In the first 2 games of a pretty grueling 6 game stretch on the road, the Nuggets are off to a quick start by dispatching the Pacers and Nets in consecutive nights to improve to 5-0 on the season. This trip will consist of 2 more back to back situations for the Nuggets before they are through.
On Tuesday, Denver faced the Indiana Pacers and former team mater Dahntay Jones to begin their 6 game stretch away form the Pepsi Center. Jones was matched up against Carmelo Anthony which seemed to be a great match up as Jones is a terrific defender and we all know what Carmelo is capable of offensively.
The Nuggets started off the game quickly by outscoring the Pacers 30-13 in the first quarter. While the Pacers tightened their game up quite a bit in the second and third quarters, Denver solidified their lead in the final period to win by a final score of 111-93. The Nuggets had a complete effort by rebounding (56-44 advantage to Denver), making their free throws (80.5% to Indiana’s 75%), 3-point shooting (53.3% to 13.6%) and overall better play.
Here are my 3 stars for the game:
1. Chauncey Billups – 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 of 7 from behind the arc led the team to a win. Carmelo had another outstanding night but Chauncey hit some big shots when it mattered and was the floor general.
2. Carmelo Anthony – Melo finished with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot. When a player has an “off night” and still drops 25 on a great defender, it is pretty damn impressive. Carmelo continues to put up great numbers and play an overall improved and more complete game.
3. Nene – 16 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists. Nene could easily be a 16 and 10 guy every night minimum and he is really coming through for the team this year. When he is on, the Nuggets are a very hard team to beat and he has been on more often than not so far in 2009.
And now onto the second game. Denver traveled to New Jersey this evening to face a winless Nets team desperate for something good to happen. Last year, Denver faced the Nets in a similar road trip and were blown out by 40 points. This time, it was a much different story.
Denver and New Jersey had a solid first half with the Nets taking a 1 point 51-50 lead into halftime. The second half however, was all Nuggets. Denver came out firing and dropped an embarrassing 44 on New Jersey in the third quarter alone. To add insult to injury, Denver outscored the Nets 28-17 in the final quarter to finish with a 122-94 victory. Revenge is sweet.
This was a total team effort and while Chauncey and Carmelo were a bit off in the first half, the team certainly came together and rallied in the second half to control the game. Every single Denver Nugget saw the floor and everyone scored, that is great to see and gives the starters some rest which they will need badly during this trip.
Here are my 3 stars for the game:
1. Ty Lawson – 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. He was also 3 of 3 from behind the arc, pretty good for a rookie. His 23 points led the team and this was a fantastic game for him to step up with Melo and Chauncey not playing as well as they normally do. I am so excited that this young man is a Denver Nugget, he was clearly the best player on the floor tonight.
2. Kenyon Martin – 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. Kenyon was also perfect from three point land going 2 for 2. Just like Lawson, Kenyon stepped up when he had to and helped the Nuggets destroy his former team. I am a huge Martin fan and when he is on, he is almost impossible to stop with his versatility and newly improved outside range.
3. Nene – 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Nene was also a gaudy +28 in the game which led anyone from either team. It is scary when he and Kenyon are on like they were tonight and it proved to be a nightmare for the Nets. Nene is proving night in and night out that he is out to help Denver prove that last year was no flash in the pan.
Denver gets tomorrow off before they travel to Miami to face a very tough Heat team that is sitting at 4-1 on the season.
