Nuggets Fall to Jazz Full Team Press 116-111

In the western frontier, you had to be tough to survive and prosper and in the Western Conference of the NBA the same rule applies. The Utah Jazz played smart and tough and held off the Nuggets in Utah, 116-111. It was a playoff quality game as both teams shot over 50% and the Jazz defended their home turf tooth and nail. The Jazz play rough defense and are not afraid to get personal fouls if that will help them win. The Nuggets had what was for them a very unusual high foul count at 31, although no Nugget had more than 4 fouls except Nene, who fouled out with 31 seconds to go.

The Nuggets three all-stars all played well enough to beat the Jazz, but there were two main missing ingredients. The main missing ingredient was J.R. Smith, who in 20 minutes took only one 3-point shot and made it. The Nuggets have been living off of Smith's magic 3-point shot and his breakaways during the 5-game win streak that is now over, and the huge reduction in J.R.'s scoring was a loss too big to handle easily. The other missing ingredient was Nene, who was looking like a major new Nuggets weapon in recent games, but was a non-factor on tonight's scoreboard in 22 minutes.

So the Nuggets tried to run everything through A.I., Melo, Camby, and Blake, but the rest of the Nuggets would not or could not contribute very much at all. It was as if the Nuggets gang rode into town, but only the three leaders of the gang were shooting it out with the Jazz, while the rest of the gang was hanging out in the saloon. This is exactly what happened during the 7 out of 8 losing streak during the suspensions: the forwards had trouble even getting layups and rebounds, and Iverson, Boykins, and Camby could not possibly win the games on their own.

George Karl and the rest of the coaches have to be very careful about falling into a trap with this roster. This loss proves that you can not expect to automatically win simply by allowing A.I., Melo, Camby, and Blake to dominate the minutes and the ball to the point where Nene, Evans, Kleiza, and Diawara do alot of standing around, with an occassional rebound or two. There are 3 major all-stars on this team, but you absolutely must get more from the others than you got tonight if you are going to be successful from here on out. George Karl has to realize fast that he has to give enough minutes and enough plays to Nene, Evans, Kleiza, and Diawara.

And I don't even want to think about how much trouble the Nuggets might be in if J.R. Smith does not play at least 24 minutes a game, or if he does not take at least 10 shots a game.

I know that this new roster is a learning process in progress, so what I am saying is that I hope and expect that the Nuggets coaches will learn this lesson from this loss: Do not rely on the starters to do almost everything! The drama that the outside "experts" thought there would be between Iverson and Melo is a no-show, but the Nuggets now need to avoid the trap that no one predicted.

All the Western Conference powerhouse teams get more contributions from their benches virtually every game than the Nuggets got from their bench tonight. The Jazz tonight had three backups in double digits. In just 15 minutes, SG Gordan Giricek had 13 points on 5/8 shooting, including 3/6 from 3-point land. G-F Matt Harpring played 22 minutes and was 3/4 and 5/8 from the line for 11 points. G-F Ronnie Brewer played for just 16 minutes, but had 12 points on 5/6 shooting. And to add insult to injury, Paul Millsap, who backs up Boozer at PF, had 2 key 4th quarter blocks. That, friends, is very well coached efficent teamwork, and this type of team is going to beat a team depending only on three all-stars on a regular basis.

You need more than all-star heroics as a foundation to winning in basketball. Tonight, the Jazz bench outscored the Nuggets bench 46-11! Ouch.

And whether or not the coaches are aware of the problem, it is time for Melo, A.I., and Blake to make sure that J.R., Nene, Evans, Kleiza, and Diawara get more than one or two shots a game. It is time for Melo to prove once again that he is the ultimate team player: he needs to help the coaches balance things out more and make sure the team does not turn into two teams in one, the stars and the scrubs.

Reggie Evans played just 15 minutes and was 2/3 for 4 points, and he had 5 rebounds and a steal. Najera played for 17 minutes and was 1/1, and 1/1 from the line, for 3 points, and he had 2 rebounds and a steal. Nene played 22 minutes and was 1/5 and 2/2 from the line for 4 points, and he added 4 rebounds.

Steve Blake played for 28 minutes and was 2/5 and 1/4 on 3's for 5 points, and he had 6 assists, a big 5 steals, and 2 rebounds. Blake badly missed the 3-point shot attempt to send the game into overtime with 12 seconds to play. Smith was in, he is the main three-point specialist on the Nuggets, and there was plenty of time to get the ball to him, so I can not figure out why Blake got the shot. Karl should have specified that Smith take the shot. Smith earned it.

