(Denver-CO) We knew the Denver Nuggets’ eight-game win streak had to stop sometime. And when you look at the Oklahoma City Thunder schedule, you knew that with their list of impressive wins over other good teams that they were definitely capable of doing just that on their home floor. An ice storm gave them an extra home court advantage and the weather froze the Nuggets offensively as Denver lost, 101-84, while shooting just 40% from the field.
The Nuggets didn’t even know if this game was going to be played due to a pending ice storm jeopardized their ability to make it to OKC in time. Thankfully, they did, but Carmelo Anthony missed his third game and the Nuggets struggled offensively in his absence.
In the first quarter, the Nuggets looked strong offensively, but were horrendous on the defensive end. Lay-up after lay-up, Denver allowed the Thunder to eat them alive on the offensive glass and in points in the paint (something that would haunt the Nuggets all game). To their credit, the athleticism of the Thunder players Jeff Green and Thabo Sefolosha seem to catch the Nuggets off guard as they combined to scored six first quarter points, all at pointblank range.
Kevin Durant is also pretty damn good for being 21 years old.
Durant proved too quick for Kenyon Martin and too long for Joey Graham, who started for the injured Anthony, as he scored 15 points in the first quarter and looked unstoppable.
Still though, Denver managed to score 26 points and trailed by just one heading into the second quarter before the wheels fell off. The Nuggets managed to momentarily take the lead with three minutes remaining in the second quarter before heading into the half down by six following a 19-point quarter disaster that included J.R. Smith chucking seven shots (to be fair, he did make three, three’s) as the Nuggets stood around and watched lethargically.
Things then officially bottomed out in the third quarter as Denver mustered just 15 points due to their field goal percentage plummeting and gave up 28 on the other end. The Nuggets managed to score the first five points of the quarter to bring the game margin back to within one, but then scored just two points over a five minute stretch while falling behind by nine and ending the final 3:19 scoreless to enter the fourth in a 19-point hole was about the time I checked out.
So did the Nuggets.
They didn’t put up much of a fight in the fourth and looked content to just get out of town and get Carmelo back in the line-up. The Nuggets failed to produce a 20-point scorer, but were led by Chauncey Billups’ 19 points and seven assists. Kenyon Martin flirted with a double-double, but fell short with a respectable line of 13 points and nine rebounds. J.R. Smith took ten three-point attempts, making five, and finished with 18 points and two steals.
The real story was Durant. The youngster became the youngest player to score 25+ points in 20 straight games (he has a league best 26, 30+ point games on the season) with a line that reads 30 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block. He was good inside, outside, at the three-throw line, and turned the ball over just twice while providing the highlights.
The 17-point loss was the second largest this season for Denver who hopes to have Carmelo Anthony, the NBA’s scoring leader, back today for their match-up with the Spurs on national television.
(Denver-CO) Good morning, Nuggets Nation. Believe it or not, I’m going to write an op-ed piece for the first time in what seems like an eternity. The Nuggets have quietly become the hottest team in the NBA by winning eight straight games and have improved to 31-14 overall or, if you will, are currently the third best team in the NBA by league standings.
Even with Carmelo, the league’s currently leading scorer, having missed the last two games guys on this roster have picked up his slack and given me reason to believe that with the right trade. The Nuggets really could be a contender at the end of this thing.
But…
If there has been an area the Nuggets could improve themselves the most at it would in the middle and the recent rumblings with J.R. Smith’s immaturity have made him the speculation of trade talks as well.
So…
Why not kill two birds (no pun intended, Nene) with one stone?
I was catching up with childhood friend, former high school football teammate, and current Denver Bronco, Matt McChesney this morning when, naturally, our conversation turned to the current sports landscape and we broached this very topic.
And after many a debate, explanations of countless trade exceptions, and failed trade machine scenarios we had done it (theoretically)!
Amare Stoudemire for Nene and J.R. Smith.
