein reporting

Miller on Nuggets forward Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen attempting to block shots: “I’d rather my big man be jumping like popcorn every single time as opposed to being timed. That’s what made Alonzo Mourning great, and Dikembe Mutombo, they went after every single shot down low.”

Miller on the pressure on the Nuggets to win based on their past Playoff struggles “This is a scary first game for the Nuggets, all the pressure is on them, being the #2 seed and not being able to get out of the first round the past several years. There is a lot of pressure on this team to win not only this game but this series.”

TNT’s Marc Fein interviewed Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups at halftime.

Billups on the ‘chippy’ first half of play: “It’s Playoff basketball, it’s going to be chippy the next half. Every half we play, it’s going to be chippy, there’s a lot at stake, that’s just how playoff basketball is.”

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T-Mobile Halftime Report

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber

Webber on Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups’ approach to the first game of the series: “Chauncey (Billups) is going to lead by example in this Playoff series. He’s not going to go in and be the quiet reserved leader that he is. He wants to make sure that they go in and win right away and hopefully win convincingly. When I played against him, he was a guy who made sure everyone got off and distributed the ball, but when he wanted it and he got that look in his eye he could take over at any time. This is on purpose, if you look at the shots he’s taken, it’s deep three’s. He’s trying to score on purpose to say to his team, ‘I’m going to lead us here, I’m not going to let you down.’”

Barkley on Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups making a point against Chris Paul: “(This is) a veteran guy trying to show a young stud, the best point guard in the NBA, something. Everyone is saying Chris Paul is the best point guard in the NBA and Chauncey Billups is saying, ‘you know what? I have won MVP in the Finals before.’ He’s out to send a message tonight, that there’s another point guard here.”

Barkley on the Utah Jazz’s lack of toughness: “It’s tough to win a game when your coach is the toughest guy on your team.”

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Miller on the Nuggets making a statement in Game #1 of the series: “This has definitely been a statement Game #1 for the Nuggets, as the #2 seed in the West, 54 wins, (the Nuggets) haven’t been out of the first round of the Playoffs for the last five years. You wanted to come out and have a statement game against the Hornets and, so far, mission accomplished.”

Miller on being able to learn more from watching game film of a blowout than a close game: “I would much rather lose like this as opposed to being in the game for three and a half or four quarters and lose the game on a buzzer shot when you had chances to win. This way you can go back to the film, you understand all the mistakes that went wrong. You’ve got to get to Chauncey (Billups) early and make sure J.R. Smith doesn’t get going late, second shot opportunities. You can learn a lot from a bad loss like this rather than getting your heart ripped out from a close game.”

Miller on the Hornets being embarrassed in their loss to the Nuggets: “I tell you what, playing hard is one thing, but if you’re the Hornets you can’t get embarrassed right now and they are borderline getting embarrassed by the Nuggets. You’ve got to get back on defense, you can’t give up layups and let these guys go crazy, these guys are out here smiling. This is a seven game series. Right now this is an old fashioned, take you behind the woodshed beating that the Nuggets are giving the Hornets.”

TNT’s Marc Fein interviewed Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups after the Nuggets defeated the Hornets.

Billups on having an incredible performance in Game #1 of the Playoffs: “Sometimes you have nights like that, fortunately it was a big night for us to have a night like that from somebody. I’m just glad we were able to get out of here with a win to be honest with you. It’s always special when you’re playing at home in the city that you always represented all your life to wear it across your chest. Playing in a Playoff game at home, it’s special, it is.”

Billups on conveying his Playoff experience to his younger teammates to prepare them for Game #2 of the series: “Even though this was a blowout, you’re not going to see a lot of blowouts in the Playoffs, and you probably won’t see another one in this series. Game #2 is the biggest game of the series for us, that will be well documented over the next couple of days and I’ll continue to force that down our throat.”

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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai

Announcers: Johnson, Barkley, Smith and Webber

Barkley on getting blown out: “I honestly think losing by a wide margin helps the team prepare for the next game. The other team is going to relax with so much time in between these games, you are going to read in the newspaper how great you were.”
Smith: “I concur, when you lose by seven points or less, my theory is it’s the coaching philosophy its detail. Seven points or more its effort. So now you can just say we didn’t come to play effort-wise. It has nothing to do with what we did conceptually it just we didn’t come to play, I think that gives you a better feeling in the locker room and you just get in the shower and wash it off. You can come back and say we will be ready Wednesday.”

Smith on Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups establishing himself as a premier point guard: “He wanted to establish that ‘yes, you are supposedly the reigning point guard in the NBA, however I am the playoff point guard in the NBA.’”

Webber on Billups taking the assignment of Chris Paul personally: “You’ve got to remember he is coming off of getting traded. He is thinking ‘I know these championships. You call it Mable (playoff trophy nickname); she has been in my house one time before.’ This is even bigger than Chris Paul, I’m coming over to do what I was brought to do for this team and you are about to see a different playoff team.”

Barkley on the Lakers being the team to beat in the playoffs: “I think this is a different Lakers team this year with Andrew Bynum, their on a mission; Kobe Bryant is on a mission.”
Webber on the Jazz not being a tough team: “I have never seen a Utah team with this show of will. I have never seen….I want to choose my words wisely. I’m not saying its soft, but this is not a Utah tough team.”
Barkley: “Karl Malone and John Stockton are rolling over in their grave.”

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Webber on Josh Smith: “Someone texted me that if Dominque (Wilkins) was the “Human Highlight Film” then Smith is the “Human Blue Ray”
Johnson: “But your not buying that”
Smith: “Highlight reel moments. Dominque Wilkins was the best dunker in traffic in NBA history.”

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Post game Interview with Laura Green

76ers forward Andre Iguodala on making game winning shot: “Right after I missed I said I was going to get them back no matter what. Donyell Marshall, he bailed me out by hitting that three-pointer and that extra possession. The team has been relying on me the whole year and I have been relying on them. I think tonight was a test of our perseverance this season. We get down and we bounce right back.”

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Ernie on the possibility of Celtics forward Kevin Garnett returning for the playoffs: “Is there any chance that Kevin Garnett will play at all in this series?”
Barkley: “I don’t think he is going to play at all in the playoffs. I don’t think you risk his body; Michael Jordan’s the greatest basketball player ever. He tried coming back for the playoffs and it didn’t work. Garnett is not just coming out of retirement, I just don’t think you can join the playoffs in the middle of the playoffs and help your team.”

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