J.R. Smith played just 20 minutes and he was 1/1 (a 3-pointer) and 1/1 from the line for 4 points, and he had 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

Marcus Camby was 7/11 and 7/7 from the line for 21 points, and the best rebounder and blocker in the NBA added 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.

A.I. was 10/21, 1/1 on 3's, and 12/15 from the line for 33 points. He also had 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal.

Melo was 14/28, 1/4 on 3's, and 8/13 from the line for 37 points. He added 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Normally almost perfect from the line, this game could easily have been a win if Melo had hit 2 or 3 more free throws. But that is just another reminder that you can not expect to automatically win when you rely on just 3 or 4 players, no matter how good they are, to do almost everything.

The next game is tomorrow night, Saturday, Jan. 27 in Denver against the New Jersey Nets. The game will tip a few minutes after 7 pm mountain time.

Nuggets Machine Too Much for Allen & Sonics 117-112

The Nuggets played a balanced and well coached game, keeping their turnovers in check and starting to develop favored scoring plays and defensive patterns for the starters and primary players off the bench. On defense, the Nuggets committed just 17 personal fouls, though obviously they are still far away from having the defensive skills that teams like the Spurs and Rockets have.

George Karl sharply limited player rotations and gave just 7 players most of the minutes, a luxury that he will not be able to afford indefinitely due to the inevitable wear and tear on players of a long season. His objective was most likely to get the starters as much playing time together as soon as possible, to get everyone on the same page as soon as possible.

For now, Nene Hilario's knee inflammation remains dormant, so he was one of the seven who got almost all of the minutes. His playing time rose to a substantial 25 minutes in this game. On the other hand, Najera could not play due to a left quad contusion.

The Sonics also played very good team basketball, shooting .517 and getting 6 out of 20 threes. And they also had 3 players with outstanding nights, led by the great SG Ray Allen, who was 16/31, 6/17 on threes, and 6/8 from the line for 44 points. PF Chris Wilcox was 11/15 and 3/3 from the line for 25 points, and center Nick Collison had 18 points on 9/13 shooting. Allen and the Sonics, who had 19 fast break points, played uptempo and well executed basketball, and moved the ball around very well. Their crowd saw a genuinely well played and entertaining game.

Led by Wilcox and Allen, Seattle started off very fast, and lead 20-8 halfway through the first. A quick pair of scores by Iverson and a quick pair of threes by J.R. Smith, who has been uncannily hitting them on back to back or almost back to back possessions, in pairs or in triples, made it close. It remained close the entire rest of the game. The Sonics led it 28-25 after one and 60-53 at the halftime.

The Nuggets came out of the break the sharper of the two squads, and quickly tied it up. Melo and Nene lead a quick 2 minute 10-0 run later on in the third, giving the Nuggets a 77-70 lead. Late in the third, J.R. Smith made another pair of back to back threes in 35 seconds, and now Denver had a small lead: 83-78.

The fourth quarter was a deluxe basketball treat where both teams poured out their best. Allen and J.R. traded long balls at the very beginning of the quarter. Allen then hit three straight shots and added a free throw on another possession, versus one Iverson jumper and two A.I. free throws for the Nuggets, and the score at that point was 92-89 Nuggets with 8:37 to play. Smith sunk his 6th 3-pointer of the night with 7:11 left to make it 97-91 Nuggets.

But Seattle was still very much alive and kicking. They hit four straight shots: Ridnour, Collison, and Allen hit jumpers, and Wilcox had a monster reverse dunk. All of a sudden it was 99 each, and J.R. magic can only work so many times, so the Nuggets were still in trouble, especially since Allen was (and is frequently) virtually unstoppable by a Nuggets type defense. Nene and Collison traded dunks. Allen broke the 101-101 tie with a 27-foot 3-pointer with 3:45 left. Then Melo was fouled going to the hoop, and he hit both throws. Wilcox stuffed a Gelabale miss for the Sonics, and it was 106-103 Sonics.

