# Game Thread: Nuggets at Jazz - 3/30/05



## cpawfan

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<u>Records</u>
The 22-48 (2-8 over their last 10 games) Utah Jazz welcome the 38-31 (8-2 over their last 10 games) Denver Nuggets. The Jazz are 15-20 at home while the Nuggets are 13-21 on the road. The Jazz are out of the playoff race while the Nuggets hold the 8th playoff spot in the West.

<u>Injuries</u>
The Nuggets will likely be without Kenyon and the Jazz will be missing AK-47, Boozer and Raul Lopez who are all on the IL. 

<u>Starting Lineups</u>

<table border=3 bordercolor="#0000ff" width=100% bgcolor="#99ccff"><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#990000" SIZE=6>Denver</font></td><td><FONT COLOR="#990000" SIZE=6>Position</font></td><td><FONT COLOR="#990000" SIZE=6>Utah</font></td></tr><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#ffff00" SIZE=4>Carmelo Anthony</td><td>Small Forward</td><td><FONT COLOR="#cc6600" SIZE=4>Matt Harpring</td></tr><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#ffff00" SIZE=4>Bryon Russell</td><td>Power Forward</td><td><FONT COLOR="#cc6600" SIZE=4>Mehmet Okur</td></tr><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#ffff00" SIZE=4>Marcus Camby</td><td>Center</td><td><FONT COLOR="#cc6600" SIZE=4>Jarron Collins</td></tr><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#ffff00" SIZE=4>DerMarr Johnson</td><td>Shooting Guard</td><td><FONT COLOR="#cc6600" SIZE=4>Kirk Snyder</td></tr><tr align=center><td><FONT COLOR="#ffff00" SIZE=4>Andre Miller</td><td>Point Guard</td><td><FONT COLOR="#cc6600" SIZE=4>Keith McLeod</td></tr></table>

<u>Storylines</u>
1) How will the Nuggets bounce back after their loss to the Suns?
2) How much playing time will Nene get to continue to work off the rust? Especially if the Jazz go with the big lineup of Collins and Okur.
3) Will the Nuggets give a full 48 minutes of effort? This is the type of game that a team that wants to make a run in the playoffs needs to win by double digits.


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## cpawfan

More on injuries.

Anthony suffered a bruised thigh during Monday's game and said he is a little sore, but it isn't anything that would prevent him from playing.



Post said:


> Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin is expected to miss his second straight game tonight with a strained rib cage. Coach George Karl said he didn't expect Martin to play again until he practiced. The next practice is possibly Thursday in Denver. "I always thought that if you mess with your arms or shoulders it kind of really bothers players," Karl said.


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## BaLLiStiX17

heh Nuggets should be able to take this one easily..cause no kirelenko for utah but evn with kirelenko nuggets can probably still win big...


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## Kuskid

cpawfan said:


> More on injuries.
> 
> Anthony suffered a bruised thigh during Monday's game and said he is a little sore, but it isn't anything that would prevent him from playing.


I figured that one would leave him pretty sore for awhile. He got a pretty nasty charlie horse from Joe Johnson I believe. Anyways, nobody should be counting the Jazz out already. Any Jerry Sloan coached team is capable of giving anybody a game. That said, I predict they hang around even for most of the first half, then the Nuggets turn it into double digits pretty quickly and keep it there for most of the game.


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## Snicka

I feel you. This is a scary game. It should be a guaranteed win but I have a feeling Denver will come out flat. I hope I'm wrong but coming off a tough loss I see this being closer then I'd like.


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## cpawfan

This could be a trap game, but Vegas and the bbb.net sportsbook has the Nuggets as 6 point favorites. Bet your points here

Be sure to stop back and post during the game. We had a really good conversation last game and I'm looking forward to tonight's game.

Lets go Nuggets


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## cpawfan

Acording to a post in the Jazz forum link here

Snyder will not be playing tonight beause Sloan wasn't happy with his actions against the Rockets. So I wonder if Bell or Giricek will get the start.


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## 77AJ

*Nuggets Vs. Jazz*

This is the perfect scenerio for the Nuggets to start another win streak. We have some tough games coming up. So we need to take care of business against the weaker teams. No excuses!

I like for the Nuggets to win this game tonight. I will be checking in here and on espn.com tonight tonight to find out the score. I have too much college home work tonight to hang out online.

Lets go Nuggets!!!

*Final Score Prediction*

Nuggets 108

Jazz 93


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## Kuskid

Good to see Camby getting it going early. That should've been and 1.


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## cpawfan

Nene started as did Giricek


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## Kuskid

Watching him play, I think Melo gets more offensive rebounds off his own shots than anyone I've ever seen.


