Memphis, Tenn. – With 2:02 left and his team ahead, Nuggets coach George Karl looked at the scoreboard. The time couldn’t run off fast enough for his victory-starved team.
But this time, it didn’t have to. The Nuggets melted the clock – and the Memphis Grizzlies – away with solid defensive plays down the stretch and a huge game from Nene.
Those waiting for Denver to become a suddenly lock-down defensive team will keep waiting. That won’t happen this season. What the Nuggets can be was illustrated in a 111-107 victory over Memphis on Monday night at FedExForum. Players hustled, creating jump ball situations, blocked shots and tipped passes.
The result was a 14-7 run in the last 5:50 of the game, until a meaningless 3-pointer by Rudy Gay with 1.2 seconds left, that gave the Nuggets the victory, snapping a four-game losing streak. The Nuggets previously won a game Feb. 12.
“We just needed a win, just for our confidence,” guard Allen Iverson said. “Just to make the atmosphere a little bit better around here.”
It was a jubilant Nuggets locker room afterward, the jokes flying from side to side. Nene’s play also was a hot topic.
The forward owned the paint, tying a career-high with 27 points and adding nine rebounds. He provided the extra scoring punch the Nuggets had not seen in their previous two games, in which just one player besides Carmelo Anthony and Iverson scored in double figures, Marcus Camby’s 10 points at Dallas.
“Nene is a presence,” Karl said. “We wanted to go to him a little bit more … and he delivered a great game for us.”
Memphis forwards Mike Miller and Pau Gasol did enough to cast doubt about whether the Nuggets would pull the game out or lose a fifth straight contest. Each scored 21 points, and Miller did most of his damage in the third quarter, scoring 13 points on the strength of three 3-pointers.
But the two faltered in the fourth. Miller disappeared altogether, going 0-for-2 for zero points in the quarter. Gasol scored seven points, but missed 3-of-4 free throws in the final 3:01, which proved crucial. With the Grizzlies down 107-104 with just more than two minutes left, Gasol missed two free throws and Anthony scored on the other end to give Denver the cushion it needed.
Karl said he challenged the team in the fourth quarter to win with its defense. It did.
“We either play great defense or we play bad defense,” Anthony said. “Tonight we played great defense. They got some second chances, but mostly we went out there and did what we had to do.”
Anthony led the team with 33 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter. Iverson finished with 25 points and nine assists. More than half of Denver’s points (56) came in the paint, and turnovers (14) were not the problem they had been in the previous three games.
The Nuggets’ next three games are at the Pepsi Center, starting with Orlando on Wednesday.
“It always feels good to get a win,” Camby said. “Hopefully we can build off this and try to play better at home.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