Then Steve Blake, who had come in for J.R., hit a very clutch 3 to tie it again, at 106. Nene was fouled and made both throws, and then Blake did his best impression of J.R. by hitting another 3, for 111-106 Nuggets. Blake's shots were 1:11 apart, and separated by Nene getting fouled, so technically they were not quite as spectacular as either of the two J.R. back to back 3-pointers. All told, the Nuggets were 10/22 from beyond the 3 point arc.

Things have changed. If both Blake and J.R. can keep their 3-point accuracy close to what it has been lately, the Nuggets can compete with the many 3-point shooters found on the other top teams in the West.

Anthony blocked Allen's driving layup and scored his own lay-in off the break to put Denver ahead 113-106 with 1:12 left. In that last 72 seconds, Allen was 2/4 on 3-point hail marys, but Iverson and Melo hit 4 of 6 free throws to seal the win.

The Sonics, especially Allen and Wilcox, left it all on the court, and played as if it was their last game, falling just short to the Nuggets carefully built machine. It was an outstanding game of basketball on an otherwise run of the mill mid-winter night. The Nuggets no doubt left Seattle needing both of the two nights off they now get.

Nene was 5/7 and 7/9 from the line for 17 points, and he had 7 rebounds. Reggie Evans was 2/3 and 1/4 from the line for 5 points, and he had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal.

Marcus Camby was 4/8 and 2/2 from the line for 10 points. Camby is leading the NBA in rebounding and blocking. Tonight he had alot of help from Melo, Nene, and Evans on the boards, so he had 8 rebounds and a massive 5 blocks. He also had 4 assists and a steal.

Steve Blake played 28 minutes and was 2/6 and 2/4 on threes, for 6 points, and he had 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

Iverson surpassed 20,000 points for his career, becoming only the 30th NBA player ever to score this much. A.I. played virtually the whole game as usual, and he was 7/19, 2/5 on 3's, and 5/6 from the line for 21 points, and he also had 10 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal.

J.R. Smith played for 27 minutes and was 7/15 overall and 6/10 on 3's for 20 points. He also had 3 rebounds and an assist.

Anthony played almost the whole game and was 12/26, 0/3 on 3's, and 10/11 from the line for 34 points. A reliable 3-point shot from Melo remains much more a dream than a reality at the moment. Melo also had a big 9 rebounds, a huge 4 steals, and 3 assists.

The next game will be against the team that is leading the Nuggets by 4 1/2 games in the Northwest Division, the Utah Jazz. The game is in Salt Lake City on Friday night Jan. 26 at 7 pm mountain time.

Melo Joins AI, JR, MC & Company: Nuggets 115 Grizzlies 98

Steve Kerr: "The gap between the top two teams – Dallas and Phoenix – and the rest of the NBA is widening."

Tremaine: "But, the gap between the Nuggets and the Mavs and Suns is narrowing to very little or nothing."

Was that static electricity in the air on a cold winter night or was that Nuggets basketball electricity? That was a stupid question. The home crowd could feel and hear an electric buzz in the air as the new, true Nuggets roster took the court. The Nuggets, pumped up with a huge amount of adrenalin and sheer enthusiasm for their reunited team, for the fans, and for the game, threw up everything but the kitchen sink against the Grizzlies in the first quarter alone. The Nuggets had 6 steals and 38 points in the quarter. They were so pumped that, were it not for the limited amount of adrenalin available to a human, they would have won this game by at least 40 points.

The Grizzlies, who have been able to win just two games on the road, one of them against the Nuggets back on November 28, ran into the basketball version of a pack of wolves whose prey has gone into hiding and is now so hungry that it is going after anything that moves.

Melo wasted no time. He had the first Nuggets bucket with an alley oop layup, and had 6 of the first 14 points. Then he mostly watched as A.I. and Camby went to work at the top of their games. A.I. scored 11 points in the quarter and Camby had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals in the quarter. J.R. came in for Melo late in the 1st quarter onslaught, with about 5 minutes to play in it, and hit on everything he threw up: 3 threes and a finger role, and he also had a steal in those 5 minutes. The Nuggets had exploded for a twenty point lead after one quarter: 38-18.

In the second quarter the laws of physics said that the energy level had to come down and it did. The Grizzlies righted their ship and took advantage of a few Nuggets turnovers and a heap of Nuggets misses, such as J.R. missing 5 straight shots, 4 of them 3-pointers. I'm sure Karl told J.R. to at least try to mix up his shooting a little during the timeout. The score was 56-47 when Steve Blake sunk a three at the buzzer, for a 59-47 Nuggets lead at the intermission.