Amare Stoudemire’s salary for this season is $16,378,325 and he has a player option for next year worth 17,686,100. Nene is slated for $10.52 million this year and $11.36 million next with a player option on a third year for $11.6 million. J.R. Smith has two years at 5.5 million and $6 million.
The numbers work according to ESPN’s Trade Machine and with the trade exceptions the Nuggets actually free themselves up a bit financially for the upcoming feeding frenzy of big free-agent names.
That aside, can you imagine this team with Amare Stoudemire in the starting line-up with Carmelo, Chauncey, Kenyon, and Afflalo? Scary. Stoudemire is averaging 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, a block, a steal, and an assist and he plays on a team where the opposition matches up with him in accordance to their best front line defensive player whereas in Denver, it’s Carmelo.
This also keeps the Birdman, the under-utilized Joey Graham, Ty Lawson, and the seldom used veterans Malik Allen and Anthony Carter all coming off the bench while letting someone else put in their time with the erratic and unpredictable, J.R. Smith.
To me (and Chez), this trade made Denver every bit as equipped to compete for a title because it puts the Nuggets with a complete package of inside scoring, outside scoring, and leadership. Amare can get his inside. Camelo can just flat out get his. And with Chauncey’s leadership at the helm, I like our chances against the other elite, triple-threat, teams in both conferences.
Remember, Boston has Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo. The Cavaliers have LeBron, Shaq, and Mo Williams. The Lakers have Kobe, Pau Gasol, and Ron Artest. The Nuggets COULD HAVE Chauncey, ‘Melo, and Amare Stoudemire…
(Denver-CO) Today, Nuggets Nation, you are in luck because this article is a double-dip recap sans Carmelo and the Denver Nuggets are the hottest team in the NBA! That’s right, Mile High City, the Nuggets have won eight straight games and are having guys step up in the absence of Carmelo (as they have all year long when players have gone down with injury) as the team keeps the W’s stacking up.
We start off with getting caught up on the Charlotte Bobcats who came into the Pepsi Center on Monday night and were defeated, 104-93. I give the ‘Cats a lot of credit though because this game was a whole lot tighter than the final score indicates. Through the first half, the Bobcats never trailed by double-digits and were able to close each of the first two quarters down by less than a handful.
That’s not to say there wasn’t fireworks in the first half. Kenyon Martin was hit with a technical foul after Gerald Wallace hit J.R. Smith in the face with an elbow on the low block and Martin came into the make Wallace stand down. After Stephen Jackson missed the T (the ball never lies, especially when Smith was tagged with the foul), Martin then adamantly applauded the miss so that Referee Ken Mauer could clearly see him and was hit with his second technical foul and the early shower.
Now down Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets could have faltered and had plenty to blame it on, but instead they showed some tremendous character and put the Bobcats down in the third quarter with the help of guys stepping up. Joey Graham scored eleven of his 13 points in the third quarter and Arron Afflalo scoring six of his career-high tying 24 points in the quarter and handing out a career-high seven assists when all was said and done led the Nuggets to victory.
Major kudos need to be given to Arron Afflalo for his play as of late. Earlier in the season, “Double A” was flying a little bit under the radar and as a result was not getting the attention or praise he was due. However, his defense and fluidity in the starting line-up has never faltered and now that his offense has come around it really has been a pleasure having him here in Denver. He’s made the Nuggets Nation forget all about Dahntay Jones on the defensive end and has given the Nuggets a new dimension offensively that DJ never could. Afflalo is averaging 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and two assists over his last five games despite notching just two points and six rebounds against the Rockets.
There was a scary moment at the end of the third quarter for the already shorthanded Nuggets when the Birdman Chris Andersen got his legs tangled up in the paint and appeared to twist his ankle, but the Bird came back last night to help the Nuggets win again over the Rockets so the injury must not have been serious.
