| 03 April 2009
(Denver-CO) I have been shown the“future” and it’s filled with “birds”. With last night’s, 114-104, thrashing of the Utah Jazz, the Denver Nuggets won their 50th game of the season and catapulted Utah back to an almost certain third place finish in the Northwest Division. Meanwhile, with the win, Denver extends its lead to a full game over San Antonio for the second overall playoff seed in the Western Conference.
In the first quarter, the Nuggets’ starters came out flat and green. Sure, they were wearing their new-look, environmentally sound green jersey’s but the sustainable lifestyle they were championing wasn’t transferring over to their antiquated play. With no energy and a stagnant offense, Denver fell behind Utah 22-11 before J.R. Smith took things into his own hands. The Prodigy looked like a modern day Gifford Pinchot as he wore the environmentally conscious duds and connected on his first three pointer of the night with 1:23 remaining in the first quarter and it instantly pumped new life into the Nuggets. Still down by eight after that big shot, the Nuggets rallied around J.R.’s big shot and proceeded to outscore the Jazz 10-2 to close out the quarter with Smith hitting a 30-foot jumper at the first’s final buzzer.
And I know this is going to sound too good to be true, but on Utah’s final possession of the quarter I turned to my friend and said, “I’m glad we got the last shot. The play is to get the ball to Smith and get out of his way.” Right on cue, J.R. answered with that long trey that tickled nothing but twine and at that precise moment I knew the Prodigy was going to have a big night.
So, after the starters came in a put Denver at a deficit it was the reserves led by J.R. Smith that brought the Nuggets back. Entering the second down by three, Smith’s offensive barrage wasn’t done yet. He opened up the quarter with another three to tie the game at 24 all. He would hit another pair of back-to-back bombs to tie the game at 35 apiece, and Denver took its first lead of the game on a pair of Anthony Carter free-throws with seven minutes to play in the first half.
It was Denver's first lead of the game and the last time Utah had a pulse.
The Jazz were outscored 17-8 in the final seven minutes of the second quarter and trailed by eleven at the half, 54-43. J.R. Smith hit 6-7 three-pointers in the first half and scored 21 points to pace the Nuggets. Jerry Sloan and company evidently didn’t get the memo that J.R. has range unlimited and after switching and going underneath perimeter screens and thus giving the Prodigy room to shoot were left scratching their heads as to how to stop Smith from burning the net off the rim. Smith’s 21 points in 15 minutes in the first half was the main reason why the Nuggets turned an eleven point deficit into an eleven point lead at the break.
In the second half, we saw Denver manage this game as efficiently as any we have all year. They entered the third up by eleven and maintained that lead entering the fourth. The closest the Jazz ever got was six points, twice, in the fourth quarter, but each time the Nuggets answered right back.
And if Smith was the big story offensively, it was Chris Andersen on the other end who deserves some lime.
The Bird was AMAZING. Chris Andersen set a new career-high for blocked shots with eight swats while flirting with a triple double that included seven points and ten rebounds. It’s one thing when you make the opposing team worry about attacking the rim when you’re in the middle challenging shots, but the Bird had the Jazz so out of tune they were missing shots that he wasn’t even challenging. Not since the days of Mt. Mutombo have I seen a defender make the opposition more leery of putting weak attempts on rim as the Jazz looked like Audrey Hepburn in Hitchcock’s famous thriller.
However, if there was one area that the Nuggets should be ashamed of it’s the defensive glass. Denver was lucky to have J.R. and the Bird pour in such gutsy performances because I’m not so sure that after allowing the Jazz to compile 20 offensive boards that without them this game might have turned out much different. The results, while not damning, were Utah attempting 93 shots overall compared to the Nuggets’ 75 and the Jazz dominating the boards 52-44.
But this night belonged to the Prodigy and his feathered friend. My favorite highlight from this game is after Smith’s eighth three-point make from the left corner. He shook off Kyle Kover to create enough room to launch and after Kover closed in on Smith late. The Prodigy had already seen the leather hit bottoms, proceeded to spin around Korver in celebratory fashion, and slap him on the ass like a kid handing out party favors! “Thanks for coming to my party, Kyle” is what the familiar slap to the buttocks said as Smith shook his head and trotted back on D. ‘Thanks a lot!” Smith’s eight bombs tied his career-high while falling just one short of the franchise record set my Michael Adams. One day, I truly believe that record will be Smith’s.
The Nuggets have now won ten out of their last eleven games and I heard one of the TNT announcers call them the hottest team in the Western Conference. This win also gave the Nuggets their 50th W on the season and marks the first time Denver has ever won 50 games in consecutive seasons.
Go Nuggets! 
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