Early in the third quarter, the still over-revved Nuggets had 5 turnovers, 3 of them by Iverson, and the Grizzlies reduced the lead to 5 points at 68-63 half way through the 3rd. Now it was just a matter of finding a player or two who could bring the crowd to its feet again by converting some adrenalin into some made shots instead of into turnovers and poor shot selections, so that the Grizzlies would not be "hanging around" anymore.

The Grizzlies were knocked out of the game in the second half of the 3rd quarter mostly by Camby, with his blocks, rebounds, and good shot selection, and by J.R. Smith, on his mission to match or beat any 3-point ace the Lakers, Mavs, Spurs, or Suns might have. Smith went on his second tear of the night, this time getting 8 points in 48 seconds: a finger roll, a jumper with a made foul shot, and a 3-pointer. After Smith did his damage it was 86-68 with a minute left in the 3rd.

Memphis pulled to within 10 early in the 4th, only to fall victim to basketball excitement so extreme that it almost seems like it should be illegal. The Nugget's fans had been waiting for the Melo-A.I. duo for weeks, and now it was a reality. It was 98-80 with 7 1/2 to play when, finally, there was a play dramatic enough to make every television sports report. Iverson lobbed to Melo for the one handed jam. This was followed by a bad pass by Mike Miller of the Grizzlies, and a Blake to Nene alley oop. Then Nene stole the ball from Warrick, and there was another Iverson to Anthony alley oop dunk.

Now the score was 107-82 with 5:43 to go and fans were now divided into three groups. Most of the fans at the Pepsi Center were in sheer joy that they had witnessed the first Melo-A.I. game and that it was everything that had been anticipated and hoped for, including highlight reel plays that many of the youngest fans get a special thrill out of. After all, sports are for kids, too. As Iverson said: "That's what it's all about. It's about the kids, and about the fans that love the game and the excitement of the greatest game in the world. I'm enjoying myself. I know it's my 11th season, but this is a fresh start for me, and it feels like my first. I am having a great time and I love my situation here."

Other Nuggets fans were already looking ahead to playing squads like the Suns, the Lakers, and the Mavs, now that the Nuggets can no doubt compete. Still other worry warts, such as myself, were starting to wonder how long Karl would leave the starters in the game now that it was garbage time. To his credit, he yanked the starters in a timely fashion, with about 4 minutes to play. Way to go Karl.

Reggie Evans started at PF and played 19 minutes. He finished 2/4 and 2/6 from the line for 6 points, and he had 5 rebounds and an unusual 2 steals. Nene played 18 minutes and was 4/5 from the field and 3/5 from the stripe for 11 points, and he also had 5 rebounds, a block, and a steal. And swingman Diawara played 18 minutes and was 1/4, and 0/1 on 3's, for 2 points, and he had 2 rebounds and 2 steals. And as usual, he was working on his man to man coverage skills.

Steve Blake at the point had 12 assists. His motto must be: "all shooting stars will have to share and share alike". He himself was 2/8 and 1/4 on 3's, for 5 points.

Carmelo Anthony, sprung from living room confinement, played 33 minutes, and was 10/25, 0/1 on 3's, and a perfect 8/8 from the line, for 28 points. He added 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Before the game, he thanked everyone for supporting him and he promised the fans: "It's like a new beginning for us, and we're going to give y'all something to cheer for."

Allen Iverson played virtually the whole game as usual and was an expert 9/16, 2/3 on 3's, and 3/5 from the line for 23 points, and he had 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Marcus Camby, who probably has the best hand skills for playing defense in basketball, played 29 minutes and was 6/11 and 5/11 from the line for 17 points. More importantly, he had 17 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and 2 steals. His defensive presence in the paint persuaded various Grizzlies on various occassions to settle for a jumper rather than to drive to the hoop.

Whatever you do, if you are at a game when J.R. Smith comes in, don't leave your seat to go to the restroom or to buy a snack, because by the time you get back you may have missed him sinking 4 or 5 shots in 1 or 2 minutes flat. And make sure your kid doesn't take a two minute nap either when J.R. checks in. Everyone should pay attention when he comes in, because he is serious about his game and his game is serious about very quickly changing the score. Smith was given 24 minutes to work with, and he was 7/18, 4/14 on 3's, and 1/1 from the line for 19 points, and he had 5 rebounds, 2 steals, a block, and an assist.

