Atlanta – The Nuggets probably had more talent watching the game in the visitors’ locker room at Philips Arena on Sunday than actually playing it on the hardwood.
The injury-plagued Nuggets were limited to nine players and used just seven in a 110-107 overtime matinee loss to the surging Atlanta Hawks.
Nuggets starters Marcus Camby (sprained right finger) and Kenyon Martin (left knee tendinitis), recent starter Greg Buckner (groin strain) and key reserve Earl Boykins (left hamstring strain) were out. Denver (12-13) finished a six-game road trip with a 2-4 mark and two straight overtime losses.
“I’ve never been in a situation like this,” said Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who had a game-high 37 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and posted career highs in free throws made (19) and attempted (24). “We had seven people on the court. Four people sitting at the same time.”
Said Camby: “It was weird. I saw 60 points in there with myself, K-Mart and Earl Boykins not being out there. I’ve never experienced something like that, so many key components out at one time.”
Despite having their hands tied, the Nuggets were in position to defeat the Hawks (6-17), who weren’t taken for granted.
“They probably looked at us like, ‘That’s the Hawks,’ so they could probably beat us no matter who we have playing,” Hawks forward Al Harrington said.
Anthony’s dunk gave Denver a 93-88 lead with 4:22 left in regulation. Atlanta came back to take the lead temporarily, but Denver was up 97-96 with 14.2 seconds left and Anthony shooting two free throws. He was 1-for-2, leaving Atlanta down by two points with 13.9 seconds left.
Hawks 6-foot-7 guard Joe Johnson, who finished with 30 points, scored on a driving layup over 7-footer Francisco Elson with 4.7 seconds left to tie the game.
“I really wanted to attack the basket,” Johnson said. “I didn’t want to settle for a jump shot. I knew he wasn’t going to kind of try to block it because he didn’t want to foul me. I just tried to get in as close as I could.”
The Nuggets turned over the ball just before the buzzer.
Denver jumped to a 103-98 lead in overtime, but the Hawks put away the weathered Nuggets 12-4 the rest of the way to win their fourth game in the past five.
“The overtime was just too much for us,” Anthony said.
Despite the losing road trip, Denver went home optimistic.
“We played competitive this whole trip except for the Orlando game (a 94-83 loss),” said guard Andre Miller, who had 20 points and nine assists. “Every game we played hard. We just made some mistakes down the stretch and didn’t execute.”
Said coach George Karl: “This is close to being a great trip. Anytime you are short-handed, you learn about your team. … We’ll be improved because of what happened on this trip. But we don’t have wins to support that. But from the standpoint and record and where we are in the league, we’re in a fine place.”
Camby, the NBA’s leader in rebounding, has missed three straight games but expects to play Wednesday against Washington. Boykins has missed four straight and his return is uncertain.
Buckner was injured Friday in an overtime loss at New Jersey and isn’t sure when he’ll return. Martin, who has missed eight games, was a late scratch Sunday, and is uncertain about whether he’ll play Wednesday.
“It’s been hard,” Nuggets trainer Jim Gillen said. “Probably harder on the coaches.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
