It was as much a statement win as any other recent Denver victory. Sacramento was on a four-game winning streak behind the revelatory play of Marcus Thornton, and these Kings gave the Nuggets all they had.
There are no words to express the gratitude and appreciation I have for Denver, the Nuggets and all the fans. You will always be a part of my heart.
The blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of head coach Adrian Dantley, who was overmatched all series in the presence of Jerry Sloan’s masterful in-game coaching. The Denver Nuggets went out with a whimper in 2010, and the team will have a long offseason to consider what changes need to be made to improve in 2011.
Down three games to one in the opening round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, Denver needed a big victory on Wednesday night. More than that, they needed a big outing from absent star Chauncey Billups. The Nuggets got both in Game 5 at Pepsi Center, part of their 116-102 win.
Denver’s bigs couldn’t make layups, their bench had no spark, and their defense made lazy rotations versus the Jazz for the third straight game. Not coincidentally, after going up 1-0 to start this opening round playoff series, the Nuggets have lost the last 3 games.
The Nuggets could have won this game (and this series) with consistent effort. When they played hard at both ends they were clearly the beater team. But Utah simply out worked them. Melo was the only one who played hard all the way through (et to Billups?) and he missed time with foul trouble again.
The loss relegates the Denver Nuggets to a likely 5th seed, as the Utah Jazz control their destiny in the race for the Northwest Division after a win at Golden State. Phoenix travels to Salt Lake City tomorrow night to settle the Western Conference seeding with the Jazz. Only a Suns victory can save the Nuggets from their late-season decent from 1-seed contenders to the 5-seed and a hellish road to the Finals.
This was just what the doctor ordered for the Nuggets’ hopes to win the Northwest Division. Three starters played less than 29:00 minutes (Nene, Billups, Martin), so everyone should have plenty of energy to run with the Suns tomorrow. A win Tuesday night in Phoenix clenches the 3 seed.
The Nuggets’ 98-94 edging of the driven Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday displayed the offensive dynamism and (occasional) sharp defensive rotation that Denver has been lacking for most the last two weeks.
This entire game was still on the line even with the Nuggets down by 8 in the fourth. And then 1 moment’s lack of focus by J.R. Smith and Jason Kidd steps in with a steal and Dallas takes an 8-point lead to 16 in 2 minutes. One play in the middle of the fourth quarter and a possible win becomes a 20ish point loss. That’s how close this was.
