Ty Lawson and the Nuggets outscored Rajon Rondo (below) and Boston on Sunday in a contest that saw speed win out over the Celtics' tempered play
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Carmelo Anthony struggled mightily to drop the 12,000th point of his career in a throwaway loss to the Wizards in Washington on Friday. In a nationally-televised home game versus the Boston Celtics on Sunday, points 12,000 thru 12,003 came in a thirty-second span on matching 19-foot jumpers three & a half minutes in.
From there, the Nuggets exploded to several quick doublings of Boston’s methodical offensive efforts. With 4:30 left in 1st Quarter the Nuggets led 24-12, at 3:00 they led 28-14, and the 1:00 mark saw the Nuggets up 34-16. By the close of the opening quarter, the Nuggets had dropped 37 points on the Celtics, the most allowed by Boston in a single quarter so far this season.
The 2nd Quarter saw Denver go from hitting everything to missing even free throws, at one point failing on seven straight attempts from the charity stripe. Offensive misfires led to transition baskets for the Celtics, and the Nuggets’ 18-point advantage melted down to a seven-point lead (54-47) at the end of the half. The ailing George Karl was tagged with a technical foul in the period for charging onto the court and arguing for a goaltending call on the Celtics that led to a 4 on 2 break the other way.
A back-and-forth 3rd Quarter looked pretty bad for the Nuggets, but Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups chose a great time to return to All-Star form. Chauncey dropped six on consecutive threes early, and added another six on 6-6 shooting from the free throw line. Carmelo tore up the slow rotation of Boston’s defense, laying one in on a drive, drawing two late fouls in the lane, and dishing three assists that led to three slam dunks (two Nene, one Kenyon.) The quarter ended with the Nuggets improving by two points on their halftime lead (82-73).
Both teams dug in for the 4th Quarter, and defensive turnovers paced another back-and-forth affair. But when Carmelo Anthony turned a transition drive into a dish to the left corner for JR Smith, the resulting three led to a major momentum swing for Denver. Ty Lawson came in to harass All-Star Celtics PG Rajon Rondo, and Lawson’s speed covering Rondo disrupted the Boston game-plan from end to end. Ty would cap off a stellar performance off the bench with great defensive pursuit of Rajon that led to a steal and breakaway layup.
JR took the momentum from his game-breaking three and drained his next two attempts. Despite a horrible first half for Smith, he proved to a national audience why he is such a key component of this Nuggets squad. When JR is hitting from downtown, the whole offensive runs more smoothly. Defenses have to stretch towards the perimeter, and Denver’s power players can drive the lane with abandon, knowing that JR is waiting on the outside for a dish-‘n-shoot.
The Nuggets kept their defensive focus, and the Celtics’ half-court offensive was unable to bridge a late 13-point Denver lead. The Nuggets were simply the more explosive team in a game that saw the Celtics struggling to gain ground after Denver pulled out to an early lead. Boston could never muster the offensive firepower to catch up, and each time the Nuggets’ lead dwindled they responded with powerful offensive runs.
Final score: 114-105 Nuggets (37-19) WIN
