Four quarters showed as clean as a graph how the Nuggets’ defense went from horrible to bad to good to great over the course of their 100-84 win over Charlotte on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
The Bobcats dipped from their 31-point first quarter to quarters of 26, 16 and 11 as the Nuggets (29-26) shook off a post-All-Star Weekend start rookie forward Linas Kleiza called “a little crusty.”
With forwards Kenyon Martin and Eduardo Najera joining Nene on the sideline with injuries, Kleiza and center Francisco Elson came through as Denver held the Bobcats to 37 percent shooting and outrebounded them 50-40. That was the first time the Nuggets outrebounded any team in 12 games.
“We played pretty good defense (in the second half),” said Elson, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for his first double- double of the season. “Everybody was rotating and talking. As you could see on the court, everybody was rebounding. They weren’t getting the long balls they got in the beginning.”
Denver guard Greg Buckner added of his team’s ability to hold Charlotte to 27 second-half points, “There’s not many nights you’re going to do that to any team in the NBA.”
While the Nuggets were short-handed, Charlotte (14-41) is a lottery-bound team missing regulars Emeka Okafor, Gerald Wallace and Sean May to injury. That made it shocking when the Bobcats rebounded from an early 17-4 deficit to take a 12-point, second-quarter lead.
“Their zone messed us up with our bad defense,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “Then we had bad turnovers. Then we had bad rebounding. It kind of came at different sections. … The score says it was an easy game, but it wasn’t an easy game.”
He added that Denver would not have won without Kleiza’s first-half “zip” or Elson’s second- half work. Carmelo Anthony led Denver with 24 points, Andre Miller had a season-high 15 assists, and Marcus Camby had 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Kleiza scored a career- high 13 points coming off the bench.
“Just trying to step it up and do my best,” Kleiza said. “Trying to fill those guys’ shoes. It’s a tough job. We’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries, but we’re getting there.”
Raymond Felton led five Bobcats in double figures with 14 points.
The Nuggets received a scare late when Buckner’s right knee buckled as Camby fell on him finishing a dunk. It looked like it could have been yet another significant knee injury for Denver, but the guard – coming off a 19-point game – insisted emphatically after the game that he would miss no time.
After being told it was merely a hyperextension, he said: “I thought it was worse than that. It felt worse than that.”
It was a night full of near misses for Denver. Karl said he saw more of the same distracted defense early in Tuesday’s game that he had hoped would disappear with the all-star break.
“I’ve been very disappointed in almost every position at times this year,” he said. “Our individual challenges and making defensive plays. And then we can turn it on. We’re very capable of being a very good defensive team. But our demand and our determination sometimes is bothersome.”
This was probably as uncomfortable as a 16-point win gets. But more often than not, the Nuggets can find solace by looking at the Northwest Division standings. All four of their sub-.500 division rivals lost, giving them even more breathing room. They lead second-place Utah by three games as the season hits its final turn.
If the Nuggets can play defense more often as they did in the second half against Charlotte, they won’t have to worry about the standings.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
