Monday night's intimidation antics between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets only brought back head coach Mike D'Antoni‘s scarring memories of his past playoff experiences.

Most notably was a 2007 incident that saw the Spurs' Robert Horry get a two-game suspension after clotheslining MVP Steve Nash in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter of a Suns' 104-98 Game 4 win, while key starters Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended one game each for leaving “the immediate vicinity of their bench” following the obvious cheap shot.

“I heard Boris Diaw was suspended for one game,” D'Antoni jokingly told ESPN's Tim MacMahon after the game.

While the 65-year-old coach still maintains his humor at this stage of his career, the 2007 incident, which is believed to have largely changed the scope of that series, is still sorely remembered by some of the fans.

Monday's drama had two different parts to it. First Spurs center Dewayne Dedmon took exception to James Harden, which earned the two players technical fouls upon coming chest-to-chest, while Nene was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct for putting his hand in Dedmon's throat while attempting to play bodyguard for his teammate.

Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley later pulled a Jedi mind trick on Dedmon during the fourth quarter, drawing another technical foul on the big man while jawing with him at the free-throw line, resulting in his ejection.

If D'Antoni has his way, this will be the last of confrontations for his team, but the way the series is shaping up to be after a Rockets 126-99 pounding victory at the AT&T Center, it hardly seems that way.