Chauncey Billups led all scorers against the ‘Cats with 27 points and finished with a double-double of eleven assists and an economical two turnovers. Also of note is how the Nuggets picked up the rebounding slack with five players grabbing five or more rebounds with Kenyon ejected
In last night’s victory over the Rockets, Denver looked like a team that had traveled the night before and came out very sluggish. The Nuggets managed to put up only 16 points in the first quarter and trailed by 15 at the end of one after their defense was basically a mirror image of their lethargic offensive start.
Thankfully, Denver got back down to business in the second quarter by getting to the rim early and with the help of high-percentage shots and by making 15 of 16 of their combined free-throw attempts in the quarter were able to rally all the way back and take the lead, 40-38, after a pair of free-throws by Chauncey Billups with 5:16 remaining in the half.
The Nuggets trailed by one, 51-50, at the start of the second half and played the third quarter tight to trail by two heading into the fourth, 74-72. But, witht he game's outcome in the balance, Denver didn’t dilly-dally long in the money period taking control of the tempo of the game. Denver dominated the fourth quarter with defensive effort that held the Rockets to just 18 points after they missed ten of their first twelve field goal attempts and laid the foundation for a 10-0 run capped off by back-to-back three’s by J.R. Smith to take a nine-point lead, 89-80, with under six minutes remaining in regulation.
It’s reassuring to see the Nuggets, minus the league’s top scorer, find a way to win with their defense. It shows that this team is adaptable to not only the teams they are facing each night, but also to the team they are able to field. This aspect of the Nuggets’ identity is going to pay dividends in the final half of the regular season and should provide the Nuggets some solidarity come playoff time when it’s not the opponent who changes every night.
J.R. Smith scored a game-high 22 points and chipped in five rebounds, three steals, and two assists in a Nuggets’ best +18 overall +/-. It was a breath of fresh air to see J.R. bounce back with a solid performance after all the negativity swirling around his attitude on the bench and his decision to skip an optional practice last weekend. And on a side note that I was unaware of… ESPN’s game recap stated that, “Smith had an eventful day (in Houston), making a last-minute payment to Houston attorney Rusty Hardin before the game to stall a lawsuit. Hardin was seeking unpaid legal fees after representing Smith in 2006, when Smith was accused of breaking a player's jaw in a pick-up game. Smith paid a chunk of the fees, and has 30 days to settle the debt and void the lawsuit.” Why trouble seems to swirl around J.R. like a cloud of dust does to Pig Pen of the Peanuts gang, I’ll never know.
Kenyon Martin also had a great performance coming off of the ejection on Monday night. Martin added his twelfth double-double in his last 16 games with twelve points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal without a single turnover in 35 minutes. Chauncey Billups continues to also be a rudder for this team with another steady performance against the Rockets. Mr. Big Shot finished with the cascading line of 21 points, four assists, four rebounds, and three steals. If Chauncey’s 19.2 points, six assists, three rebounds per game averages and a 90 free-throw shooting percentage don’t warrant him a coach’s decision to the All-Star game then maybe the Nuggets sporting a 31-14 record overall should!
The Nuggets have now won five out of seven games without Carmelo Anthony this season and own a four-game lead over the Utah Jazz in the Northwest Division.
(Denver-CO) Looking at the New Orleans Hornets Schedule you would have noticed they won their last two games on buzzer beaters by James Posey. Their luck ran out in overtime against the Nuggets.
However, the Denver Nuggets may have been able to beat the Hornets, 116-110, in overtime, but the question remaining to be answered is at what cost? Carmelo Anthony appeared to badly twist his ankle in the overtime period after landing on Devin Brown’s foot before scoring 30 points and grabbing eleven rebounds. As of right now, it is being reported that he is not going to play in Denver’s next game on Monday night.
However, the underlying story remains the situation brewing between Head Coach George Karl and J.R. Smith. The reserve guard, who is averaging 14.5 points per game, is in danger of being suspended by the team for one game for “pouting” and for behavior that Karl has called “eclectic”. He also chose to skip an optional practice today, reports ESPN’s player profile for Smith.