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## cpawfan

14-8 at a time out at the 7:16 mark


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## cpawfan

4 A's on 6/10 shooting


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## cpawfan

Kuskid said:


> Watching him play, I think Melo gets more offensive rebounds off his own shots than anyone I've ever seen.


What ever it takes to get a double double :biggrin:


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## cpawfan

How does Nene look going against Okur?


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## Kuskid

He had a nice post a couple minutes ago, probably had the shot right off the bat, but he sat there n pump faked 4 or 5 times before he kinda forced it up. Give him a couple minutes to see if he can get it going.


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## Kuskid

Wow, that was an embarassingly open look for Collins. expect a substitution from Karl.


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## cpawfan

Time out 2:18 Mark and the Nuggets are up 23-20

Is anyone defending Okur?


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## Kuskid

Wow we just gave them 3 open shots on one possession, but apparently Howard Eisley won't take open 18 footers. Then we finally recover only to get a defensive 3 seconds late in the shot clock.


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## cpawfan

End of 1st 33-27

Rebounding 9-7 Camby with 4

8 A's on 11/20, 1/3 & 10/11 from the line
Melo 10, Dre 8 & Camby 7

Jazz have 5 A's 12/22, 0/2 & 3/5
Okur 10, Giricek 6 & Handlogoten 5


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## cpawfan

Jazz winning the points in the paint battle 14-18 while Nuggets have the advantage on fast break points 10-0


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## cpawfan

Time out 8:34 mark and the Nuggets are up 35-31

They need to make a run and that has to start on the defensive end


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## Kuskid

We're getting outworked, luckily we've able to run them into the ground so far. If we come out like this at any point in the playoffs we're gonna get killed. They're standing around, waiting for a shot to go up, then grabbing it and taking off downcourt.


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## BaLLiStiX17

Hey guys so wuts happening so far.?


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## BaLLiStiX17

its not live on t.v. where i am so i have to watch through this nba courtside live thing =/


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## BaLLiStiX17

its this score right ?
Denver 40
Utah 36


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## Kuskid

I've got NBA League Pass so I'm watching it right now. We're pushing the ball up court on every possession, but we just look flat defensively. It shouldn't be this close with the way we're scoring.


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## cpawfan

BaLLiStiX17 said:


> its not live on t.v. where i am so i have to watch through this nba courtside live thing =/


Same for me (next season, since I won't be moving, I will have League Pass). I use both NBA.com and the Yahoo game Channel because they alternate which updates faster


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## cpawfan

Time out at the 5:54 mark and the Nuggets are up 40-37


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## cpawfan

Is Nene having a bad game or is he just rusty? Zero points and 3 fouls


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## Kuskid

Didn't get the chance to tell really. Couple quick bad fouls and he's gone for the half. My guess is it's just rust, he just doesn't look comfortable out there.


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## cpawfan

How is Dre scoring? Are they all drives to the hoop?


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## Kuskid

On another note, no fast break points this quarter for either team. Dre's tearin it up outta the halfcourt set right now though.


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## BaLLiStiX17

yeah there not much desciption


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## cpawfan

30 of the Jazz's 44 points have come in the paint? Where is the defense?


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## cpawfan

Time out at the 1:07 mark and the Nuggets are up 48-44


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## Kuskid

cpawfan said:


> How is Dre scoring? Are they all drives to the hoop?


He hit one ridiculous turnaround 18 footer with a hand in the face, then got his defender to bite on a pump fake then spun the other way on him for a nice little 10 foot leaning bank shot, and a couple nice drives.


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## BaLLiStiX17

cpawfan said:


> 30 of the Jazz's 44 points have come in the paint? Where is the defense?


whered u find points in the paint or is that from the yahoo thing..


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## cpawfan

The Nuggets have taken 10 less shots than the Jazz and are winning the rebounding battle 18-17


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## cpawfan

BaLLiStiX17 said:


> whered u find points in the paint or is that from the yahoo thing..


In addition to the NBA.com flash window, open up their html page for the game. There they give fast break points, points in the paint and more.


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## BaLLiStiX17

wow nuggets shooting 58%


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## Kuskid

cpawfan said:


> 30 of the Jazz's 44 points have come in the paint? Where is the defense?


2 more just now, a mediocre drive to the hoop gets Giricek? (too many white guys, can't tell who's who) an open layup.


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## cpawfan

Halftime 49-46 and this looks ugly

The Nuggets need a run in the second half to give themselves some breathing room


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## Snicka

Time for the patented second half run.


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## Kuskid

BaLLiStiX17 said:


> wow nuggets shooting 58%


With 10 turnovers and 49 halftime points. Only 16 points that quarter against a team that should be overmatched against them.