The Grizzlies, being polite southern gentlemen, didn't even think of neck tackling Smith or any of the other Nuggets. In fact, they had very good things to say about their opponents. Said Pau Gasol regarding A.I. and Melo: "They play well together, they had a chemistry from the first moment. They have fun together and help each other out. I'm interested to see how they play together the rest of the year. They will be a very dangerous couple. It's tough to have to guard one of them. It's worse to have to worry about two great players."

Said Grizzlies coach Tony Barone regarding Melo's numerous drives to the hoop: "It shows what an incredible work ethic he has, coming onto the court and what does he do to try to win the game? He tries to go to the offensive glass, he runs the court and finished the break and does not try to be a pig. To me that's the mark of a good player. They will be a very good team as the season progresses with Allen, who was very unselfish tonight."

See what I mean, Southerners can be so polite when they want to be.

It's time for a quick flight to the great Northwest for the Nuggets, who will play the Sonics in Seattle tomorrow (Jan. 23) at 8 pm mountain time.

Nuggets Emerge as Western Power, Defeat Rockets 121-113

The Nuggets would not surrender to the rested and at home Rockets despite being heavily pressured to do so all night long. The Rockets buried a bunch of 1st half threes, but the Nuggets scrapped and scrambled to stay alive in the fight during the first three quarters, so instead of a rout it was 86-77 after 3 quarters.

And then the Nuggets pounced on the Rockets early in the 4th, surprising them with energy that only a team with real determination and spirit can bring to a back to back game on the road. The Nuggets stunned the Rockets fans (and their own watching from far away, including a star forward sitting in front of his television) by clawing their way back from 90-77 with 10 1/2 minutes left to force overtime at 108-108. In overtime, the Nuggets had their prey paralyzed, and won the extra period quickly and decisively, getting 9 of their 13 overtime points with three 3-pointers. The amazing final score was Denver 121, Houston 113, in one overtime.

It was only one game. But was it really just one game? Sometimes one game can reveal something so important that it is like watching a dozen games all at once. And, as in this case, one game can be like the earth trembling hours before a big earthquake, a signal that there is a huge change in the foundations coming. Those who are afraid of changes to the existing order of things had better get out of the way and run for cover. The earth under the Western Conference shook a little tonight, signalling the possibility of a major quake down the road, a quake that would sweep away all the assumptions of the supposed basketball experts who confidently prognosticated that the Nuggets could not possibly compete with the Big 6 (Rockets, Mavericks, Spurs, Suns, Jazz, and Lakers), even with their new expertly designed lineup.

Now that the Nuggets, with no Melo, but with an incredible amount of determination, sweat, and spirit, have gone to Texas with no rest and defeated one of the well rested Big 6 in their building, you have to ask yourself, what more needs to happen before the Nuggets are considered to be at least on the level of the Big 6? The answer: nothing except for Melo returning, which will happen on Monday. So on Monday it is done: Denver has climbed the mountain, and the Nuggets have become one of the powerhouse teams of the Western Conference.

The team, put together by front office geniuses, is a complex mix of highly skilled veteran warriors and talented young players who all seem to, whatever their shortcomings, appreciate the great motivation and happiness that comes from winning. So they tend to selflessly do what they know they can for their team rather than do what they might want to do for their careers. Other than Najera, who is no longer starting, this team does not rely on mid-career role players; it has mostly players at the beginning of their careers who don't have known roles yet, and players near the end of their careers, who have gone way beyond roles.

And then there is Melo, who in his 4th year can already be considered a skilled veteran warrior, but at the same time a talented young player. As such, his great play represents all parts of the Nugget's squad at once. The Nuggets may now be the ultimate unified one for all and all for one team.

Melo's team amazingly proved that the Nuggets are a real threat to the Western Conference Establishment while he was just sitting in his living room watching the game. His teammates, having not just survived the trials and miseries of the suspensions, but also having emerged with more determination and spirit than they had before, have already given Melo a great welcome back, saying to him, in effect, "you can depend on us to fight for every game." The standing ovation in Denver on Monday night for the League scoring leader will now be for both Melo and for the rest of the Nuggets.