I’ll embellish on to this interesting topic later, but first the victory recap.
The first half against the Hornets resembled the first half of the previous match-up with the Clippers as neither team could put the other down by a double digit deficit. New Orleans did have the Nuggets trailing by eight, twice, in the second quarter, but a late surge sparked by five straight made free-throws by Chauncey Billups helped the Nuggets go into halftime down by the slimmest of margins, 54-53.
It was in the third quarter that I noticed J.R. Smith had not played and it wasn’t because I was pining for him. Rather I was really impressed with the play of Arron Afflalo and I was in applause of George Karl giving him the majority of the minutes. Afflalo had scored seven points in the first half and played some very solid defense on Devin Brown and then followed it up with a pair of three’s in the third while continuing to be a headache for the Hornets defensively. Furthermore, Afflalo usually never deviates from the natural flow of the game offensively when he’s in there. He makes sound decisions with the basketball and takes his shots within the rhythm and circumstances of each individual possession - both admirable qualities in the eyes of most coaches.
The Nuggets regained the lead, 79-78, entering the fourth quarter and as we in the Nuggets Nation all know the Nuggets rarely lose when such is the case. And it would have appeared that the Nuggets were going to win easily after opening up an eight-point lead in the first two minutes of the final quarter after Ty Lawson assisted all three of the Nuggets’ field goals and added a pair of free-throws, but Chris Paul had other ideas. CP3 scored eleven of the Hornet’s 23 points, including the overtime forcing field goal, and handed out a pair of assists in the fourth quarter to extend the game to an additional five minute period.
In overtime, Arron Afflalo was once again Johnny on the spot with a pair of three-pointers to give and keep the Nuggets ahead of the Hornets by five points as Carmelo, Ty Lawson, and Nenes’ final five combined free-throws iced the game for the Nuggets. Chris Paul had done everything he could do by scoring seven of New Orleans’ nine points in overtime and finished with 26 points and ten assists, but without David West in the starting line-up. The Nuggets starters outscored Hornets starters 99-86 and were too much for the shorthanded Hornets.
Arron Afflalo finished with a season-high 19 points, including 5-9 from three-point range, and was a team best +16 overall +/-. Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billlups each scored 20 points with Martin chipping in a game-high 14 rebounds and Billups handing out a team-high nine assists. Nene also had a double-double of ten points and twelve rebounds, but took just three shot attempts in 35 minutes of burn.
Chris Andersen also deserves a lot of praise for dominating the boards in the second and third quarters. The Birdman finished with 13 rebounds, six offensive, and six points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Now back to J.R. Smith…
In his last four games, Smith is 12-29 shooting from the field 5-20 from the land of plenty while being turnover prone with nights of five and six turnovers . This, and his antics on the bench, are why George Karl chose to stay with Afflalo, who is 22-38 from the field and 11-23 from range in his last five outings. In addition, I can’t help but notice the most stark difference between the two: Afflalo is all about the team and J.R. seems to be all about himself. When J.R.’s shot is falling it’s all about him with a shameless amount of self-promotion after each three or showboat dunk. When Afflalo is playing well, defensively or offensively, he quietly goes about his business on the next play as if the play before it never happened. It’s a recipe for disaster for J.R. and a recipe for success for Afflalo because J.R. is streaky and doesn’t give the team a lot outside of what he contributes on “good” nights.
Up next for the Nuggets is a look at former Nuggets’ Head Coach Larry Brown’s Charlotte Bobcats on Monday night. The Bobcats are 21-21 overall and winners of 9 out of their last 12 games in 2010. With that being said, they are coming off of back-to-back losses and are starting a season-high, six-game road trip.
With a few kinks slowly being ironed out I’m ready to start thinking (again) the Denver Nuggets might be legit contenders. Ok, maybe that's a little bit optimistic, but after the Nuggets's domination of the Clippers, 105-85, and my taking a short break from the grind of an 82-game season. I'm re-energized for the second half of the season like the Nuggets were re-energized in the second half of tonight's game.
