Houston – Before the game, Nuggets coach George Karl talked possibilities. After it, he settled into a nice reality.
His team overcame the odds and the Houston Rockets, surging in overtime to grab a 121-113 win Saturday at the Toyota Center, and simultaneously grabbing some control in a season that has at times appeared ready to fall off the tracks.
But not only has it not fallen off, it has gained a super-sized shot of momentum. The Nuggets have won three straight games, are only five games behind first-place Utah in the Northwest Division, went a respectable 7-8 without the suspended Carmelo Anthony, and get their leader back Monday.
“We said we wanted to go 8-7, and we went 7-8,” Karl said. “Basically, I don’t think we can complain about that. It’s like losing a seventh game. We’ve won three in a row; we’re in a good momentum place. Now it’s time to kind of cut the 15 games out of our season and get focused in on what we can become.”
Said Marcus Camby: “We’re thrilled that it’s over. Melo can come back and rejoin us so we can be a complete ballclub. But it’s been tough. Battling 15 games without him, it’s a credit to the guys that we did have. We never gave up, we kept fighting. So now we’re in a good place. Being 7-8, I’ll take that. If somebody would have said that before the suspension, I wouldn’t have believed it because Melo is such a big part of what we do around here.”
Seven players scored in double figures, led by Allen Iverson’s 36 points and 10 assists. J.R. Smith added 24 points off the bench. Nene (14 points) and Camby (12 points, 22 rebounds, five blocks) also had strong performances.
Yakhouba Diawara scored 10 points, but his biggest impact was on defense. In man-to-man situations, he was the primary defender on Rockets star Tracy McGrady and turned in the stop of the night as McGrady attempted to win the game with a shot at the buzzer in regulation.
Denver, which scored 31 points in the fourth quarter alone, held Houston to 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.
“We just buckled down and tried to get stops,” Iverson said.
Tied at 108 after regulation, Iverson banked in a 3-pointer as the shot clock ran out to open scoring in OT. Camby followed with a jumper to give Denver a five-point lead with 2:43 to play.
After a Juwan Howard dunk brought Houston within three points, 113-110, the Nuggets answered on a Steve Blake 3-pointer and free throw because he was fouled on the play with 1:36 left. Up 117-110, they held the Rockets off from there.
“It sure was fun to see a team pass the ball and play really well down the stretch,” Karl said.
And now, it’s Melo time.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
