(Denver-CO) After losing five out of six and sliding out of the second seed the Denver Nuggets have won three straight games and look to be back on the right track. Huge wins at home against the Blazers and Clippers proceeded last night’s improbable come from behind victory over the Thunder in Oklahoma City.

I just want to touch real quick on these games in preparation for the Los Angeles Lakers Schedule bringing them to the Mile High City tonight.

Against the Blazers I didn’t know what to expect. The Nuggets had lost to the Magic and the Mavericks in back-to-back games and were looking like a washed up prize fighter eating haymakers. And like said fighter, there had been way too much individualistic effort in the losses building up to this game. With that being said, there was an interesting stat brought up before this contest started…

The Nuggets were 40-7 when getting 20 or more assists going into this game compared to 8-20 when falling short of that mark.

Luckily, they handed out 24 assists against Portland and with a shutdown effort defensively in the fourth quarter were able to win, 109-92.

J.R. Smith was sensational in the second quarter against the Blazers. He scored eight of his eventual 15 points during a 17-5 run that put the Nuggets up by nine, 44-35, midway through the period. Smith’s explosion included a near impossible reverse with Jarryd Bayless clinging to him like a koala bear and an alley-oop slam thrown by Anthony Carter of which he seemed to be climbing a ladder to the rafters to corral.

Perhaps fueled by J.R.’s second quarter display, the Nuggets drilled the Blazers in the third quarter with 31 points before their defense took over allowing Portland just 16 points in the fourth and just 37 total in the second half. Carmelo Anthony scoring 13 of his eventual 25 in the fourth put the nail in Portland’s coffin.

I have been stressing lately how the Nuggets can ill afford falling into the trap of hoping the efforts by Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony will sustain then in games while not getting strong contributing efforts from others. Against the Blazers, Denver did get auxiliary performances other than Chauncey’s 21 points, six assists, and four rebounds and Carmelo’s 25 points and five rebounds despite his nine turnovers. Nene found his game and the rest of his mates found him some shot attempts. Big Brazil finished with 22 points, five assists, and five rebounds marking the first time since the Nuggets won in Toronto back on 3/26 that he had reached the 20-point mark. J.R.’s 15 points, despite a 2-10 evening from the land of plenty, were also a huge help.

Moving right along, the Nuggets were able to dismantle the Clipper ship after falling behind by 21 points in the first half by once again shutting down their opponent defensively in the second half.

Denver fell behind, 47-26, with eight minutes remaining in the first half after Travis Outlaw converted a four-point play and the Nuggets could have easily given up right then and there. Thankfully, they didn’t and in the process proved to the Nuggets Nation that things are not in the death spiral that they’ve  appeared to be in over the last two weeks.

Instead, the Nuggets rallied and by the end of the first half found themselves down by just eight, 55-47. Denver allowed the Clippers just eight points in the final eight minutes of the second quarter while embarking on a 19-point run during that stretch of which Carmelo and Chauncey scored 13 points of Denver’s points.

And then the Nuggets filled up on Petro and got defensive.

Johan Petro scored twelve of his eventual season-high 14 points in the third quarter as the Nuggets ripped off 29 points and allowed just 16 to the Clippers in the period. It was Johan’s dunk midway through the third that gave the Nuggets their first lead of the game, 65-63, and another pair of assisted jumpers by Petro capped by a J.R. Smith three put the Nuggets ahead, 72-69, and for good. Denver allowed just 19 more Clipper points in the fourth quarter for a stingy total of 35 second half points overall while outscoring L.A. 51-35 to win going away, 98-90.

Once again, it was the Nuggets getting the complimentary performances the needed that made the difference in this game. Johan’s 14 points were crucial in the second half with Nene’s 18 points and seven rebounds, Carmelo’s 24 points, five assists, and four rebounds, and Arron Afflalo’s eight points and team-high nine rebound efforts. Add in the aforementioned defensive effort (Denver forced a whopping 20 turnovers) in the second half after getting 57 points pasted on them in the first half by one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA and it’s no surprise the Nuggets were able to come back from the 21-point deficit they faced twice in the early goings of this eventual win.

After three days of rest it was back to business for the Nuggets against the up and coming division rival, Thunder of Oklahoma City. I was very interested to see how Denver would match up against the Thunder after a few days off and with OKC coming off of a late night heartbreaker in Utah the previous night.

And what a knockout game this was, literally.

Carmelo Anthony was momentarily knocked unconscious in the final minute of the third quarter after his head rammed the chest of Kevin Durant. ‘Melo said, “When I first fell I was [conscious] and then I just went out. I don't remember anything but waking up and seeing a bunch of people.” It was a very scary moment for the Nuggets Nation as J.R. Smith toyed with the ball before play was stopped as ‘Melo was splayed out on the floor like a bathroom rug. ‘Melo was checked by team doctors and would return to the game, but said he had a headache for most of the fourth quarter while operating at less than 50%.

Much of this game was a back-and-forth exchange before a 9-0 Thunder run spanning the final 2:35 of the third quarter and the first 2:12 of the fourth left the Nuggets trailing, 82-73. It was during this scoreless stretch that the Nuggets went over eleven minutes without a made field goal before Chauncey Billups hit a three midway through the fourth to cut the OKC lead to eight, 89-81. Also during this stretch, the Nuggets fell behind by 13 points before finishing the game on a 22-8 run that enabled them to pull out an eventual, 98-94, victory in front of a completely dumbfounded Ford Center.

How did they do it?

DEFENSE!

And of course, Chauncey Billups too.

The Nuggets allowed just 14 points in the fourth quarter while holding Kevin Durant 0-6 over his last six field goal attempts, which included a chance to tie the game at 96 apiece with ten second remaining in the game. Meanwhile, knowing that the Nuggets were in the bonus, Chauncey Billups scored 15 of his eventual 31 total points in the fourth quarter by way of a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line. Mr. Big Shot also had eight rebounds and three assists as the Nuggets won for just the ninth time this season when failing to reach 20 total assists.

Another Nugget who was particularly clutch was Arron Afflalo. “Triple A” (because his middle name is Agustin) was a perfect 3-3 from the three-point line, including a stretch in the second quarter where he made three consecutive jumpers (two of them three pointers) from the left corner to keep the Nuggets within striking range. Afflalo finished with 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Carmelo added 24 points, but was visibly not himself down the stretch.

Now things get really interesting! The 800lb gorilla in the west, the Los Angeles Lakers, come to the rarified air of the Mile High City tonight as the basketball world watches what could be an upcoming rematch in the Western Conference Finals this season.

Will Carmelo be able to shake the cobwebs loose from last night’s scary episode?

We shall soon see.

Go Nuggets!

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