In the first quarter, the Nuggets got out to their typical sluggish start on the second night of back-to-back games. They turned the ball over five times to which the Clippers were able to capitalize eight points off of and even the TNT announcing crew mentioned how surprisingly poor the Nuggets have been in the first quarter this year at home despite having only lost three games so far at the Pepsi Center. For L.A., it was the big men who got it done early. Starters Chris Kaman and Al Thornton combined for ten first quarter points and reserve power forward Craig Smith came off the bench and gave the Clippers a big lift six points in seven minutes.
Tied at 24 after one, the second quarter was more tit for tat on the scoreboard. Neither team ever got ahead by more than four points as the Clippers took the slimmest of margins into intermission, 48-47. For Denver, their main problem still appeared to be fatigue. However, if you look at the Los Angeles Clippers Schedule, you’ll see that both teams won their respective contest last night, but for some reason the Nuggets were reluctant to get out on the fast break and the Clippers took advantage of it. In fact, L.A. actually outscored Denver 8-6 in fast break points at the half - a statistical rarity.
In addition to the lethargic pace, the Nuggets continued to leak points in the paint like a sieve and Chris Kaman and Craig Smith were there to clean up the mess as the Nuggets were outscored 32-16 overall in points in the paint. Kaman scored 12 points in the first half on 6-10 from the field and Smith chipped in eight points and three boards, and steal, and a block in twelve minutes off the bench for Coach Mike Dunleavy. Another plague for the Nuggets was turnovers. After turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, Denver coughed up the rock another four times in the second and the Clippers scored a quarter of their overall point total off of said miscues.
C’est la vie in the Nuggets Nation because you focus on Carmelo Anthony’s effortless 15 points, Kenyon Martin’s six rebounds, and Nene’s ten points on 5-6 shooting while just waiting for the Nuggets to come out of their zombie-like state.
Thankfully, the Nuggets didn’t waste much time finding life in the form of an 7-0 run in the first minute of the third quarter to break their undead energy level. And contrary to the first half, it was the shorthanded Clippers who looked to be out of gas as the Nuggets blew the game open with a 29-9 run over the first 7:34. It was during this stretch that all five Nugget starters were able to score and the surprise catalyst offensively was Kenyon Martin with three assists as Mr. Big Shot got his shooting hand heated up. Chauncey scored 13 points during said run and completely decimated the Clippers with back-to-back three’s to put the Nuggets up by 19 points, 76-57.
The Nuggets continued to control the third quarter with the Clippers turning the ball over four times and Denver scoring ten fast break points in the third quarter after notching just six in the first half. It was also nice to see the Nuggets turn the ball over just twice in the third quarter after carelessly turning it over nine times in the first half.
In Denver, when it rains it pours and the Clippers got caught without their galoshes. After the Nuggets doubled-up L.A. in offensive output in the third quarter, 34-17, the Nuggets carried a 16-point lead into the fourth quarter where they are nearly unbeatable when leading after three.
The Nuggets cruised through the fourth quarter and eventually won by twenty, 105-85, with their starters on the bench. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 28 absolutely effortless points and ten rebounds to notch his fourth double-double of the year. Chauncey capped the night with 20 points, six assists, and three rebounds to improve the Nuggets’ W/L when he scores 20+ points to 14-3. Kenyon Martin also deserves credit for his play tonight with a cascading line of 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and two steals, but I’d also just like to point out that he is averaging over 14 points and nearly twelve rebounds per game in 2010 while recording seven double-doubles in the month of January.
And here’s your stat of the night: The Nuggets hung their hat tonight on a +30 advantage from the land of plenty. The Clippers were 0-14 from deep before hitting their final attempt and finishing the game 1-17.
