Los Angeles – Captains are supposed to lead by example. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony didn’t exactly do that during his first NBA game as a captain.
Anthony was ejected in the third quarter after receiving his second technical foul in the Nuggets’ season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night in a nationally televised game at the Staples Center. And without their heralded star, the Nuggets lost 96-95 to a Clippers team that knocked them out in the first round of the playoffs last season.
The Nuggets enjoyed their final lead, 95-94, when newcomer J.R. Smith stole the ball from Clippers point guard Sam Cassell and slammed home a shot. But the Clippers responded when Cassell was fouled and sank two free throws for the 96-95 advantage.
The Nuggets had two more chances.
Point guard Andre Miller attempted a layup the Clippers tipped out of bounds with 6.4 seconds left. Earl Boykins retreated into the backcourt to get the inbounds pass, then pulled up just inside the foul line and attempted a game-winning jumper at the buzzer. But the ball was tipped by Los Angeles’ Elton Brand to erase the Nuggets’ final chance.
Anthony, a 2006 all-NBA third-team selection, received his first technical at the 11:15 mark in the third quarter after being upset with a foul call. He was walking to the bench after receiving his fourth foul with 8:22 left in the third quarter when he tossed his headband to the floor in disgust.
A new advisory this season is for NBA referees to quickly punish players for unsatisfactory behavior. Referee Tom Washington lived up to the new edict by giving Anthony his second technical, resulting in the ejection.
Anthony gave Washington a shocked look, threw his hands in the air in disappointment, walked off the floor to the locker room and tossed his No. 15 jersey into the stands. The 6-foot-8, 230-pounder finished with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting (0-for-2 3-pointers), grabbed three rebounds and had four fouls in 20 minutes.
“The referees have new edicts, we have to figure it out,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “We lost a game we probably would have won with Melo.”
With the Nuggets’ leading scorer the previous three seasons gone, his teammates responded, outscoring Los Angeles 16-11 to take a 70-65 lead at the end of the quarter. Denver outscored Los Angeles 22-16 in the third period despite receiving no points from Anthony.
The Nuggets stayed hot as Boykins made three straight jumpers to push Denver ahead 78-70 with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter. Another Boykins jumper gave Denver an 82-72 lead with seven minutes remaining. Nuggets center Marcus Camby pushed the lead to 86-77 on a jumper with 5:19 left.
Then this wild game lived up to its hype at the end.
Clippers newcomer Tim Thomas nailed a 3-pointer with 2:37 remaining to trim Denver’s lead to 88-86. With Denver’s Kenyon Martin in his face, Thomas nailed another trey to get the Clippers within 90-89 with 2:05 left.
Quinton Ross gave Los Angeles a temporary 93-91 lead on a baseline jumper. But J.R. Smith’s 3-pointer silenced the crowd and put his team back ahead 93-91. Thomas responded with another 3-pointer to put the Clippers back up 94-93, setting the stage for the wild finish.
Despite the final result, Karl was pleased. “If we play with the guts we had tonight, we’ll be fine the rest of the year,” he said.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
Nuggets center Marcus Camby was blocking shots left and right, rebounding well and diving on the floor for loose balls. Nuggets forward/center Nene’s surgically repaired knee looked great. Clippers guard Sam Cassell didn’t play like a guy who is going to turn 37 years old on Nov. 18.
FINAL THOUGHT
After building so much good will over the summer in red, white and blue, Carmelo Anthony opened the season on a sour note in powder blue.
NEXT
Tonight, Minnesota at Pepsi Center.
