Nuggets 120, Knicks 118…whew, that was a close one!

November 17, 2010
by David

Box Score | HoopData.com Game Stats | Highlights

I’m going to start off by stating the obvious…there is NO reason this game should have been this close. NONE, whatsoever. As this game progressed, the Nuggets slowly began to pull away, taking advantage of bad shot selection and the small-ball lineup both teams were throwing out there to out-Knicks the Knicks (anytime these two teams have face each other since D’Antoni moved to New York, I don’t think either team has scored less than 110 points…seriously). With 9:44 to go in the game, Denver went up 102-88 after two Al Harrington free throws. Six minutes and thirty-eight seconds later (3:06 to go), it was a tie ballgame at 109. Do the math folks and that’s a 21-7 run by the Knickerbockers (love calling them that) down the stretch. More often than not, that equates to a total collapse and a notch in the loss column. The Nuggets went into cruise mode, looked uninspired on both ends of the floor (especially on offense) putting up contested jumpers and giving up layups and free throws on defense.

Then something clicked, at least in Carmelo Anthony. After a loose ball foul was called on him on a jump ball (which led to the two game-tying free throws), his intensity went through the roof and looked like he was a man possessed. He played good D, got good position in the post which led to kick-outs and swing-arounds (did I just make up a word…I think I just did) to open guys. The Nuggets started making that extra pass, found the open man and made the Knicks go back to their usual chuck-up-the-threeball style.

The Knicks did make it interesting one last time in the final minute, but Melo made enough free throws do get Denver the win. Some other thoughts about Wedneday’s game I wanted to touch on-

  • How bout that Gary Forbes! He and Landry Fields were their respective team’s MVP’s, and any other thoughts to the contrary should be dismissed as ludicrous. Gary is playing so well the J.R. is riding the pine, not for disciplinary issues, but because he’s playing worse than his rookie teammate. Forbes dropped 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, added nine boards and is the most energetic man on the court everytime he’s on the floor. As for Fields, this guy could turn out to be the steal of the draft; the rookie from Stanford has his best game as a pro, dropping a whopping 21 and 17 (boards) on Aaron Afflalo (typically spectacular defender), flying in for rebounds and tip-shots and really providing the only non three-point-chucking option for the Knicks other than Amare. Watch out for this guy Nuggets fans.
  • I’m a big Danilo fan, but the Italian Stallion is a one-dimensional player on offense. Gallo chucked up ten threes (making only two of them), and although he scored 21, he needs to improve his all-around game if the Knicks want to A) make the playoffs or B) use him as legitimate trade-bait for a certain player in this town or any other big name that Donnie Walsh wants to bring to the Big Apple.
  • How bout Shelden Williams throwdown in the 1st quarter off the nice feed from Chauncey…probably his career highlight as an NBA player.
  • Though his box score wasn’t that impressive, Ty Lawson continues to shine (at least in my eyes) with his play in crunch time. If (God forbid!!!) Chauncey gets traded sometime soon, I am getting more and more comfortable with the idea of number three running the offense instead of number one. He hit a few big shots late and he (like Forbes) provided energy when the offense became lethargic (which nearly cost the Nuggets the game).

Denver’s next game is tomorrow night at the Rose Garden in Portland. The good news for Denver is that the Blazers’ star shooting guard Brandon Roy will most likely miss the game due to his troublesome knee injury was continues to plague him. While Roy suiting up is a good thing for the league, his absence will definitely benefit the Nuggets on Thursday. Wesley Matthews exploded for 30 points against the Grizzlies yester day and will fill in for Roy to some extent; also Nicholas Batum has started to expand his offensive repertoire, and coupled with Andre Miller (who is one of my favorite former Nuggets of all-time), Marcus Camby (ditto), LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland crowd (probably the best in the NBA) the Nuggets will have their hands full. But Roy’s absence provides Denver a big opportunity to pick up a divisional game going into the Nets’ game on Saturday. A killer matchup at point between Miller and Billups is intriguing, but look for Lawson to have a big game and if both teams go small-ball, I say advantage Nuggets. Should be a good one, tip-off is 8:30 MST tomorrow night on TNT.

Advanced Game Stats

Pace Factor: 109.1 – By far the highest paced game of the season topping the contest from the previous night at Phoenix which had a pace of 103.0
Defensive Efficiency: 108.2 – If the Knicks could have made any of their open threes, it would have been much worse
Offensive Efficiency: 110.0 – Fourth best rating of the season, despite the mostly poor shot selection in the second half

Featured Blogs: KnickerBlogger | Posting and Toasting

Posted on November 17, 2010 at 8:07 pm | filed in Analysis, Game Recap | Comments Off

Comments are closed.


Array