Here’s the skinny, Nuggets Nation. Eleven of the next twelve games for the Mile High Crew are against teams with above .500 records. The Nuggets were able to win 27 out of their first 41 games at the midway point of the season and have gotten off on the right foot by beating a bad team at home on the tail end of back-to-back games. But with all that being said, the Nuggets are going to truly show us if there is reason to believe they are contenders for the whole bowl of guacamole hidden in the Larry O’Brien trophy in the second half of the season.
(Denver-CO) Chauncey Billups is known as Mr. Big Shot for a reason. His Finals MVP award and NBA Championship are merely the culmination of big time performances over the years as he has time and time again come up big for his respective team over his career. A perfect example of this was last night’s overtime win over the Golden State Warriors where Billups tied a career-high with 37 points of which he scored ten of in the overtime period.
In the six games since returning from the groin injury, Billups is averaging 26.3 points and Denver is 5-1.
But let us not forget about the previous meeting between these two teams. If you look at the Golden State Warriors Schedule, you’ll quickly recall how J.R. Smith was fouled on a desperation three-point attempt in the waning moments of regulation and sent to the line to win the game for Denver.
Could the Warriors be this season’s Oklahoma City Thunder: A team the Nuggets always take it down to wire against? We’ll see on February 25th when these two teams lock up for their fourth and final meeting of the season, but the Nuggets have now beaten the Warriors in all three meetings thus far.
This game was tied at the half, 53-53, after the Nuggets had squandered an eight-point lead in the first quarter and again lost a nine-point advantage in the second quarter due to Denver still having trouble sustaining an energy level for a full twelve minutes. With that being said, Golden State’s Monta Ellis, rookie Stephen Curry, and Corey Maggette all played with tremendous heart to not let the bruised up Warriors go quietly into the night. Ellis, who scored a game-high 39 points, finished with his third straight game with eight or more assists and the rookie Curry has been playing heady basketball in his last five games averaging 17.8 points, five assists, and six rebounds. Curry finished with 15 points, respectively, but the two of them are quickly becoming one of the most exciting back courts in the in the NBA. Partnered with the enigma that is Corey Maggette, who scored 33 points by this contest’s completion, and you have a very entertaining trio to watch - regardless of their overall record.
The Warriors were able to take their first lead of the second half with an eight-point run by Ellis and Curry midway through the third quarter and extended their lead to nine points at the three minute mark. Billups then hit a three to cut the Warriors’ lead down to six before being substituted for Ty Lawson for the final 2:38 of the third and the Nuggets’ rookie finished the quarter with a flurry of five points which included being fouled on a three-point attempt with the clock reading zeros.
Still down by one entering the fourth after Lawson made all three shots from the charity stripe and with the NBA’s top scorer having an off night shooting the basketball. It was time for a hero to emerge and who better than the hometown legend to fill the role?
Chauncey Billups scored seven of Denver’s final 13 points and handed out a critical assist on J.R. Smith’s three to give Denver a, 97-95, lead with just over four minutes remaining in regulation before Monta Ellis’ three-point bomb with :28 on the clock sent the game to overtime.
Once in overtime, Mr. Big Shot was just that. Twice on back-to-back possessions Chauncey drained three-point attempts and followed those up with a driving lay-up to put the Nuggets ahead, 111-109, before Golden State’s Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry countered with three’s of their own to give the Warriors back the lead, 117-116, with under a minute to play. But, just like in the fourth quarter, Chauncey knew after hitting the aforementioned pair of long distance buckets that he would again draw the attention of the defense and found a wide-open J.R. Smith for what would be the winning three of the game as the Nuggets pulled out a, 123-118, victory over Don Nelson’s bruised up crew.
You just have to love a guy who can lead you to victory in so many ways. Chauncey finished with 37 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and just two turnovers while shooting 6-9 from the land of plenty and 9-11 from the free-throw line. His passing is timely, his shooting clutch, and his cool head and decision making is priceless.