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## BaLLiStiX17

I think they'll turn in it around and Geroge karl will straighten things out


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## cpawfan

10 A's on 18/32 shooting w/ 1/3 from 3 and 12/15 from the line
Dre 12, Melo 11, Camby 9, Buckner 7

Jazz: 8 A's on 20/43, 0/6 & 6/11
Okur 16, Handlogten 7, Borchardt 6, Giricek 6 & Humpries 5

Where is the Nuggets interior defense? I know Kenyon is good, but this is ridiculous.


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## BaLLiStiX17

9off reb for utah...but 6/11 for ft


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## Kuskid

Harpring just abused Melo with a backdoor. To make it look even worse, nothing that could even be mistaken for helpside defense was there to help.


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## Kuskid

And Melo returned the favor with the same thing, resulting in a nice looking alley oop.


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## cpawfan

Come on Nuggets, you can't let the statue of Stockton become a curse for them.


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## Kuskid

Andre Miller can't miss right now, and Melo won't play defense on Harpring. He just gave him an open 20 footer. It's not like he didn't fight through a screen or anything, he just sat there and watched him take an open 20 foot jump shot.


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## cpawfan

NBAtv just gave a quick look in on the game, and wow, the Nuggets look bad. Where is the offensive spacing? Where is the passing? I saw too much Dre and Melo with the ball. The one pass I saw resulted in an offensive foul for Nene


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## cpawfan

Kuskid said:


> Andre Miller can't miss right now, and Melo won't play defense on Harpring. He just gave him an open 20 footer. It's not like he didn't fight through a screen or anything, he just sat there and watched him take an open 20 foot jump shot.


It is a good thing Dre isn't missing, because it didn't look like the offense was being run


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## cpawfan

Time out at the 5:39 mark and the Nuggets are up 64-61

This is not the way a playoff team is suppose to play


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## Kuskid

This just hasn't been a fun game to watch. We're looking like the pre-Karl Nuggets again on both ends of the floor. I've been waiting since early second quarter for him to bench someone or at least chew somebody out. They need some kind of spark right now.


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## Kuskid

Pretty sure Dre just got a T for tossin the ball.

EDIT: Guess not, but Melo just picked up his third, Collins drew the charge.


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## Kuskid

Props to Marcus Camby. He just stood straight up outside the restricted area while Okur came flying in from the 3 point line, got bowled over, no call, and immediately sprung back up and ran back down the court. Everybody else is getting whiney about the refs.


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## cpawfan

Time out at the 2:58 mark and the game is tied at 68

:banghead:


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## cpawfan

Nene needs to show something in these last 15 minutes


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## Kuskid

Najera just caught an Okur elbow while Okur was shooting. Don't be surprised if 
george ends up going berserk again soon.


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## cpawfan

Elson must really be hurting since he hasn't made an appearance in this game. The Nuggets could use his size tonight


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## Kuskid

Tie game after 3uke:


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## cpawfan

End of the 3rd and the game is tied at 76

:curse: :curse: :banghead:


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## cpawfan

Kuskid said:


> Tie game after 3uke:


Good call on the smilie, I forgot about that one

Karl needs to pull a rabbit out of his hat with the way the Nuggets are playing right now.


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## Kuskid

Wow. Just wow. Nene, on a 3 on 1 break with Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, elects to take it all the way himself. All the way into the Jazz defender's chest with his knees, while he firmly planted his feet outside of the restricted area. One of the dumbest plays I've ever seen at the NBA level.


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## cpawfan

What the heck is happening in the 4th? Are both teams playing defense or it is just ugly basketball?


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## cpawfan

Time out at the 8:33 mark and the game is tied at 83


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## cpawfan

Kuskid said:


> Wow. Just wow. Nene, on a 3 on 1 break with Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, elects to take it all the way himself. All the way into the Jazz defender's chest with his knees, while he firmly planted his feet outside of the restricted area. One of the dumbest plays I've ever seen at the NBA level.


 :dead: :eek8:


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## cpawfan

Time Out at the 5:48 mark and the Nuggets are up 91-88


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## cpawfan

Of the 15 points the Nuggets have scored so far in the 4th, Camby has 8 and Dre has 4.


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## Kunlun

Come on Nuggets!! How can the game be so close with an injured Boozer and Kirilenko? Time to pull away and make some damn free throws!


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## Pejavlade

Okur misses both free throw and Jazz give up a 20ft on the other end.


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## cpawfan

Time out 2:56 mark and the Nuggets are up 99-90

Amazing what happens when they pass the ball. Camby has 23 & 15 and Dre has 22 & 9 A's


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## BaLLiStiX17

hey guys back..ooo ther winning by 9


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## BaLLiStiX17

whoa ouch both team going 2-11 for 3


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## Snicka

I thought this game would go like this. I hoped to god I was wrong but a win is a win.


