Nuggets Work the Holiday - Cleaning Glass

When the Denver Nuggets were last seen this holiday weekend, they gotten away from some of their recent philosophy that had been so successful. It was a very frustrating game to watch as a fan, because you could just feel the game slipping away, even though we went into the 4th quarter with an 8 point lead. The Nuggets fell in love with the three-ball in that game, and were determined to avoid doing that again tonight.

So, in Game #3, the Nuggets were 5-27 on three-pointers, for a measly 18.5%. In Game #4 they were 7-24 for a slightly better 29.2% but several of those attempts came late in the 4th after the game was nearly decided.

More coming soon...

NBA.com Video Recap for Game #4:

Notes:

Carmelo Anthony continued to struggle on offense for the second straight game, but I found out after watching some of the telecast after returning from the game that he had the flu and had to take an IV at halftime.

I don't get the "Kobe Sucks" chant that starts up in the Denver crowd at times. We may not like him, for many different reasons, but he's doing the opposite of "suck" on the court in this series. Fortunately, he doesn't have nearly as much help from his teammates as Carmelo does from his teammates.

3 Technicals on Nuggets players - Martin, Anthony, and Smith. Martin's was a bone-headed move and he now has 6 in the playoffs and one more will force a one-game suspension that could really cost his team. Anthony's was also 6 but should hopefully be reviewed by the league as it looked like his contact with Kobe after a foul in the 4th quarter was friendly in nature and mutual.

Final Thought:

For all the hurt feelings that longtime fans had to suffer thru after Saturday night's unexpected and frustrating loss, this game made up for it. Now its a best of 3 series, and the Nuggets will need to win one more game in LA. I hope and think, that with an effort similar to tonight, the Nuggets can win on Wednesday night, and then return home on Friday to Denver to close this series out and plan for their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.

On to Player Ratings for the game: (ratings on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest)

	Chauncey looked more for his shot in this game with Melo under the weather, and was a factor with 24 poitns, 3 assists and 0 turnovers. His lone three was at a critical point in the 4th with the Nuggets lead down to 10. Mr. Big Shot comes thru yet again.	Player rating: 4.5
	JR was the top player off either bench in this game, and he found the range on his shot - 9-17 overall, and from the three - 4-9. He ended with 24 points and 4 assists.	Player rating: 4.5
	Nene was part of the three-headed frontcourt that had a historic rebounding effort. 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists earns Nene Player of the Game honors.	Player rating: 5.0
	Kenyon did brilliant work on the glass with 15 boards and 2 blocks, and added 13 points on 5-11 shooting.	Player rating: 4.5
	Under the weather or not, he needs to get his shot back if we are going to win in LA. Melo was 3-16 but was 9-11 for free throws and did add 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. Melo had 15 points.	Player rating: 3.5
	Linas had another solid game off the bench and provided some extra offense in the first half with 10 points on 3-5 shooting. He was 2-3 from three-point land.	Player rating: 4.0

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Game Summary written by: aswitzer