| 08 December 2009
(Denver-CO) The Denver Nuggets have done it again. They’ve fought hard, on the road, and won after trailing for three quarters. Only this time it wasn’t a special team they had to overcome, but rather a special night. It was Allen Iverson’s homecoming back to Philadelphia to be specific, but nevertheless the Nuggets defeated the Sixers, 93-83.
As for Iverson, the City of Brotherly Love showed him a lot of it. The pre-game montage shown on the jumbotron was moving to say the least and Allen kissing mid court couldn’t help but make you feel happy for the city of Philadelphia and for Iverson himself. A star was home.
The only problem in this fairytale was a star’s former team ruining the ending.
Tonight’s victory was a mirror game of the San Antonio win. The Nuggets were on the road, in a very charged environment, trailed for almost 36 of the game’s 48 minutes, and didn’t get a whole lot of whistles in their favor. Carmelo didn’t even score twenty points for the first time of the season for cryin' out loud as the Nuggets shooting was a frigid 30% (18-59) through three quarters.
But…
Much like in the San Antonio win, J.R. Smith gave the Nuggets their first lead of the game just moments into the fourth quarter and Denver never looked back. His two free-throws were part of a 17-0 run spanning four and a half minutes over the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth that brought the Nuggets from down by five, 65-60, to up by a dozen, 77-65.
During this stretch, and all the way through the end of the game, it was the trio of J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson, and Chauncey Billups who delivered for the Nuggets. However, up until the third quarter the three Denver guards had been very quiet. In the first half, Chauncey had scored just eight points and handed out a meager pair of assists while J.R. and Ty had combined to score five points on 1-8 shooting from the field with their only field goal coming from Smith from downtown late in the first quarter.
It wasn’t until the second half that Chauncey found his shooting touch, but once he did he was unstoppable. Mr. Big Shot had arguably his finest individual half of the season scoring 23 of his eventual 31 points in the second half, including a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line and a backbreaking triple from beyond the coach’s box with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
Add in two gutsy performances by two of the NBA’s best bench players and you have the ingredients called for in a winning recipe.
J.R. Smith and Ty Lawson combined to score 18 of Denver’s final 36 points of the game and when combined with Chauncey’s 23 scored 41 of the Nuggets’ 52 points in the second half. Smith’s second three-pointer of the fourth quarter gave the Nuggets their biggest lead of 13 points and Lawson gave Allen Iverson all he could handle on both ends of the floor. Ty Lawson was nothing short of scintillating against the greatest small guard to play the game since Isiah Thomas. He blocked Iverson’s jumper, rebounded like a forward, and caused havoc on ball handlers on one end, and proved that the Answer has lost a step on the other by scoring six of his eventual twelve points by blowing by Iverson for lay-ups.
As I said in my last recap, these are the kind of games that championship caliber teams win by having different guys step up on different nights. For the Nuggets, Lawson, J.R. Smith, and Chauncey Billups have done so in consecutive games.
Other notable “Nuggets”:
- Kenyon Martin left the game in the first half with a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand. He did return to the game and played 33 minutes, but as anyone who has played the game of basketball knows… that pinky is going to be much sorer tomorrow than it was tonight.
- Andre Iguodala sank a full-court shot at the end of the half that didn’t count. Literally, he was handed the ball on one baseline and threw a perfect strike on the other. Amazing.
- Carmelo Anthony failed to score 20+ points for the first time this season and for only the second time this year wasn’t Denver’s high scorer. ‘Melo wasn’t getting the respect from the officiating crew he’s grown accustomed to and finished with 14 points on 5-21 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Nuggets fans know that when Carmelo shoots only four free-throws there is something fishy going on… I know Dick Bavetta was the lead referee, but was that bastard Tim Donaghy in the house too?
- Amazingly, the Sixers shot just nine free-throws total making eight of those attempts. Even more amazing was how the Nuggets made 11 of their first 12 shots in the fourth quarter after not being able to throw a seashell in the ocean in the first three.
