Official Denver Nuggets Game Thread

[Mile High Crew]

Good to see Kleiza getting hot from beyond the arc, cuz JR cant do it all by himself. Tomorrow night should be a fun game to watch.

[Richie2k6]

Good job on these Krayzie. I've been pretty busy as of late and have hardly even been watching much basketball this season. Not to mention ISH continues to be bogged down by troll infestations. But I'm going to try to make as many Nugget game thread as I can, and I just posted on for tonight's game.

[KRAYZIE]

Good job on these Krayzie. I've been pretty busy as of late and have hardly even been watching much basketball this season. Not to mention ISH continues to be bogged down by troll infestations. But I'm going to try to make as many Nugget game thread as I can, and I just posted on for tonight's game.

Thanks!

And yeah the troll things gotten pretty bad lately, especially in the main forum.


BTW, just saw your new game thread and all I gotta say is

[KRAYZIE]

JR for 333333333333333333333333333! Tied game @ the half.

I'm very surprised that Nuggets aren't down at half though. Really thought exhaustion would set in after the tough game played yesterday.

[KRAYZIE]

Good game by L.A.

Back to the Nuggets. Man, they got killed on the boards...as usual. And it's not like the Nuggets are a bad rebounding team, it's just that for whatever reason, it feels like they just stand and watch on missed shots play after play, throw in the lazy d they'll put out to go along with not securing the board to help the opposition makeup for their missed shot and bam, you've just made the game harder for yourselves. Nice job! So many 2nd chance opportunities given up simply because as mentioned, they'd much rather sit back, relax, and watch the opponent collect all the rebounds than do it themselves on both ends. Well, it's getting a little ridiculous now. I mean I don't know how many times the Nuggets announcers have said this over the past few games, but defense does not stop until you rebound the ball! It's obviously not getting through to their heads. In their last 8 games(counting tonight's), Nuggets grabbed a combine of just 68 offensive rebounds vs. allowing 122 combined offensive rebounds to the opponents. That's twice more than what the Nuggets were able to produce! Yeah they won 7 of those 8 games, but still, imagine how much better the final scores would've looked had they not been so pathetic with their rebounding.

Well, all I gotta say now is thank god we have the Birdman, in large if not for him, this team would be dead last in the league in rebounding this year. Also, tonight's loss was expected, but still, good try by the Nuggets up 'till the 2nd half.

/End mini rant.

[KRAYZIE]

[CENTER]{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Orange"]Lakers[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]116-102(L)[/COLOR]



[QUOTE]

Link

LOS ANGELES -- Pau Gasol was impressed with Andrew Bynum's comeback. A decrease in his own minutes to accommodate his fellow 7-footer wasn't too shabby, either.

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points, Gasol added 27 points and 19 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back Bynum in a 116-102 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The win was the fifth straight for the Lakers (63-16) and tied them with the idle Cleveland Cavaliers (63-15) for the league lead.

Bynum, playing in his first game since tearing the medial collateral ligament in his right knee on Jan. 31, had 16 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

Wearing a black brace on the knee, Bynum was greeted with cheers when his name was announced in the starting lineup. Another loud eruption came when the Lakers' announcer asked fans to welcome back the center.

"It was nice. It was almost like he never went out. It was a great performance for a comeback game after two months and something out. It just shows that he's been working hard," Gasol said.

[I]Fast Facts

[KRAYZIE]

Revenge game tomorrow night! This is what happened last time Denver played Sacramento.


Poor guy.

[paguy1955]

Kevin Martin won't travel with the Kings on their two-game, season-ending road trip. Since scoring a career-high 50 points in a 143-141 overtime loss at Golden State on April 1, the Kings' leading scorer has missed six consecutive games because of a sore left ankle. Interim coach Kenny Natt stopped short of declaring Martin's season over but didn't sound as if he expected the guard to catch a late flight and meet up with the team before season's end. [COLOR="Red"]Sacramento Bee [/COLOR]

[KRAYZIE]

Game thread in the main forum.
http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=128150

[paguy1955]

[COLOR="SlateGray"]J.R. Hits for 45 PTS with 11 3pt shots[/COLOR]

[KRAYZIE]

[COLOR="SlateGray"]J.R. Hits for 45 PTS with 11 3pt shots[/COLOR]

Fricken' AMAZING night for him!



Also, NW division Champs baby!

[KRAYZIE]

[CENTER]{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]Kings[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]118-98(W)[/COLOR]




[QUOTE]

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[COLOR="Red"]Smith knocks down franchise-high 11 3's as Nuggets lock up Northwest title[/COLOR]

DENVER -- J.R. Smith grabbed the ball in the final seconds and raced to halfcourt. Fans screaming his name figured he'd fire up one last 3-pointer. Instead, he dribbled out the clock.

Smith had a career-high 45 points and franchise-best 11 3-pointers to help the Denver Nuggets clinch the Northwest Division title and home-court edge in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years with a 118-98 win over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Smith's point total was the highest ever for a Nuggets reserve and helped Denver tie the franchise record for most wins in a season with 54.

So, what more could he want?

"Twelve would have been great," Smith said when informed the NBA record for 3-pointers in a game was 12 held by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.

"If I would have known that, I would have shot the last one," Smith said.

And on this night, he probably would have swished it, too.

Smith was so hot down the stretch, when he single-handedly turned a nail-biter into a laugher, that the Kings resorted to fouling him intentionally so he wouldn't get off 3-pointers. Twice he did anyway, and he sank all three foul shots both times.

