Official Denver Nuggets Game Thread

[KRAYZIE]

Let's give a loud hurrah to OKC for doing a job on SA

BTw, Pic of the day:

[KRAYZIE]

Green jersey time against the Jazz tomorrow night!

Go Nuggets!

[KRAYZIE]

JR's killin' it from the three point line!! 6 3pter's in the 1st half...holy cow!






Sick stuff from the Birdman tonight. 8 blocks and counting!!


Good game. JR and Birdman were huge tonight!

50 wins baby! Let's keep it goin'!

[kingboy.laniado]

awsome thread im am 10 years old and i have a website go on davidssportsnews.blogspot.com

[kingboy.laniado]

[KRAYZIE]

[CENTER]{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="Navy"]Jazz[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]114-104(W)[/COLOR]



[QUOTE]

Link

Smith hot from long range as Nuggets stop Jazz

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets' reserves helped them reach another milestone.

Fast Facts

[I]

[KRAYZIE]

Clippers up 14-12. With both Camby & Kaman out for LA, Nene should be able to dominate the paint tonight.

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JR off to another hot start. At one point he scored 18 or so straight pts for the Nuggets.

Right now he's got 21 at the half, much like the 1st half against Utah.

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JR killin' it from the 3pt line. 7 three's now!!

[paguy1955]

Clippers up 14-12. With both Camby & Kaman out for LA, Nene should be able to dominate the paint tonight.

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JR off to another hot start. At one point he scored 18 or so straight pts for the Nuggets.

Right now he's got 21 at the half, much like the 1st half against Utah.

At 34 pts 5 mins to go.. A[COLOR="Magenta"]ND ONLY 3 3POINTERS [/COLOR]got to ride that horse till it drops

[KRAYZIE]

{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="DarkRed"]Clippers[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]120-104(W)[/COLOR]

Link

Smith pours in 34 off bench as Nuggets crush Clips

DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets had plenty of firepower and defense even without Kenyon Martin to beat the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers 120-104 Saturday night for their 11th win in 12 games.

J.R. Smith led the Nuggets in scoring for the second straight game with a scintillating 34-point performance off the bench, and Carmelo Anthony added 18 points.

Zach Randolph led L.A. with 22 points, and DeAndre Jordan added 21.

The Nuggets' winning ways have them on the cusp of earning home-court advantage in a playoff series for the first time since the 1988 Western Conference semifinals.

Denver is one of four NBA teams that have made the playoffs every year since 2003-04, joining Dallas, Detroit and San Antonio. But the Nuggets are the only one of the four who haven't won a single playoff series in that span.

The Nuggets (51-26) have a shot at surpassing their best record -- 54 wins in 1987-88 -- since joining the NBA in 1976, and if the keep winning, they'll secure the No. 2 seed in the West. They own a one-game lead over the Spurs for that spot.

Smith sank back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. After the second one gave Denver a 112-89 led, he did a crow-hop back down the court and when timeout was called, his theatrics included grabbing his right elbow and shaking his arm as though to try to cool off his scorching hand.

The crowd loved it, and on a night where the outcome was never in doubt, Smith provided the fuel for some fun.

Smith scored 21 points in just 12 first-half minutes as the Nuggets raced to a 66-47 halftime lead over a depleted Clippers team that was missing Marcus Camby (ankle), Mardy Collins (foot), Ricky Davis (knee), Al Thornton (foot), and Chris Kaman (flu).

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy didn't want to play Steve Novak, who has a tender ankle, but he had do, and Novak scored nine points in 22 minutes.

Smith didn't just impress with his long-ball jumpers and his 12-for-20 shooting. He had three assists, including a sweet one from underneath that resulted in a 3-point swish from a wide-open Chauncey Billups.

Martin sat out with sore ribs and coach George Karl said he might also sit him Sunday night at Minnesota, which would give him almost a full week's rest when he returns against Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.

Martin was banged up against Utah on Thursday night, but wasn't sure exactly how. Karl said it was "probably the wrestling match that Utah makes you play."

Johan Petro started in Martin's place.

Game notes
The Nuggets wore their green duds for the second straight game as part of the league's Green Week. ... Denver swept the Clippers in a four-game season series for the first time since 1994-95.

Click for Box Score

[KRAYZIE]

At 34 pts 5 mins to go.. A[COLOR="Magenta"]ND ONLY 3 3POINTERS [/COLOR]got to ride that horse till it drops

Too bad he missed his following two, would've been sick had he made 8 three's again in back2back games.

[paguy1955]

AT the end of the 3rd quarter did anybody see Chauncy [COLOR="Magenta"]DUNK??:[/COLOR]wtf:

[KRAYZIE]

AT the end of the 3rd quarter did anybody see Chauncy [COLOR="Magenta"]DUNK??:[/COLOR]wtf:

Yeah, 2 handed!



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Game over, great win tonight!

7 game winning-streak, I think that's the most this season.

[KRAYZIE]

{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="SeaGreen"]Wolves[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]110-87(W)[/COLOR]

Link

Carmelo's 23 lead Nuggets past hurting Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS -- The most telling moment of Denver's easy victory Sunday night came at the end of the third quarter when Chauncey Billups recorded his first dunk of the season and was mobbed by his giddy Nuggets teammates at halfcourt.

