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(Denver-CO) There will not be any excuses about last night's, 97-91, loss to the Jazz. Denver had Utah right where they wanted them through the first two quarters, but failed to sustain the kind of execution, energy, and moxie needed to beat the Jazz on their home floor. And I'll give the Jazz a lot of credit. I still hate them as a franchise, but as a basketball aficionado who as Jerry Seinfeld once did a bit on, "Doesn't just root for the jerseys," I can appreciate a lot of things about a few of the Utah players. They play hard, they don't give up, and they play the kind of ball that I sometimes wish the Nuggets would play.
In the first half it was all about the Denver Nuggets. Fresh off a great win to preserve first place in the division over the Trailblazers, I liked the energy Denver brought after just 24 hours prior playing their biggest game of the year. Their defense in particular was a bright spot. The Nuggets forced seven Utah turnovers in the first quarter alone while holding the Jazz to just 16 points offensively. Offensively, Denver fans have to like seeing J.R. Smith in a starting role. Smith scored five points in each of the first two quarters and gave the Nuggets a tremendous boost early with nasty dunk that posterized Mehmet Okur. The Nuggets led after one, 24-16.
In the second quarter, Denver continued to slowly but surely build their lead and after a hoop and the harm by Nene had build a 19-point, 47-28, advantage. It was at this point in the game that the Nuggets clocked off the job early. The Jazz finished the final two minutes of the half on a 9-0 run that brought the game back within a manageable margin going into half.
And once the third quarter started, Denver never put their hard hat on and went back to work.
The Jazz on the other hand may have come to work a little late, but weren't going to leave any job unfinished. Utah was the aggressor in the third quarter scoring eight straight points, six by way of the free-throw line, right out of the gate to prompt George Karl calling a timeout in hopes of rallying the troops in the same fashion as he did the night before against the Blazers. But, just as the Blazers ran out of gas on the tail end of back-to-back games on the road so did the Nuggets. Utah's 17 straight points spanning the final two minutes of the second quarter and first two minutes of the third left the Nuggets in a dog fight in a strange back yard of which they weren't prepared for. Ronnie Brewer scored six straight points for the Jazz to put Utah in the lead, 55-52, for the first time since the ten minute mark of the first quarter and it was painfully visible which team made the commitment to do what it was going to take to win this game. Sure, Denver did regain the lead momentarily, 60-59, after Chauncey made a long three-pointer and, 67-65, on two made free-throws by the Bird, but on each of the next Utah possessions Deron Williams was there to pull the Jazz right back into control.
Williams was the difference in the third quarter and, ultimately, the game. D-Will was 3-for-4 from the floor in the third quarter and made all six of his foul shots for the Jazz, who opened the period 12-for-12 from the line after shooting just 7-14 in the first half. Williams hardnosed attitude and scoring 12 of his team-high 25 points and handing out three assists in the third quarter were the momentum changing factors. However, with Deron guiding the charge offensively for most of the quarter, no two shots were bigger than C.J. Miles hitting back-to-back three's in the final 30 seconds of the third to to give the Jazz a four-point advantage, 73-69, heading into the fourth.
The Nuggets weren't out of this game until they managed to put up just two points in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. By this time, Utah had already streaked out to an, 81-71, lead and had managed to work the Jazz fans in attendance into a frenzy. The closest Denver got were the six points they ended up losing by after J.R. Smith hit a three and Nene threw in a baby hook with :15 remaining in regulation. The late surge was too little too late as the Nuggets were suffocated by the Utah defense in the second half. Denver was outscored 60-44 in the third and fourth quarters combined while their first half defensive effort that held Utah to just 37 points never carried over into the second.
The good news is Utah is still not in first place in the division. The bad news is Utah is now on a ten-game win streak and arguably the hottest team in the league right now.
J.R. Smith scored a game-high 27 points while having another well-rounded outing consisting of five assists and four rebounds. Carmelo Anthony chipped in 20 points, but fought foul trouble throughout the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth on a garbage whistle around the ten minute mark. It pains me to say this, but 'Melo has to be smarter throughout the course of the game to ensure he doesn't get into that situation as often in the final games of the regular season. An area that I feel 'Melo needs to take a more cerebral approach to the game in is in the way he politics the officials. He has a bad habit of harping on the referees when he doesn't get the calls he thinks he deserves. A better way to get favorable results out of a referee, and other humans, is to diplomatically express your case while hinting at the fact a call may have been missed in an attempt to get said call the next time the situation comes up. Instead, 'Melo gripes up and down the floor and when the situation arises again gives the referee no reason to award him the desired call because he was such a agitator. It's a losing battle that Anthony will continue to put himself at the disadvantage of until he changes his modus operandi.
Up next for the 40-23 Nuggets is a chance to put a dolly mopping on the 13-49 Sacramento Kings up in the capitol of California on Sunday night. This a game the Nuggets MUST win with the Jazz on a torrid stretch. Denver holds just a half game divisional lead over the Jazz and full game lead over the Blazers so every game counts when trying to win the division and ensure home court advantage come playoff time.
Go Nuggets!
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I was extremely nervous the first half. The Nuggets are much better than they were last year. The division crown will go to someone who deserves it either way. All three teams are playing hard....check that....two teams. Blazers are still like a little brother.