Basketball: Marks stands tall in NBA playoffs

Kiwi Sean Marks drew praise from his New Orleans' teammates after a strong performance in a playoff match against Denver. Photo / AP

New Zealand centre Sean Marks is being hailed for his impact as the New Orleans Hornets head into a crucial playoff match against Denver tomorrow (NZ time).

Marks put his stamp on game three, won 95-93 in New Orleans yesterday, playing a whopping 26 minutes after starting centre Tyson Chandler got into foul trouble.

It leaves the Hornets 2-1 down in the best-of-four series but Marks was talking up his team's chances after having stood face-to-face with the aggressive Nuggets' front court.

In his first two minutes on the court, he stole the ball from star Denver forward Kenyon Martin.

With his team down 22-6 midway through the first quarter, Marks rammed home three dunks that helped ignite a rally.

He finished with a career playoff-high eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Marks also helped to hold Nuggets centre Nene to two points, his robust display drawing praise from star teammate and guard Chris Paul.

"Sean came in and really changed the game for us," said Paul, who finished with a game-high 32 points.

"Tyson picked up two quick fouls, and Sean played a lot more minutes than he's probably used to.

"He started to get winded for a second, and I told him to push through. We went down 15 or 20 points, but those guys kept us in it."

In the first two playoff games, Marks had taken only three shots and scored four points, prompting veteran Nuggets coach George Karl to also single out the Aucklander.

"In the first half, they got Marks down the middle, and the rest of the team was scoring," Karl said.

Marks was hungry for more of the same in front of his home supporters tomorrow.

"This is what you live for; we play 82 games for the post-season," he said.

"You don't play 82 games to be home in the summer. Otherwise, it would be a complete waste of the season. This is the best part of the year, intensity and playoffs.

"It's not like we're saving anything for next week. This is it, and we know if we would have lost this game, no team has ever come back from 3-0. So you don't want to be in that situation. It's win or go home."

- NZPA