Everything seems to be going right these days for the Nuggets, who are playing focused and putting themselves in position to do some damage in the playoffs.

Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and Denver cruised to its seventh win in a row, beating the Timberwolves 110-87 on Sunday night. Thanks to San Antonio's loss to Cleveland earlier in the day, Denver quietly extended its lead to two games over the Spurs for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

"We just wanted to come out here tonight and pretty much take care of business, not sleep on a team like the Wolves," Anthony said.

With Minnesota missing four of its top six scorers, the Nuggets could have easily taken a victory for granted. Instead, they zapped Minnesota's energy early with intense defense and zipped the ball around well on offense, finding cutting teammates and shooting 53 percent from the floor.

"We played both ends of the court at a high level," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We had different players offensively get hot."

The game was essentially over by halftime, and it was a laugher by the fourth quarter with Anthony Carter lobbing alley-oop attempts to Sonny Weems. Anthony, who has scored at least 20 points in nine of his last 10 games, sat out the fourth.

"We tightened up, buckled down and the defense was great," Billups said. "A lot of players played well. It was good."

Sebastian Telfair had 18 points to lead the depleted Wolves. Already without regulars Randy Foye (hip) and Craig Smith (calf), Minnesota also had to make do without star rookie Kevin Love and his strong inside presence thanks to a nasty flu bug.

Minnesota looked nothing like the team that stunned Utah on Friday night.

"It's no excuse," Telfair said. "We just went into Utah and beat Utah. ... There's no giving up here, but guys probably could have played a lot harder tonight, especially at home."

The Wolves shot 41 percent, but went to the line only 11 times while Denver hit 20 of 31 free throws and 10 3-pointers.

Billups added 17 points and seven assists for the Nuggets, who led by as many as 32 and have beaten the Timberwolves nine straight times.

His dunk came on a fast break after a turnover.

"My kids were talking stuff to me because they didn't think I could dunk no more," the former Wolves guard said. "I hope my little girl's watching this game right now because if not, she may not see it again."

The patchwork Wolves were scrappy early, but simply overmatched. Minnesota built an early eight-point lead but the Nuggets pulled off a seemingly effortless 25-5 run spanning the first and second quarters, and the Wolves never recovered.

Minnesota pulled within six twice in the first half, but the Nuggets responded each time and built a 20-point halftime lead.

"They just put it on us pretty good all night long," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said. "We didn't have too much we could do about it."

Game notes
Denver is 29-6 against sub-.500 teams. ... Nuggets F Kenyon Martin missed his second straight game with a left rib cartilage strain. ... McHale said Smith is close to returning from a strained right calf. Smith and Foye missed their fourth straight games. ... Minnesota hasn't beaten Denver since Feb. 14, 2007.

Click for Box Score

[KRAYZIE]

How about Kleiza tonight? He's really starting to play better as of late. Also, Birdzilla with 7 blocks tonight! My favorite one was the block on Sefolosha from behind.

[KRAYZIE]

{[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]Nuggets[/COLOR]/[COLOR="DarkRed"]Thunder[/COLOR] Recap}

[COLOR="Red"]122-112(W)[/COLOR]

Link

DENVER -- Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points Wednesday night, helping the Denver Nuggets stave off the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-112 for their eighth straight win.

Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, who inched closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with their ninth straight win at the Pepsi Center.

Nene added 23 points and Chauncey Billups 18, including every one in an 11-2 spurt the Nuggets used to finally get control of the game in the third quarter, and Chris Andersen blocked seven shots.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points and Jeff Green added 24.

With Portland winning at San Antonio for the first time since 2002 earlier in the night, the Nuggets (53-26) weren't able to clinch the Northwest Division crown. But they did pad their cushion for the West's second seed. They're now 2 1/2 games ahead of the Spurs, Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, all of whom are 50-28.

The Nuggets have three games left, including Thursday night's showdown against the Lakers in Los Angeles, far and away the top seed in the Western Conference.

Denver needs to win two more games to break the franchise record -- 54 set in 1987-88.

Oklahoma City is 21-57, but the Thunder took the Nuggets down to the wire three times in their four losses to Denver this season. Twice, Anthony had to hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds.

And this one wasn't easy, either.

The Nuggets, missing Kenyon Martin (ribs) for the third straight game, didn't lead by more than four until Billups sank a pair of free throws with a minute left in the third quarter for an 85-79 lead. Billups then added a fadeaway jumper to cap his personal 11-point spurt that gave Denver an eight-point cushion.

But Green's 27-footer swished at the buzzer, pulling the Thunder within five at 89-84 heading into the fourth quarter, and this game was too close for the Nuggets' comfort until the end.

The Thunder were shooting 65 percent from the floor in the first half until a flurry of misses in the final minute dropped that percentage to 57. Still, Oklahoma City took a 56-53 lead into the locker room.

Game notes
Thunder F Malik Rose (sore left Achilles') missed his second straight game. ... The Nuggets have won (9-of-11) against the Thunder/Sonics. The Nuggets swept the season series for just the second time against this franchise and for the first time since they swept the Sonics in 1976-77. ... Andersen was whistled for a foul in the fourth quarter when Green threw the ball underhanded into the bottom of the iron while falling out of bounds. ... Nuggets coach George Karl said he'll likely keep Martin out against the Lakers and try to get him into the final two regular season games.

Click for Box Score