| 10 November 2009
(Denver-CO) It took a frame-by-frame replay to determine if Brad Miller's last second shot with .3 seconds remaining was out of his hand in time, but after close deliberation referee Mark Wunderlich waived off what would have been the game winner for the Bulls. The call was one of few that went Denver's way in their, 90-89, win over the Bulls after the Nuggets held seven-point leads on three separate occasions during the fourth quarter.
Right to the good stuff!
Carmelo Anthony came up with the big buckets in the big moments despite scoring a season-low 20 points due to Luol Deng's tremendous effort defensively. These two went at each other with each man getting the best of the other in waves. Carmelo dropped 12 points before his first breather in the second quarter. From that point Deng held Carmelo scoreless for the rest of the half. Deng then bothered Carmelo with his length in the third quarter, but in the fourth Carmelo came alive for three critical buckets, including a 14-foot jumper with :13 remaining in regulation to give the Nuggets a, 89-87, lead.
Chauncey Billups then tried to take an intentional foul on Chicago's next possession, but was unsuccessful keeping Derrick Rose from getting into the shooting motion and earning two free-throw after making contact above the free-throw line. Rose made both attempts to knot the game at 89, but Chauncey's heady drive right at Kirk Hinrich on the other end earned Mr. Big Shot a pair of free-throws of his own. Chauncey made the first and intentionally missed the second with just six tenths of a second remaining. Joakim Noah then grabbed his career-high 21st rebound of the game and called timeout all in the matter of three tenths of a second in what I'm 99% sure was the fastest rebound/simultaneous timeout ever.
The Nuggets then did a good job making sure there wasn't a tip in at the rim, but lost track of Brad Miller at the top of the key. Miller did as fast of a job as could humanly possible catching and putting the ball on rim let all in one motion let alone making the would be buzzer beater, but after a lengthy review by referee Mark Wunderlich the shot was waived off on ruling that his hand was still touching the ball when the clock struck zero.
Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith returning to action gave this game the feeling you get from an old friend. Never before have I appreciated what Kenyon brings to the table more than in his 15-point, ten rebound return from a bruised fibula. And despite J.R. having a rough shooting night (1-9 from the field for a total of five points), I liked everything he brought to the table too. J.R. didn't take what I would consider a bad shot, played some very inspired defense, and made his strongest contribution passing the ball to the tune of five assists.
Nene also got the memo that the Nuggets need him to rebound. Big Brazil finished with a double-double of eleven points and a team-high twelve boards. The win was also the 939th for coach George Karl moving him passed Red Auberbach into eighth on the NBA's all-time list.
Up next for the Nuggets is the final second game of the third set of back-to-back games on this road trip with a visit to the Milwaukee Bucks, and presents an opportunity for Denver to finish 4-2 on the season-long road trip and the chance to improve to 7-2 before hosting the Lakers on Friday night in the Mile High City.
Go Nuggets!
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