Portland, Ore. – The inevitable became official Monday – the Nuggets completed their three-year journey from the top of the lottery to the top of the Northwest Division with a 110-98 win to complete a season sweep of the sad-sack Portland Trail Blazers.
“I don’t really think nobody knew or thought that we would be where we’re at in three years,” said Carmelo Anthony, the star small forward who arrived because his franchise’s past failures enabled it to pick him third in the 2003 draft.
Wearing his fresh-from-the- box division champion hat, coach George Karl said: “I like it. I think I’m buying dinner for everybody except the media tomorrow in Salt Lake City. Let’s have a little party.”
The Nuggets (44-34) could have clinched without lifting a finger if a close Houston-Utah game had broken the other way. But with the Jazz having won by halftime here, Denver players wrapped up the Northwest themselves with a 28-17 third-quarter edge and held on from that point.
Aside from passing out hats and T-shirts, the Nuggets kept their celebrations subdued.
Guard Greg Buckner spoke for many of his teammates when he said: “It’s good. It’s not perfect until we get that parade going down Speer.”
Not that the Nuggets were about to turn down their first division title since 1987-88 under Doug Moe, now Karl’s bench consigliore.
“Getting the division is important, especially with all the injuries and things that went on,” Moe said. “It was kind of a wild year, including George’s (two) suspensions.”
While Monday’s win may have taken care of some Denver fans’ psychological baggage after years in the basketball darkness, it had a more tangible meaning in this season’s Western Conference race. The Nuggets stand half a game behind idle Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost to Dallas on Monday, in the fight for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Karl said he hoped to dole out fewer minutes to key players, but the team still wants to enter the playoffs with a strong final push. Center Marcus Camby, despite aching after the game, said he hopes to play Wednesday at Utah.
Portland erased an early 14-point Denver advantage before the Nuggets scored the last six points of the first half to enter the break ahead 56-52.
But Camby scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter as the Nuggets stabilized. He blocked four shots and had 13 rebounds, and Anthony led Denver with 28. Former Nugget Voshon Lenard got a dose of revenge by scoring a season-high 21 points for the Blazers (21-56).
The win continued a process started by general manager Kiki Vandeweghe after his 2001 arrival.
“The team persevered,” Vande- weghe said of this season, but added, “It’s just one step in a goal.”
Camby, Vandeweghe’s first key acquisition in 2002 and the longest-tenured Nugget, said of this title: “It feels good, considering when I first got here, that was the 17-win season. To see what Kiki and management brought here, bringing in the pieces we needed to get to this point, I’m just happy to be along for that process.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
