Nuggets Get Desperate & Beat the Blazers in OT 114-107

With A.I. out due to a sprained ankle and the flu, and with the basketball world starting to talk about the Nuggets in the past tense, the Nuggets were desperate to avoid a fifth straight loss, especially since they were playing at home, where they have already lost too many times for comfort.

So with one engine out, and with one wing on fire, the Nuggets brought their damaged basketball plane in for a safe landing tonight. Steve Blake, on whom George Karl has bet the ranch, Nene, with his painful knee, Marcus Camby with his painful finger, and J.R. Smith, with his youthful temper and impulsiveness, refused to leave the burning deck until they narrowly defeated the Trail Blazers in overtime, 114-107. Nene, Camby, and J.R. were playing the overtime with 5 fouls, as George Karl knew that he had to win at all costs. However, had any of the three actually fouled out, the win would probably have slipped away, so this was a very close call.

The Nuggets scrapped and closely defended much more than usual, even at the cost of fouls. After all, Utah is leading the division and they commit more fouls than anyone, so fouls can't be all bad, right?

Karl also decided that he had to violate all of the rules the trainers set up regarding the caring for Nene's knee, in order to try to get something from the power forward position for a change. So the big man from Brazil played a staggering 38 minutes, and responded by chucking in 20 points on 8/10 shooting.

With 31 seconds to go in regulation, Marcus Camby blocked a Zach Randolph layup, one of his 5 blocks on the night. Diawara got the rebound, and the score remained 95-92 Nuggets. The Trail Blazers were now forced to foul, and Blake got one of two free throws. After Jarrett Jack drove to the hoop for a layup, he fouled Blake, who again only got one of two free throws, so it was now 97-94 Nuggets with 6 seconds left.

So the Nuggets had won, right? Of course not. Brandon Roy, the great rookie guard of the Trail Blazers, who was just named rookie of the month for the Western Conference for January, sunk a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left. Roy led all rookies in scoring (16.6 points) steals (1.69) and minutes (34.4) in January. He was second in assists (3.4) and third in rebounds (4.8). Melo hoisted a quick midrange jumper at the buzzer that missed, and Nene's tip-in was too late, so the Nuggets were forced into overtime as the fire threatening to consume much of their playoff hopes had flared up again. In fact, the flames were getting dangerously close to the fans in the front rows, and those fans were starting to think that Nuggets mania might be more hype than reality.

Steve Blake had already, after a whole series of games in which he was missing, come alive in regulation with 14 points and 11 assists. But in overtime, he stepped up even more and tried to do what A.I. would have done on the burning deck and he succeeded greatly. He made three successful drives to the hoop and made a nice jumper and a follow up free throw. J.R. Smith wisely followed the pattern Blake set up and had two successful drives to the hoop himself with about 2 minutes left in overtime. Aside from a Melo missed jumper at the beginning of overtime, the Nuggets did not miss any shots from the field in overtime.

The Nuggets finally realized that it is better to simplify their game as much as possible, rather than to keep making it unnecessarily complicated. They may be a complicated team, but it does not follow that they should play in a complicated way. They finally began to establish a team flow or rhythm and to take natural, high percentage shots rather than trying to force shots.

They finally started to cut down on lower percentage shots, meaning shots where the player does not have enough experience to sink the shot reliably. Shots should be at the right time, hopefully when the defense has broken down, and should be the highest percentage shot possible for the possession. Career development shots should be kept to a minimum.

For the Nuggets, it was a small step, but you have to learn to walk before you can run.

Melo went all out in the attempt, but remained short of the extremely high scoring accuracy he had before the suspension. 1/3 from beyond the arc, he was only 6/18 on jumpers inside the arc. Since he was 3/5 on jumpers from point blank range, he was only 3/13 on midrange jumpers. Melo has clearly been affected by the great amount of turmoil that has happened to his team in his fourth season. I think the midrange jumper requires alot of inner peace and pure confidence. Fans will have to continue to wait for the return of Melo's near perfect midrange jumper shooting.

Najera fouled out half way through the 4th quarter. He played for 21 minutes and had 6 points on 3/4 shooting. He also had 3 rebounds. Even 6 points was a nice uptick for Najera. Kleiza played 18 minutes and was 2/6 and 0/1 on 3's for 4 points and he also pulled down 8 rebounds. Swingman Diawara played for 14 minutes and was 2/4, 1/3 on 3's, and 2/3 from the line for 7 points. Again, it is a huge improvement for someone to get 6 or 8 points rather than 2 or 3.

Nene played a staggering 38 minutes and was 8/10 and 4/6 from the line for 20 points, and he had 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal. Like a man dying from thirst who comes upon an oasis in the desert, the Nuggets finally had production at power forward just before they burned up.

Steve Blake played virtually the entire game and was 6/7 and 7/11 from the line for 19 points, and he had 14 assists, 2 steals, and 3 rebounds. Is this closer to the real Steve Blake or was this just another flash in the pan game? Or, to put it another way, is Blake going to largely make up for the loss of Boykins or not? The answer will go a long way in determining how much of a threat the Nuggets are in the playoffs.

J.R. Smith played for 27 minutes and was 7/11, 2/4 on 3's and 1/1 from the line for 17 points and he had 2 steals and an assist. Although he made two of them, Smith cut down on his over consumption of 3-point shots and went to the hoop much more in a wise move that increased the odds of victory in this particular game.

Marcus Camby was 3/9 and 2/4 from the line for 8 points, and he had 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, 5 assists, and 3 steals. If Melo is the soul of the Nuggets and A.I. is the heart of the Nuggets, then Camby is the handyman who can fix just about everything in a game.

All-star Carmelo Anthony was 11/26, 1/3 on 3's and 10/14 from the line for 33 points, and he also had 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Melo could not and did not rise to the Michael Jordan level at the buzzer or in the game generally, but everyone should stay tuned for further developments. This suspension recovery thing is by no means over.

Both Melo and J.R. got technicals for jawing with referees at two different points in the game. This is a good sign. As long as it does not become a habit, most of the best players, and the ones most serious about winning, occasionally let a referee know about a perceived mistake he or she made. It is a sign of will to win and intensity.

Now if only Allen Iverson can return so that the Nuggets can win one easily for a change without all the drama. But A.I. is questionable for tomorrow night's game.

The next game is tomorrow night, Saturday, Feb. 3 in Sacramento to play the Kings at 8 pm mountain time.