- Willie Green was the only Sixer to score off the bench.
As for Iverson, the City of Brotherly Love showed him a lot of it. The pre-game montage shown on the jumbotron was moving to say the least and Allen kissing mid court couldn’t help but make you feel happy for the city of Philadelphia and for Iverson himself. A star was home.
The only problem in this fairytale was a star’s former team ruining the ending.
Tonight’s victory was a mirror game of the San Antonio win. The Nuggets were on the road, in a very charged environment, trailed for almost 36 of the game’s 48 minutes, and didn’t get a whole lot of whistles in their favor. Carmelo didn’t even score twenty points for the first time of the season for cryin' out loud as the Nuggets shooting was a frigid 30% (18-59) through three quarters.
But…
Much like in the San Antonio win, J.R. Smith gave the Nuggets their first lead of the game just moments into the fourth quarter and Denver never looked back. His two free-throws were part of a 17-0 run spanning four and a half minutes over the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth that brought the Nuggets from down by five, 65-60, to up by a dozen, 77-65.
During this stretch, and all the way through the end of the game, it was the trio of J.R. Smith, Ty Lawson, and Chauncey Billups who delivered for the Nuggets. However, up until the third quarter the three Denver guards had been very quiet. In the first half, Chauncey had scored just eight points and handed out a meager pair of assists while J.R. and Ty had combined to score five points on 1-8 shooting from the field with their only field goal coming from Smith from downtown late in the first quarter.
It wasn’t until the second half that Chauncey found his shooting touch, but once he did he was unstoppable. Mr. Big Shot had arguably his finest individual half of the season scoring 23 of his eventual 31 points in the second half, including a perfect 11-11 from the free-throw line and a backbreaking triple from beyond the coach’s box with just over three minutes remaining in regulation.
Add in two gutsy performances by two of the NBA’s best bench players and you have the ingredients called for in a winning recipe.
J.R. Smith and Ty Lawson combined to score 18 of Denver’s final 36 points of the game and when combined with Chauncey’s 23 scored 41 of the Nuggets’ 52 points in the second half. Smith’s second three-pointer of the fourth quarter gave the Nuggets their biggest lead of 13 points and Lawson gave Allen Iverson all he could handle on both ends of the floor. Ty Lawson was nothing short of scintillating against the greatest small guard to play the game since Isiah Thomas. He blocked Iverson’s jumper, rebounded like a forward, and caused havoc on ball handlers on one end, and proved that the Answer has lost a step on the other by scoring six of his eventual twelve points by blowing by Iverson for lay-ups.
As I said in my last recap, these are the kind of games that championship caliber teams win by having different guys step up on different nights. For the Nuggets, Lawson, J.R. Smith, and Chauncey Billups have done so in consecutive games.
Other notable “Nuggets”:
- Kenyon Martin left the game in the first half with a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand. He did return to the game and played 33 minutes, but as anyone who has played the game of basketball knows… that pinky is going to be much sorer tomorrow than it was tonight.
- Andre Iguodala sank a full-court shot at the end of the half that didn’t count. Literally, he was handed the ball on one baseline and threw a perfect strike on the other. Amazing.
- Carmelo Anthony failed to score 20+ points for the first time this season and for only the second time this year wasn’t Denver’s high scorer. ‘Melo wasn’t getting the respect from the officiating crew he’s grown accustomed to and finished with 14 points on 5-21 shooting from the field and 4-4 from the free-throw line. Nuggets fans know that when Carmelo shoots only four free-throws there is something fishy going on… I know Dick Bavetta was the lead referee, but was that bastard Tim Donaghy in the house too?
- Amazingly, the Sixers shot just nine free-throws total making eight of those attempts. Even more amazing was how the Nuggets made 11 of their first 12 shots in the fourth quarter after not being able to throw a seashell in the ocean in the first three.
- Willie Green was the only Sixer to score off the bench.
Go Nuggets!
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