Nuggets notch a big win, and AI returns to Denver
Anderson, Smith & Anthony
Continuing their march through December, the Nuggets are leaving lumps of coal in the socks of the opposition. Denver has shaken the dust from the Minnesota loss on the 29th of November and has since steadied their feet and focused their attention one opponent at a time.
After a convincing victory over Golden State on the first of the month, Denver played host to Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat on December 3rd. Despite a relatively close game half way into the second quarter, Miami never held a lead in the game and seemingly conceded the game to Denver after a 13-0 second quarter run. By the mid-third quarter, it was assured D-Wade would be dealt another losing hand in Denver, where he has yet to come out victorious. Melo accounted for 22 points and Nene had one of his strongest performances with 15 points and 8 rebounds as the Nuggets diffused the heat 114-96 moving to 14-5 on the season.
Journeying on yesterday, December 5th, Denver set down in San Antonio for a heavy weight bout with the Duncan and the Spurs. Over the past few weeks, sports radio show hosts and television analysts have been asked where they rank the Denver Nuggets with other top NBA team this season, and without skipping a beat the answer from all ranked the Nuggets in the top 6 to 8 behind the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Orlando and the Cavaliers. Well, after last night I believe this list has been narrowed. Denver dredged the Lakers on November 13th 105-79, and Saturday night the Nuggets went toe-to-toe with the experienced Spurs. This was not cinch for Denver as the Spurs led most of the game; Denver laboriously kept within reach until the sloppy 4th quarter Spurs gave way to a J.R Smith 3 pointer and a youthful Lawson onslaught. Denver outscored San Antonio 31-23 in the 4th quarter eventually taking their boots and going home; Denver out-wrestled the game from the duo Duncan and Parker 106-99. Carmelo added 34 points and 7 rebounds to his lengthening resume and also became the only player this season to score at least 20 points in each game. K-Mart saw a discount on balls to round up 13 boards and the rook (Ty Lawson) racked up 11 points in 21 minutes (8 points in the 4th quarter).
Tomorrow night the Nuggets and their fans play host to the Philadelphia 76ers and may gaze upon ‘The Answer’ (Allan Iverson) once again. A.I. had an emotional press conference when Philly signed him, far from the man who held PRACTICE! to a lesser degree in his mind than most would care to say. But with A.I. back in Philly and Billups here in Denver, all seems well and right in the world of the NBA; with exception that the Cavs are considered a better team the Nuggets, but we may have a resolution to that on January 8th, 2010.
Until then, carry on Denver, I salute you.
