| 26 March 2010
(Denver-CO) Somebody wake me when this nightmare is over and the Boston Celtics Schedule doesn’t include the Denver Nuggets any longer. The Nuggets have lost three-straight games for only the second time this season after losing to the Celtics, 113-99, on Wednesday and are still in the midst of a five-game road trip.
The recap for this loss is simple: 58 points in the paint.
The Celtics scored 58 of their 113 points at pointblank range as the undersized and under motivated Denver bigs got their lunch money taken from right out of their pockets. Nene was once again the invisible man in the middle finishing with a paltry line of seven points and five rebounds. His counterparts, Garnett, Pierce, Perkins, and even Rajon Rondo, each finished with at least five caroms and the Big Ticket and Rondo each grabbed double-figure boards as the Nuggets were badly out rebounded 45-36 overall. The nine board margin was the exact number of offensive rebounds the Celtics finished with the advantage of in the category.
Paul Pierce came out in the first quarter with all guns a blazing. The Truth outscored Carmelo Anthony 14-11 in the first as the Celtics jumped out to a, 30-27, after one. Typically, Carmelo didn’t get much help. Chauncey Billups and Arron Afflalo each scored six, but the kind of support Pierce was going to get quickly made those contributions an afterthought.
Celtic reserve Tony Allen scored ten points in the second quarter and with the help of his teammates kept ‘Melo to just three more at the half as Boston extended their lead to ten, 61-51, at intermission. And by this point, Rajon Rondo was already well on his way to his second triple-double of the season with five points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
Needless to say, the Nuggets trailed by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, twice, before cutting the Boston lead down to seven, 87-80, entering the fourth.
It was as close as they ever came.
The Nuggets never crept back within ten points after a quick three by Nate Robinson opened up the fourth quarter for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo finished with a monster stat line of eleven points, eleven rebounds, and 15 huge assists. He single handedly out rebounded every Denver big man and with Kevin Garnett’s 20 points, ten rebounds, and five assists the Nuggets left with their tail between their legs.
Could Kenyon Martin really have cloaked how easily Nene is dominated by opposing bigs of any real size or talent?
It appears as if the previous statement is true.
In the eleven games Kenyon has missed, Nene has only grabbed ten or more rebounds on three occasions or, if you will, one fewer game than ‘Melo while Anthony is averaging more rebounds than the Brazilian in the month of March. It’s shocking, I know, but with Kenyon out for this long of an extended period of time it seems to this Nuggets writer that only Carmelo is stepping up.
‘Melo out dueled Pierce in the end with 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block, but in the end didn’t have the support needed to beat a resurging Boston team that has rebounded nicely since losing seven games post All-Star Weekend.
If there’s a silver lining to be had in this otherwise gruesome defeat it’s that Ty Lawson played in his first game in nearly a month. Lawson made his only shot attempt, but looked out of synch with three unforced turnovers. Hopefully, Lawson will re-acclimate himself to the team and return to his previous form.
The Nuggets are back in action tonight in Toronto where they will look to avoid losing their fourth straight for the first time this season.
It’s going to take a full team effort to do so and here’s some motivation: The Nuggets are currently in a three-way tie with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz for the second seed in the Western Conference playoff landscape and could drop to as low as the fourth seed if this losing streak continues. Need more? This also means that Denver is in danger of dropping out of first place in the Northwest Division with the Jazz having won their last three games.
The recap for this loss is simple: 58 points in the paint.
The Celtics scored 58 of their 113 points at pointblank range as the undersized and under motivated Denver bigs got their lunch money taken from right out of their pockets. Nene was once again the invisible man in the middle finishing with a paltry line of seven points and five rebounds. His counterparts, Garnett, Pierce, Perkins, and even Rajon Rondo, each finished with at least five caroms and the Big Ticket and Rondo each grabbed double-figure boards as the Nuggets were badly out rebounded 45-36 overall. The nine board margin was the exact number of offensive rebounds the Celtics finished with the advantage of in the category.
Paul Pierce came out in the first quarter with all guns a blazing. The Truth outscored Carmelo Anthony 14-11 in the first as the Celtics jumped out to a, 30-27, after one. Typically, Carmelo didn’t get much help. Chauncey Billups and Arron Afflalo each scored six, but the kind of support Pierce was going to get quickly made those contributions an afterthought.
Celtic reserve Tony Allen scored ten points in the second quarter and with the help of his teammates kept ‘Melo to just three more at the half as Boston extended their lead to ten, 61-51, at intermission. And by this point, Rajon Rondo was already well on his way to his second triple-double of the season with five points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
Needless to say, the Nuggets trailed by as many as 21 points in the third quarter, twice, before cutting the Boston lead down to seven, 87-80, entering the fourth.
It was as close as they ever came.
The Nuggets never crept back within ten points after a quick three by Nate Robinson opened up the fourth quarter for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo finished with a monster stat line of eleven points, eleven rebounds, and 15 huge assists. He single handedly out rebounded every Denver big man and with Kevin Garnett’s 20 points, ten rebounds, and five assists the Nuggets left with their tail between their legs.
Could Kenyon Martin really have cloaked how easily Nene is dominated by opposing bigs of any real size or talent?
It appears as if the previous statement is true.
In the eleven games Kenyon has missed, Nene has only grabbed ten or more rebounds on three occasions or, if you will, one fewer game than ‘Melo while Anthony is averaging more rebounds than the Brazilian in the month of March. It’s shocking, I know, but with Kenyon out for this long of an extended period of time it seems to this Nuggets writer that only Carmelo is stepping up.
‘Melo out dueled Pierce in the end with 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block, but in the end didn’t have the support needed to beat a resurging Boston team that has rebounded nicely since losing seven games post All-Star Weekend.
If there’s a silver lining to be had in this otherwise gruesome defeat it’s that Ty Lawson played in his first game in nearly a month. Lawson made his only shot attempt, but looked out of synch with three unforced turnovers. Hopefully, Lawson will re-acclimate himself to the team and return to his previous form.
The Nuggets are back in action tonight in Toronto where they will look to avoid losing their fourth straight for the first time this season.
It’s going to take a full team effort to do so and here’s some motivation: The Nuggets are currently in a three-way tie with the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz for the second seed in the Western Conference playoff landscape and could drop to as low as the fourth seed if this losing streak continues. Need more? This also means that Denver is in danger of dropping out of first place in the Northwest Division with the Jazz having won their last three games.
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