Homecoming spoiled... (Nuggets/76ers recap)

In a night when Denver studs Carmelo Anthony and Nene couldn’t find the flow offensively, the bench helped key a stunning fourth-quarter turn-around that sealed a victory for the Nuggets in Iverson’s emotional return to a packed Philadelphia arena.

Chris Andersen may have pulled down a modest 5 rebounds, but three of them came during Denver’s 17-point run that turned the tide. JR Smith was active on defense and was instrumental in that run, draining two of his three trés.

Ty Lawson gets his own paragraph. How special is this kid? I’ve been following him at North Carolina and was giddy when Denver drafted him. So I shouldn’t be surprised. But he is exceeding expectations. Twelve points, four assists, six rebounds, a steal, just one turnover, and a highlight block on the former Nugget Iverson.

Of course the big story is Billups, having his best night of the season. He did it all, but he did much of his damage with Denver’s bench supporting him.

Great win. Now get another one tomorrow night for Lawson’s homecoming of sorts.

this is not one of the best games denver has played from a technical aspect. the return of ai to the nba had everyone caught up in the event. the big story for denver is overcoming adversity. kmart injured himself and it upset the rotation. earl smith has learned that a bad start will not mean he has to have a bad finish. the 3 guard rotation kept the nugs in the game when melo struggled and kmart was injured.

Kmart injured himself?

what happened to Kenyon?

At least its nothing to do with his knees….

maybe if he hurt his pinky he will shoot the ball LESS and rebound MORE!!

from 4 feet back as a last resort? Mr. Big Shot is ridiculous

anyway I believe this is one of the most satisfying wins of they year, because it very well could have turned into one of those ultra long never ending slump performance’s the Nugs put up at the clippers and vs Minny. Lawson has one of the most mature games of any rookie I’v ever seen, I can’t believe how well he led us back into the game which led to Chauncey and the team taking over and beating a team they should, not always a guarantee this year. Finally, although I do believe the Lakers are a bit better than us I wonder if we may have the best record in the west if their early season schedule wasn’t so ridiculously unbalanced with all the home games they have had(15 of 19 or something like that?)

Just got back from the game. The place blew up when AI was introduced and didn’t stop for the entire first half. I think the real satisfying moment for me, sitting in the upper deck surrounded by Sixers fans, was when Iverson took that first shot (didn’t we see it coming?) and missed it. I think right at that moment I was convinced the Nuggets were going to win.

Couldn’t have predicted Melo struggling a bit though but was totally stoked by CB picking up the slack. Afflalo hit some key threes as well. The guy next to me kept asking “Who’s Al-flaf-lo?”

Chris Andersen jersey spotting in the rafters. A few Nuggets AI jerseys and of course some Melos, but for the most part I didn’t get harassed, bothered or irritated one bit. I was kinda disappointed about that. I think the loudest the crowd got at any point (outside of cheering A.I.) was to boo the guy one section over who had a Giants jersey on.

Good game. Good win. Not my first basketball game but my first Nuggets one.

As everyone has said, this win belongs to terrific guard play – - Billups, Lawson, Affallo and Smith. I thought the Nuggs front line got outplayed, but Denver’s backcourt was superb. I really thought Lawson and CB1 took over with the game in the balance in the 3rd quarter. Melo had a really bad night. Not sure if he was caught up in the emotion of his buddy AI’s return, but Melo reverted back to some bad habits, including forcing things on offense, not finding his teammates, the loud “OH” when he drove to the basket trying to get a call, etc. etc. Pretty cool that Melo can have his worst game of the season and the Nuggs still win decisively on the road.

Constant pressure on the ball, great rotations, and well executed traps on Iguodala. Overall, during that 10 minute stretch with Melo off the floor, we had some of the best defensive effort I’ve seen this season. Which led to easy buckets offensively. This team cannot be stopped when we play like that.

I don’t blame Melo, everyone has off nights. I do blame him for taking his frustration out by playing lackadaisical defense instead of getting after it. But Lawson and CB bailed him out with awesome performances.

My only concern is that against the elite teams in the league, we can’t open games as poorly as we have been lately. We have sucked early for the last few games and we have been able to turn it on in the second half because we were just that much better than all the teams we’ve played. But against the elite teams (Lakers, Celtics, Magic, etc.) we won’t be able to turn it on and steamroll them in the second half. We have got to figure out how to open games more focused and ferocious. If we can do that, we will coast easily to the second best record in the West, and even possibly the number one spot.

Melo was clearly sulking because he was kept on the bench for a good chunk of the 4th Quarter while the rest of the team played well. When he finally came in late in the 4th, he didn’t hustle to loose balls, stood on offense, and sulked off the court at the end of the game as if the Nuggs had lost. I hate to say it, but AI is just a bad influence on the Melo man. I have to say, I really admire Karl for sitting Melo in the 4th. He clearly didn’t have it tonight, and Karl went with the players that could win him a game tonight. Hopefully, this is just a blip in an otherwise great season for Melo….This becoming a true leader is a process, I guess…

Its unfortunate that Melo could not keep his streak going but even when he has an off night its good to see some of the other guys on the team step up and keep us in the game. What I would like to see is one of the other guys like Earl, Ty, or Arron step up and produce 30+ points every once in a while. I know its a bit of a stretch but so far this season only Melo and Chauncey have scored 30+. On another note I hope Kenyon gets well soon, he has been banged up already this season and the defense suffers when he is not in the line up.

to see the nugs win these things in the 4th quarter on the road. closing out games – no matter who the opponent is – is getting to be normal for them.

Great game by CB1, and exactly what the Nuggs need from him – - floor leadership, outside shooting, and getting to the line. This was the Chauncey of last year, and the Nuggs won against the Sixers because he stepped up when Melo was struggling.

You’re the breast!

Something was going on with Melo from before the game. I have no idea if it was family related or AI related or if something happened in the locker room. I was about 6 rows behind the bench and in the pre-game warmups he was sititng on the bench angry. We all noticed it and were afraid of an off-game from Melo because he always plays better when he is happy. He was sitting with legs spread and arms crossed like he had just had a talk with the high school principle. Then when the game started he was off. Then he picked up the technical and we were sure he was going to get the boot, but he survived. Then GK pulled him in the third quarter with about 4 minutes left and Melo barked at the coaches and plopped down on the bench. He got back in with about 4 or 5 minutes left in the game. At this point he had decided he wasn’t even going to try any more and he just walked up and down the court, stood behind the three point line and if he got the ball he just threw it up at the rim. He yelled at some fans at the end of the game and threw his headband down on the court and walked off towards the locker room without acknowledging anyone and took his jersey off before he got off the floor. He was definitely not happy. According to the Post today, he left without talking to reporters. Hopefully this was just a bad day at the office and nothing more serious. I’m interested to see what happens tonight.

Please investigate Melo’s tantrum last night. He played most of the game like he didn’t want to win, with selfish shot selection, no effort on defense, and the ridiculous sulking in the fourth. I thought the new Melo was all about winning???