With chants of "J.R." cascading from the rafters, Smith sank half of his 3s in the fourth quarter, when he scored 23 points.

"I could have bounced it off the floor and it would have went in," Smith suggested.

The Nuggets (54-27) tied their franchise record for most wins since joining the NBA in 1976. They can break that mark with a victory in their regular-season finale Wednesday night at Portland.

Denver clinched at least the third seed in the Western Conference. The Nuggets would secure the No. 2 seed with a win at Portland or if Houston loses at Dallas on Wednesday night.

Either way, star Carmelo Anthony finally has the home-court advantage on his side as he tries to end five straight seasons of first-round exits by the Nuggets.

Anthony had 21 points, nine assists and nine rebounds in 32 minutes against Sacramento, which was led by Ike Diogu's career-best 32 points.

Anthony spent the fourth quarter cheering on Smith, who's been in a zone for three weeks.

"Man, I want to stay in it the rest of my life, it's a great feeling," Smith said. "My phone's vibrating right now from my mom calling. I can imagine the phone calls there's going to be tonight."

Smith's 11 3-pointers -- on 18 attempts -- bested the franchise mark of nine set by Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1995 and tied by Michael Adams in 1991. Smith's previous career high was eight, which he accomplished three times, including earlier this month against Utah.

Smith's previous career high for points was 43 at Chicago 14 months ago. His 45 points came despite playing just 29 1/2 minutes.

Denver wasn't expected to even make the playoffs this year after defensive stalwarts Marcus Camby and Eduardo Najera weren't brought back. But a week into the new season, Nuggets executive Mark Warkentien pulled off the biggest trade in the NBA, acquiring Chauncey Billups from Detroit for Allen Iverson.

While Iverson struggled in Detroit, Billups molded the Nuggets' individual talents into a cohesive unit and Denver found itself with a team that not only made the playoffs, but has visions of finally making some noise in the postseason.

But the Nuggets had a harder time with the Kings than they or their fans might have imagined -- and Sacramento was missing three starters.

Center Spencer Hawes injured his left knee on a flagrant foul by Kenyon Martin in the first quarter and did not return.

Fast Facts

[I]

[KRAYZIE]

{[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Red"]Blazers[/COLOR] Preview}

VS

~Final Regular Game Of The Season~

Link

For the first time in 21 years, the Denver Nuggets have secured home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Portland Trail Blazers are still fighting to get it.

The Nuggets look to clinch the second-best record in the Western Conference and set a franchise record with their 55th win Wednesday night when they visit the Trail Blazers, who can guarantee they’ll start the postseason at home with a victory.

Denver (54-27) wrapped up the Northwest Division title and at least the No. 3 seed in the West by riding J.R. Smith’s career-high 45 points and franchise-record 11 3-pointers to a 118-98 win over Sacramento on Monday night.

“It wasn’t really celebration,” forward Carmelo Anthony said after the Nuggets’ 14th win in 16 games. “We were happy, don’t get me wrong. We were excited because once again nobody expected us to win a division. We still got bigger fish to fry. This was just one of the goals we did set at the beginning of the season and we accomplished it.”

The Nuggets, who also matched their franchise-record win total set in 1987-88, can secure second place in the conference with a win or a Houston loss at Dallas on Wednesday night.

The Blazers (53-28) could finish with the same record as the Nuggets by winning this game to earn a split of the four-game season series, but Denver would still win the Northwest title because it will finish with a better record within the division.

Though first place in the Northwest is out of reach, the Blazers are battling for the right to start the playoffs at home. With a win over the Nuggets, they can clinch at least the fourth seed. If they lose, they could still get home-court advantage if San Antonio loses at home to New Orleans on Wednesday night.

Rather than deal with the dizzying number of possible outcomes, All-Star guard Brandon Roy boiled the Blazers’ outlook down to three sentences.

“One game away. Lots of tiebreakers. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Home-court advantage could be particularly useful for the Blazers, who have one of the league’s best home records at 33-7 but finished with a losing record on the road at 20-21.

“It’s all about looking forward to the next game now,” coach Nate McMillan said. “We’ll come to play and finish the season strong.”

Portland continued its dominance at the Rose Garden with a 113-83 win over Oklahoma City on Monday night, its fifth straight win overall and at home. Roy scored 20 points while going 7-for-10 from the field in 22 minutes, and Travis Outlaw scored 21 and went 9-for-14 while starting in place of rookie forward Nicolas Batum, who’s day-to-day with the flu.

Portland has won 18 of 20 at home, where it beat Denver 101-92 on Dec. 23. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 22 points and Roy added 19. The Nuggets were playing without Anthony, sidelined by a right elbow injury.

Anthony, averaging a team-high 23.0 points, scored 38 in his only game against Portland this season - a 106-90 win in Denver on March 5. He’s scored at least 30 in eight of his 20 career meetings with the Blazers, averaging 26.7 overall.

Another big game from Anthony could help make up for Chauncey Billups’ struggles against Portland. The All-Star point guard has been held to 15.3 points per game and 31.7 percent shooting (13-for-41) in the season series.

[KRAYZIE]

Wonder whether the starters will be playing or resting... Knowing it's a national televised game, I suppose there will be a little pressure to play the guys, but who knows.

Either way, Go Nuggets!

[paguy1955]

Wonder whether the starters will be playing or resting... Knowing it's a national televised game, I suppose there will be a little pressure to play the guys, but who knows.

Either way, Go Nuggets!

If Dallas beats Houston.. There is no reason to play them long.. They will have the #2 slot