The Nuggets started the suspension games in good form, winning the first 3 of 4, but then fell into a huge sink hole during the middle of the 15 game suspension period, losing 5 straight and 7 out of 8. Analysts including myself started to think that the Nuggets would never reach the heights of the West. However, in the final 3 suspension games, the Nuggets climbed out of the deep hole and emerged with a 7-8 suspension record, thus keeping the game toll from Melo's little punch and David Stern's big temper to about 3 games, a very small toll for such a huge suspension. By the time they emerged into the light, they were deep in the territory of the Western Conference elite.

True, it was just one game. But it was a win the experts thought was not possible, so things have changed.

For much of the suspension period, it seemed almost as if the Nuggets were trying to play without a professional front court. All of a sudden, with Camby's finger fracture healed, with Nene's knee problems under control, with Evans starting over Najera, and with Kleiza finally contributing, the front court has become both solid and professional. A good example is Kleiza, who played 23 minutes and was 3/8, 2/5 on 3's, and 4/4 from the line for 12 points, and he had 2 rebounds.

Nene squeezed alot of sweat and soul into just 18 minutes, finishing 5/10 and 4/8 from the line for 14 points, and he also got 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Diawara, who as a rookie from a low-pressure college career could not prevent the Nuggets from falling into the 1-7 sinkhole when he started, has nonetheless learned a tremendous amount about pro basketball in the past month, most of all how you play to your strengths and skills, not to your wishes and hopes. In 31 minutes he was 4/7 and 2/4 on 3's for 10 points, and he had 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

New starting point guard Steve Blake played 35 minutes and was 4/9, 3/6 on 3's, and 1/1 from the line, for 12 points, and he had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and a block. Blake had a 4-point play in overtime, because he was fouled by Alston on a sunk 3-pointer.

Marcus Camby, who has become the ultimate defensive presence in the paint, was just working his usual routine of controlling the boards and making numerous textbook blocks, while amazingly remaining as far away from foul trouble as you can be. But all of a sudden, the determination and spirit of the Nuggets to defy the establishment and win in Texas was apparent to everyone including him, and he finally started to go to the hoop. He had only 2 points with 7 minutes to play in regulation, but finished the (overtime) game 4/8, 0/1 on 3's, and 4/6 from the line, for 12 points. Camby's huge defensive skills produced 22 rebounds and 5 blocks.

It was J.R. Smith's skill and determination that was the real key that allowed the Nuggets to win this one against all odds. He's not starting, because he is not a polished, totally dependable veteran, but his skills and potential are way above those of the average shooting guard in the League. The Rockets were leading 90-77 with 10 1/2 minutes left in regulation, seemingly heading to an inevitable victory over the Nuggets who had alot of determination, but seemingly little energy and no known spark at the time.

It was J.R. Smith to the rescue time. Smith, who already had a pair of 1st half 3-pointers, buried two quick threes making it 90-83 Rockets. The Nuggets were back in it, and they refused to leave the building until they were completely out of the suspension hole and emerged as an elite team to boot. Smith had another three with 7:35 to go in regulation and added one near the end of overtime, to finish 6/9 from behind the 3-point arc.

The Nuggets as a whole were a staggering 15/29 from behind that arc. This is what you must do if you want to fight in the great battles of the West. You must be able to get your share of 3-point shots. Otherwise, no amount of running and fast breaking will allow you to consistently beat teams like the Lakers and the Spurs. You can be as flashy as you can be, but they will just hang back and beat you with 3-pointers. But if the Nuggets can get their share of 3's, the Lakers and everyone else are in trouble.

So in 31 minutes, J.R. was 9/14, 6/9 on 3's, and 0/2 from the line for 24 points, and he added 3 rebounds, 1 assist, a steal, and a block.

Allen Iverson, the ultimate road warrior, played 50 minutes and finished 12/30, 2/4 from downtown, and 10/13 from the line for 36 points. He also had 10 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds. It was an Iverson kind of game. The other side was heavily favored, and his team was well behind most of the night. But his determination and spirit never faltered. He played well enough to allow the Nuggets to remain in striking distance until he, J.R., and M.C. did indeed strike in the 4th quarter and in overtime. Iverson thrives in exactly this kind of a game. To him, winning when you are supposed to lose is substantially more rewarding than winning when you are supposed to win. That's another reason why A.I. likes playing for the Nuggets: the Nuggets are not "supposed to" win in the playoffs.

In the next game, Carmelo Anthony joins this big 7 squad on Monday night in Denver at 7pm mountain time to play the Grizzlies.