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## Snicka

Is it just me or has Melo's FTs gone down the last few games. Still getting the attempts, but no knocking them down.


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## BaLLiStiX17

Denver wins Denver Wins Denver Wins :banana:


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## Kuskid

Sorry was awayf rom the computer for awhile. Nuggets finally started playing some *decent* interior defense, and slowed down the inside game. Melo and Camby, especially, stepped it up in the forth on the defensive end. Nonetheless, this was by all means aa "oh well, a win's a win" kind of night.


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## cpawfan

Final score 109-98. At least it was a double figure win. Good job gutting it out in the 4th by Melo, Camby & Dre


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## BaLLiStiX17

Well deserved win 40 fta nice..
heheh 2000 ucash for me :cheers:


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## Kuskid

Snicka said:


> Is it just me or has Melo's FTs gone down the last few games. Still getting the attempts, but no knocking them down.


Yeah he hasn't been shooting well from the line the last couple games. He was getting frustrated by the end, after a few questionable no calls. He probably shoulda been to the line a few more times than he was tonight. But again, a win's a win.


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## Kuskid

A few observations:
If you guys end up seeing this on tape delay or something, watch Melo in the forth. I've never seen him defend that aggressively.

Dre *really* carried us for a few stretches tonight on the offensive end.

Camby goes to the top of the key every time Dre drives, and Dre finds him every time. He probably had 8 points off of that.

Nene looked like an NBDL player at best tonight.

I have no idea why Bryon Russell didn't play.

We need Kenyon Martin more than most people think, that was very apparent tonight.

We only had 6 fast break points after the first quarter.

Also, I believe that win puts us in 7th place in the West, am I correct?

And with that, I'm off to bed. Goodnight all.


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## cpawfan

A quick look at the 4th quarter stats:

33 points for the Nuggets - 12 for Camby and 6 each for Melo, Dre & Earl
All of this was on 11/18 shooting, 0/3 from 3 and 11/15 from the line

They were able to limit the Jazz to 22 points on 9/17, 1/2 from 3 and 3/6 from the line

So the Nuggets started and ended the game with 33 point quarters around two quarters where they lost by 3 in each one. Scoring a pathetic 16 points in the second and 27 in the third.

A road win is always a good win and the Nuggets now have an identical record with Memphis and still 2 head to head games left.


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## cpawfan

Kuskid said:


> A few observations:
> If you guys end up seeing this on tape delay or something, watch Melo in the forth. I've never seen him defend that aggressively.
> 
> Dre *really* carried us for a few stretches tonight on the offensive end.
> 
> Camby goes to the top of the key every time Dre drives, and Dre finds him every time. He probably had 8 points off of that.
> 
> Nene looked like an NBDL player at best tonight.
> 
> I have no idea why Bryon Russell didn't play.
> 
> We need Kenyon Martin more than most people think, that was very apparent tonight.
> 
> We only had 6 fast break points after the first quarter.
> 
> Also, I believe that win puts us in 7th place in the West, am I correct?
> 
> And with that, I'm off to bed. Goodnight all.


Good wrap up and have a good night


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## 77AJ

Hey everyone!

Nuggets came through. 

I was very happy to see this tonight! Or I should say this morning as its so late already.

Also very nice game thread in here tonight. I enjoyed reading it all the way through.So Kudos to you all.

Sounds like Dre had a stellar game for the Nuggets. 

Also would love to see what the poster meant by Carmelo playing aggressive defense. I'm sure Carmelo could just be an animal out there on the court if he put in the work during the off season. Takes a lot of energy and dedication to be great on defense.


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## Kuskid

23AirJordan said:


> Hey everyone!
> 
> Nuggets came through.
> 
> I was very happy to see this tonight! Or I should say this morning as its so late already.
> 
> Also very nice game thread in here tonight. I enjoyed reading it all the way through.So Kudos to you all.
> 
> Sounds like Dre had a stellar game for the Nuggets.
> 
> Also would love to see what the poster meant by Carmelo playing aggressive defense. I'm sure Carmelo could just be an animal out there on the court if he put in the work during the off season. Takes a lot of energy and dedication to be great on defense.


He really did step it up defensively in the 4th tonight. I've never seen him fighting throug hscreens, denying the ball and penetration, and getting a hand in the shooter face like he did to end that game.

"We were aggressive tonight," Anthony said. "Everybody, Camby, Andre, everybody. I think at the end, by us being so aggressive, (the Jazz) kind of wore down the last four or five minutes of the game. I'm glad we kept fighting and we won the game. That's all that counts." 

That [retty much summed it up right there.


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