Charlotte, N.C. – The good news for the Nuggets is Andre Miller now has the sixth-longest active games streak. The much worse news for them is it comes at the expense of Earl Boykins, the man Miller replaces.
After 253 consecutive games played, Boykins sat Tuesday with a strained left hamstring. He said he had not been forced to miss a game because of injury since a concussion his senior year at Eastern Michigan in 1997-98.
“I just want to get it taken care of. I don’t want it to linger on,” Boykins said, adding: “It’s not the end of the world. I’ll sit back and watch the game. I’ll try to get ready for Thursday (at Cleveland).”
Miller, who has played 225 straight games, credited Boykins’ toughness in playing for so long.
“He’s played through a lot of pain, hasn’t said anything about it,” Miller said.
Coach George Karl added of the lost streak: “He’s a tough kid. He’ll start another one.”
Guard Voshon Lenard also did not play. He had the flu, though Karl demurred when asked whether he sat for that reason.
Road to riches
The Nuggets may rank just 23rd in home attendance, averaging 16,091 fans. But the road has been a different story for Carmelo Anthony and Co. They entered Tuesday as the top- drawing attraction, averaging 18,611 fans per road game, according to calculations by ESPN.com.
“We play fast,” Karl said. “I think we play a good, energized basketball game and I think Melo’s a pretty strong drawing card.”
Anthony said: “We’re making every arena home. Every city we’re in is like home to us.”
Of course, Denver has played at six of the seven top drawers in the NBA. Only 13,288 fans showed up Tuesday, and the Nuggets also play at light- drawing New Jersey and Atlanta in the next week.
Footnotes
The Nuggets continue talking with other teams about a potential trade for a big man or shooter, but nothing strong is brewing. The team is expected to try to make a move to clear salary cap room to re-sign Nene. …
Michael Jordan, Jeff Gordon and former Nuggets star David Thompson attended the game. Asked which team he was rooting for, Thompson, a Charlotte resident, said: “I guess a little of both. But you know when you’ve got your jersey hanging in the rafters of a building, you know where your loyalty stands.”
