Opinion: Nuggets can't let Lakers win series on technicalities

DENVER • Here’s how coach George Karl can ride to the NBA Finals:

Ban knucklehead behavior. Establish a zero-tolerance policy for all the whining and pointless violence that inspires technical fouls.

The Denver Nuggets dazzled the basketball nation Monday with their 120-101 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

They roared back from Saturday’s collapse. They can, despite facing two trips to Los Angeles, win this series.

Yes, they can.

If Karl can halt the on-court anarchy.

“I think we’ll make a point of it,” Karl said in a quiet hallway outside his team’s locker room. “I think we’ll stop it.”

He sounded serious, which is good. This is a serious problem.

The Nuggets have collected nine technical fouls — on six players — during this series. They’ve collected six technical fouls in the past two games.

This is a recipe for defeat. The Nuggets are trying to conquer Phil Jackson, one of the greatest coaches in any sport, and Kobe Bryant, one of history’s top two or three shooting guards.

They can’t afford the luxury of emotional outbursts. They can’t afford to alienate officials, who are sensitive souls.

So far, refs have treated Denver with astonishing respect. Don’t believe me? Consider this: The Nuggets have shot more free throws than the Lakers in three of four games.

Colorado fans had reason to expect a conspiracy to land L.A. — with the nation’s second largest TV market — in the NBA Finals.

You can lay any conspiracy theories to rest. The whistles have been more than fair.

Yet the Nuggets still moan about injustice. I’m convinced J.R. Smith believes he never has committed a foul. He raises his arms in disbelief after every whistle. He hops and groans.

This is the dance of a grumpy toddler. This is a dance with disaster.

But it’s not just moaning about calls. Kenyon Martin earned — and that’s the right word — a technical when he pinned Pau Gasol’s hand beneath his underarm.

It was a senseless move by a wise veteran who should know better.

Karl is smart to applaud what he calls his team’s “emotional excitement.” He’s expertly steered his team’s defiance.

During the season, Karl refused to back down to the Lakers. His belief spread to his players, who have shown no reverence for the alleged Kings of the West.

Yet this defiance must be focused.

The Nuggets should have buried the Lakers early in the fourth quarter. The final 6 or 7 minutes could have been an extended party in downtown Denver.

But Smith threw an elbow. Carmelo Anthony griped about a call. Martin locked up Gasol’s hand. The Lakers remained alive far too long.

Yes, the Nuggets overcame their foolishness. As the game ended, Bryant was scowling at the end of the bench, and at the other end Jackson gazed at the scoreboard with a stoic expression.

This series isn’t over. Far from it. The Nuggets still have a great chance to shock the Lakers.

The stakes are too massive to throw away this chance.

Ban any hint of knucklehead behavior, George. Now is a great time to start.