Carmelo Anthony struggled offensively finishing with just 23 points on 7-22 from the field, but all five starters for the Nuggets finished with double-digit point totals. Nene and Kenyon Martin each finished with double-doubles in points and rebounds. For Martin, it was his 13th and for Nene his ninth, respectively.
(Denver-CO) Isn’t it fitting that my first recap since hiatus is against the Utah Jazz seeing how it was after the previous victory over the Jazz when I took an extended break from published coverage?
Last night’s, 119-112, win over the Utah Jazz was special indeed and not because I've decided to again start sharing my thoughts. Denver unveiled its two point guard look for much of the game as Ty Lawson played 27 minutes, many with Chauncey Billups also in the game. But what makes this game a bit of an anomaly is how the Nuggets won a game with just 16 total assists. This is mainly due to the foul-happy Jazz putting Denver on the line for 49 free-throws - of which they made 41 of.
Let me start out by saying I absolutely love Lawson and Billups on the floor together. At no juncture in last night’s game when both of them were in did the Nuggets' offensive demeanor stray from pure attack. There weren’t any stretches were Denver settled for jump shots or the offense stood around and watched. It couldn’t. Ty Lawson is a relentless slasher with the basketball and if he’s not scoring it himself he’s setting up a teammate. Chauncey is the most calculated passer in the game. He makes every dish count for something within the offense. It’s pretty cool to watch!
The results of the fluid, fundamental synergy were astounding. Chauncey finished with 29 points, four assists (again, the foul-happy Jazz), five rebounds, two steals, and just one turnover. Mr. Big Shot was also Mr. Sure Shot from the free-throw line finishing 17-19 from the stripe. Lawson added eleven points, two steals, an assist, and just one turnover as well.
The league’s leading scorer also had a fabulous night. Carmelo Anthony was spectacular with a final line that reads a game-high 37 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals, but ’Melo did have a rough time turning the ball over with three miscues in the first quarter and seven overall. However, the Jazz had no answer for ‘Melo. When they would put Andrei Kirilenko on him he would just take it strong to the cup and draw the foul on the weaker Russian. If they tried to put a stronger player on ‘Melo, he would just simply leave the ball in the net from the perimeter as Boozer and Millsap had to respect his speed and play a step off him.
One area that I didn’t like about last night’s game was how the Nuggets finished quarters. In the first quarter, Denver lost a five-point lead in the final two minutes and finished tied at 28 apiece. Again in the second, Denver played up tempo and scored 32 points overall, but sputtered in the final two minutes and let a 17-point lead be cut down to seven at the half, 60-53. In both final two minute stretches in the first half the Nuggets were only able to score a pair of free-throws.
And believe it or not, the same was true in the third quarter. The final two minutes of the third quarter saw the Nuggets once again score just two free-throws by Carmelo Anthony as an eleven-point lead was whittled to just four, 85-81. Thankfully, the fourth quarter belonged to Mr. Big Shot. Chauncey fended off the Jazz for the last time with the score, 110-106, (and after the Nuggets had again managed to squander a double-digit lead, sheesh) with a huge three to give Denver some breathing room and with Billups scoring seven of the final nine points for the Mile High crew the Nuggets were able to down the Jazz for the third time this season.
This big win ensured that Denver has the tie-breaker in the division over the Jazz if both teams finish with identical records at the end of the season.
(Denver-CO) I apologize for the lack thereof as far as recaps for the last three games, but after attending last night's win in the not-so cheap seats I was too bushed to catch up. However, my plan is to do so this afternoon while I look at the NFL Playoff Brackets and NFL Playoff Schedule and my goal is to take advantage of the rare retrospective approach to recapping the last week of games by looking deeper than the box score and beyond.
(Denver-CO) The NBA Schedule can be a grueling one, but the brain trust of Bloguin NBA writers has got you covered with our bi-weekly power rankings. The Fourth Edition is up so give it a look and leave a comment as to where you think the Nuggets should be ranked.
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The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. Here are some of our high-priority areas that we're specifically looking to grow. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 