With the Minnesota mishap in the past, all 12 Nuggets score against Golden State Tuesday night.
Chris "Birdman" Andersen smothers the Warriors player Tuesday night.
After being chased down by the hungry Timberwolves, George Karl let it be known that he is looking for defensive minded, hard working players. The response he got last night at home may not have been all defensive in nature, however, the Nuggets speared Golden State with an onslaught of offense.
Those who witnessed the game last night will affirm that Denver had the game in hand by the end of the 2nd quarter. The Nuggets scored their most 1st half points (69) of the season against Golden State. Nene, Birdman & Melo were amongst 7 Denver players scoring in the double digits last night. Nene lassoed the ball with 12 rebounds and Billups fed the rock to his point-hungry teammates for 8 assists. Denver added 66 points in the 2nd half to vanquish the Warriors 135-107 in front of a burning home crowd at the Pepsi Center. Coach Karl and the Nuggets sensed the importance of a victory after the mishap in Minnesota and came out intent on suppressing Golden State — or anyone who would oppose them Tuesday night.
Winning 4 of their last 5 games, Denver still leads the Northwest Division, but fans have seen some clumsiness along the way. This team has the offensive firepower to overcome deficits and match other sharp-shooting teams, but the lack of defense between the rims leaves me to speculate; to make a serious run, does Denver need to make a move for defensive aid? Perhaps, but I also believe the players we have now can and should perform their duty to protect the net.
For now, the expectation is to win with who we have, which leaves Denver fans and Coach Karl to wait and anticipate a defensive awakening sometime soon.
