DENVER — A day later, the NBA blew the whistle on Dahntay Jones for tripping Kobe Bryant.

The league assessed Denver’s defensive specialist a flagrant-1 foul for sending the Lakers’ star sprawling through the lane with a trip late in the third quarter of Monday night’s game, something Bennett Salvatore’s officiating crew missed.
Jones has three flagrant-foul points in the playoffs; one more and he’s suspended for a game.
Also Tuesday, the league office downgraded Los Angeles center Andrew Bynum’s flagrant-1 foul against Chris Andersen to a personal foul, and fined Lakers coach Phil Jackson $25,000 and the team the same amount for his public criticisms of the referees following Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.
Jackson was angry with the free throw discrepancy — Denver’s 49 attempts were 14 more than the Lakers — and he accused Jones of a dirty play for tripping Bryant during a rant about the officiating following Denver’s 120-101 win that evened the series.
Asked if he felt Jones went out of his way to trip Bryant, Jackson replied: “Yes. It’s not the first time it’s happened in this series.”
Bryant kept things light when asked if Jones tried to trip him, deadpanning: “I just fell on my face for no reason. I’m a klutz.”
Bryant said Tuesday his opinion of Jones hasn’t changed: “It hasn’t at all. He’s a good player.”
Bryant had beaten Jones cutting to the basket when Jones stuck out his right foot.
Jones called it an accident, an instinctive move that lacked any malice or even forethought.
“It wasn’t intentional,” said Jones, who was at a loss to explain his actions.
“I can’t. I was just playing basketball. We got tangled up.”
Nuggets coach George Karl went to the film room to watch the play after the game.
“It was a weird reaction by Dahntay,” Karl said. “I don’t think it was premeditated and not in any context other then he got off balance, Kobe back-doored him, he looked like he slipped a little bit and it looked like he kicked out.”
Jones had no explanation for extending his leg.
“Every movement that I have out there is not something I can explain. I’m just playing basketball, just reacting,” Jones said. “I think he cut, so I guess I was trying to get my upper body position back there and we got tangled up.”
Karl felt relieved that the league didn’t suspend his top defender for Game 5 Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
“I’m glad it just was a flagrant and no suspension,” Karl said. “I don’t think this series is anything but a pretty even, NBA playoff series. They’re not liking us, we’re not liking them and it’s not getting any kinder. It’s going to be harder, tougher and meaner.”
Karl said the league is toeing a thin line, however, by imposing a foul that wasn’t whistled in the game.
“I don’t think the precedent is good. If Bennett Salvatore saw that play would he have called a flagrant? I think he would have called a foul, but I don’t think he would have called a flagrant,” Karl said. “I think the mood of the game is being overridden by the mood of the office. I’m not sure that’s the right precedent.”
Jackson is the second coach to call Jones dirty during the playoffs, joining Byron Scott of the Hornets, who said the same thing in the first round, when Jones relentlessly hounded Chris Paul.
“I wouldn’t expect them to call me the greatest player in the world,” Jones retorted.
The Nuggets’ defensive-first philosophy and physical style of play has produced plenty of critics, including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his team’s fans, who filled the arena with chants of “Den-ver Thug-gets!” during the semifinals.
“Everybody knows how we use him,” Karl said. “We sic him on the best perimeter guy. That’s his job, that’s his assignment. A Bruce Bowen mentality and he’s done a good job with it. He’s done well with it.”
Jones isn’t backing down from his detractors, either.
“They know there’s a presence there and I’m going to play hard and I’m going to scrap and I’m going to try to help my team win, so whatever you want to call it,” Jones said. “We call it playing hard.”