The Nuggets played Atlanta as though they wished they could join their many absent fans somewhere else Tuesday, perhaps by a fireplace, under a blanket, watching a good game on TV.
But those Pepsi Center fans, generously listed at 13,206, brave enough to make it despite single-digit temperatures saw their team pull out a 125-116 victory.
“I think great teams have a professional attitude,” coach George Karl said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re playing. It matters how you play. We don’t do that. We play down to our talent sometimes. We get bored with playing well.”
The Nuggets (10-9) had no issues scoring against the NBA’s closest thing to a sure win in their final home date before a six-game road swing. They cleared 60 points in a half twice, their first two times this season, and shot 58.7 percent, an easy season high.
But Denver’s defense went AWOL against an Atlanta team averaging 89.3 points. The Hawks (2-15) hit 7-of-13 3-pointers in refusing to accept what’s usually inevitable for them.
Considering the Nuggets played without big men Francisco Elson for the game and Kenyon Martin for the second half – Martin called tendinitis in his left knee the “same story” and is day to day – Karl was happy to get the win. Still, he said his team is not mentally tough enough.
“Our mentality was to outshoot them. I think that almost caused us to lose the game. I blame it on Doug. It was a Doug Moe game – wild and crazy and free and loose,” Karl said, referring to his assistant and the man who ran up scores coaching the Nuggets in the 1980s.
After trailing by 14 early, Atlanta tied the game 88-88 with 11:27 left on an uncontested Josh Childress dunk. Denver led by nine three more times, but the Hawks clawed to within two points on an alley-oop from Tyronn Lue to Childress with 1:24 left.
Going for the tie, Childress saw Marcus Camby block his short attempt, which sprang Earl Boykins for a three-point play with 52.9 seconds left that put Denver up 121-116. Scoring the last seven points helped avoid the embarrassment of losing to the NBA’s worst team.
“I guess he didn’t see me. I was at the right place at the right time. I’m a pretty good shot blocker, so I was able to keep the ball in bounds,” said Camby, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Karl said he is worried about how much he is playing Camby, but added: “Is Marcus Camby not fun to watch? He’s one of the few players in basketball right now I’d pay money to watch.”
Carmelo Anthony shook off a sprained left ankle to lead Denver with 26 points. Atlanta’s Al Harrington scored a season- high 35.
Asked how to improve his team’s approach in low-wattage games like this, Anthony replied: “I don’t know if you’ve got to sleep more. I don’t know if before the game you’ve got to come up in here and do 100 suicides (sprints). I don’t know what you’ve got to do, but a team like that you’ve got to find some enthusiasm somewhere.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
