Game 82: Nuggets 76 - Blazers 104
by Nate Timmons on Apr 16, 2009 3:29 PM MDT
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Not a whole lot to say about that game last night. Denver had no reason to be fired up after learning Dallas had defeated Houston. Just how I am not very fired up to write up this recap. Most of us saw the game or lack there of ...
The Nuggets came out and actually played a close first quarter and after Kenyon Martin's emphatic put-back dunk on Carmelo Anthony's three-point miss ... I hoped George Karl would bench the starters.
But as the second quarter got under way and Denver trailed by one 23-22 the starters (Melo and Nene) remained in the game. Portland went on a 12-0 run and just like that Denver's players were in there for no reason at all and it showed.
I can't recall a play where Denver took the ball to the hoop. Jump shot city took over as the Nuggets scored just 12 points in the second period. I spent most of the quarter debating if it was good that the Nuggets were going to play the Hornets and the game in front of me seemed like a complete afterthought.
Denver went to the half down 53-34 as the Nuggets never got out of the "shoot around" mode.
For some reason the Nuggets came out in the second half and played the regular starters. But in the third quarter the Nuggets played with a little energy and actually seemed to care a bit. With just over four minutes to play in the quarter Billups hit a three, made an And1 layup, followed by a Kenyon jumper, and then a J.R. jumper.
The Nuggets cut the lead to 63-58 on a 24-10 run and for a minute I started thinking, "Hey we have a chance here ... wait ... why are our key guys playing? Is 55 wins worth an injury risk?"
And before I could blink the Blazers took control of the game with an 8-2 run to end the quarter (71-60). From there we saw Portland turn in a Nuggets vs. Kings-esque performance.
Rudy Fernandez did his best J.R. Smith impersonation and hit two his game high 6 three-pointers in the fourth. Fernandez was 6-9 on the night from distance and broke the rookie record for threes made in a season with 159 over Kerry Kittles 158.
I found myself a bit upset that Fernandez was taking meaningless threes at the end of the game just to get the record ... and I felt Bobby Jackson's pain! Pretty funny moment for me.
Playoff Coverage
Anyhow ... the Nuggets roll into the playoffs winners of 14 of their previous 17 and face a tough New Orleans Hornets team starting this Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. mountain on TNT.
I'll be posting much more in my preview of the series vs. the Hornets coming soon!
I'm going to put out a detailed Nuggets vs. Hornets preview ASAP ... I was asked by J.E. Skeets of Ball Don't Lie of Yahoo! Sports for a Nuggets preview and it's due out tomorrow. I'll link to it as soon as it's up.
ntimmons73@yahoo.com
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Rudy's "meaningless" 3's
This upset you huh? Maybe if Denver had decided to play some defense against him he wouldn’t have been in the position to raise the ire by taking those wide open looks. Its not like he hoisted up a 3 with 12 seconds left in the game to get the record.
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
hahaha...I got ya.
I was speaking more about it being tough watching a guy break a record against my team. It’s not like I spent the night throwing my remote around or crying myself to sleep. Just looking forward to a nice first round series now.
Best of luck to the Blazers as well. It’ll be fun watching them try to hold the Rockets back and come of age on the fly.
Pickaxe & Roll.com: 5,280 reasons to be a Nuggets fan
by Nate Timmons on Apr 16, 2009 4:50 PM MDT up reply actions
Why are you so angry?
Portland fans need to drop it.
Look, the game was over before it started as it didn’t affect playoff seeding on our side of things. No one got hurt, the game was a blowout and you guys got home court. We got the two seed and the division so it worked out for everyone.
Shouldn;t you guys be trolling up the Houston site right about now?
by runningdonut on Apr 16, 2009 8:20 PM MDT up reply actions
It's time for you to move on
With the 4 seed that is.
