K-Mart richly deserved the $25,000 fine.

And it was worth every penny.

Nuggets coach George Karl was asked if the way Martin sent Nowitzki sprawling to the floor early in Denver's series-opening rout would have done Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and those old Bad Boys from Detroit proud.

"Oh, yeah," Karl told me.

The audience of reporters around the coach laughed.

Dallas has a problem in this series, and it's the same reason this collection of Mavericks will never win an NBA championship.

The Mavs are as soft as a Nowitzki jump shot, and they whine like team owner Mark Cuban when the going gets tough.

"Anybody can be physical," Dallas center Erick Dampier said.

We shall see.

Denver fully expected this battle with Dallas to get down and dirty. In the minutes before tipoff of Game 1, Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien and team adviser Bret Bearup sat together eating brunch at the Pepsi Center.

"What's the over/under on suspensions in this series?" Warkentien wondered.

"Two," replied Bearup, who figured the penalties could arise from the same altercation. He reached the conclusion because the Mavericks understand playoff intensity and the Nuggets don't take guff from anybody.

This is not to suggest Denver entered this series looking to instigate trouble.

But everybody knows the reputation of the Mavericks.

Turn up the heat and they sweat. Push 'em and they fold.

In 2006, Dallas collapsed after taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals against Miami. A year later, the Mavericks won 67 times during the regular season only to come undone in the first round against Golden State.

It's not in the Mavericks' personality to get physical, acknowledged Nowitzki, whose fadeaway jumpers are beautiful works of art, and the perfect symbol for a team as delicate as Swarovski crystal.

"Dirk is one of the greatest players ever in the NBA. And he's a good actor, too," Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said.

Before the league announced the fine late Monday afternoon, Karl admired the technique Martin used in the hard foul on Nowitzki during the first quarter of Game 1.

"It was good on film," said Karl, who decided Martin's timing was perfect, because if the Nuggets forward had delivered the blow before the whistle, it would have resulted in a flagrant foul and ball possession to the Mavericks. But, by decking Nowitzki late, the penalty was less severe.

Upon further review, however, the NBA decided the referees at the scene had been too lenient with K-Mart, and upgraded the play to a flagrant foul.

While Nuggets partisans might scream Boston guard Rajon Rondo was not punished so severely when performing dental work without an anesthetic on Chicago center Brad Miller during a recent playoff act of violence, I whole-

heartedly believe Martin deserved the fine.

What's more, Nuggets fans should happily collect donations outside the arena before Game 2 to pay it.

Martin has put the muscle in Denver's newfound intimidation. In April, Sacramento co-owner Joe Maloof accused K-Mart of "thuggery" after his shove injured Kings center Spencer Hawes.

"I'm not sure the penalty was consistent with other fouls we've seen elsewhere in these playoffs. But the league's answer was: 'It's Kenyon's history.' We'll accept it and move on," Chapman said.

Know what? This is precisely the nasty image the Nuggets need to cultivate after more than a decade of being considered pushovers.

Karl chuckles at the notion that Denver has become a team of Bad Boys.

"I think it's kind of funny that we're now being called the bully, tough-minded team that last year was labeled the emotionally chaotic, dysfunctional team," Karl said.

They're the Nasty Nuggets .

Who would've thunk it?

Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com