I’ll believe the tie thing if I see the NBA publish it. I’ve checked a few sites
by runningdonut on Apr 16, 2009 11:18 PM MDT up reply actions
I'm not angry
Nothing in my comment reflected any anger or animosity. Nate is the one who said he was upset about the alleged perception of Rudy shooting meaningless 3s, to which I fairly responded.
What is it you are referring to about what it is Portland fans need to drop? Its difficult to imagine Bedgers have trolled up PickAxe & Roll. I’d suggest you are as welcome on Blazers Edge as I’d like to feel visiting this site. One could wager the dialogue between Blazers Edge and The Dream Shake will be sporting and tasteful.
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
Fair enough
I was mostly responding to trolls who shall remain nameless, from our other thread. Rudy deserved the record. It was funny because last game JR was hoisting up 3s in a blowout to go for the Nugs franchise record of 12, and some of the King’s players objected. There’s irony for ya… or karma or something
I actually like the Blazers as a team, they are legitimate. If they end up knocking the Lakers off then face it, we all win. Some people defend their team reasonably and some are here merely to instigate like internet tough guys.
by runningdonut on Apr 16, 2009 11:36 PM MDT up reply actions
I hear that
as long as we share a mutual hatred for the l*kers … ITS ALL GOOD!
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
Actually you tied for the Division
The tiebreakers are used only to determine playoff seeding. The NBA recognizes Blazers and Nuggets as Co-Division Champions.
Good luck to the Nuggets as well. You should roll in the first round against NOH.
I do not see any Portland Trail Blazers division champions on NBA.com's shop
Here’s the Nuggets one.
http://store.nba.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3564948&cp=1421539
Draw your own conclusions about who is the division Champ.
Is this an owned?
by Lucas Navarrete on Apr 16, 2009 8:43 PM MDT up reply actions
Portland fan here
who cares about division championships and banners? There pretty darn meaningless in the NBA. Co champs are not co champs, I care not. Let the Nuggets claim this one outright, ‘cause we’ll be taking it from them for the next several years over.
Besides, we have our sights set on a lot bigger prize in the future than a division title.
Hey Denver – Send CP3 home crying please.
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
by douglast on Apr 16, 2009 11:57 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
I’ve always had a fairly high opinion of Portland fans; however, jtkerr79 and a few others are really starting to diminish my opinion of them.
jtkerr79 I can’t imagine that anyone is so doltish as to buy this ‘co-division champion’ crap that you’re selling so I assume you are only trying to be inflamatory. The NBA recognizes the Nuggets as division champion…period. If making up some garbage about ‘co-champions’ helps your ego compensate for losing the division then I guess that’s your prerogative.
Isn’t it time that you move on to trolling Houston’s site?
"C" is for Championship...that's good enough for meeeee!!!
by PosterNutbag on Apr 17, 2009 8:52 AM MDT up reply actions
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Div.html
If, as you suggest, the NBA recognizes Portland as ‘co-champions’ then why does only Denver have the ‘nw’ by their team name in the standings? You’ll notice that Portland only has an ‘x’, indicating that they ‘clinched playoff spot’.
"C" is for Championship...that's good enough for meeeee!!!
by PosterNutbag on Apr 17, 2009 8:59 AM MDT up reply actions
I can’t decide which regular season game was worse – Hornets/Nuggets, Nets/Nuggets, or this one. Obviously you can make your choice based on score alone, but in just overall performance I’d say the Nets game gets my pick.
Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com
Nets game
It had to be that game at the Nets. That was hard to watch. We got owned so hard it was hard to look.
by runningdonut on Apr 17, 2009 1:47 AM MDT up reply actions
Honestly,
the POR game didn’t bother me at all because we’d already won the division and earned the second seed.
If anyone thinks that didn’t effect the Nugs performance then I’d like some of whatever it is that they’re smoking.
"C" is for Championship...that's good enough for meeeee!!!
by PosterNutbag on Apr 17, 2009 8:09 AM MDT up reply actions
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