By percentage points, the surging Nuggets advanced to the sixth spot in the Western Conference … for the time being.
The Nuggets won their third consecutive game, this time a 113-86 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at the Pepsi Center. With the win, the Nuggets improved to 32-31 and a .5079 winning percentage. Denver passed the Lakers, who are 33-32 with a .5077 winning percentage. The Nuggets were led by forward Linas Kleiza, who scored a career-high 29 points, eclipsing his previous high of 24 set Sunday at Sacramento.
“I think it was one of the top (wins) we’ve had thus far,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “I think it was a statement game for us to see where we’re at against a team like that.”
The fifth-seeded Houston Rockets (40-25) seem out of reach for the Nuggets and Lakers. But the importance between the fifth and sixth seeds may include opening the playoffs against either the San Antonio Spurs (46-19) or the hotter Phoenix Suns (50-14).
However, the Nuggets finish the season playing 11 of their 19 games against winning teams, while the Lakers play five of 17 games against winning teams.
While this game was played at the Pepsi Center, at times it could have been mistaken for the Staples Center.
Since being charged with sexual assault in 2003 in Eagle, Kobe Bryant has been booed every time he touched the ball at Pepsi Center before Thursday. Four years later, the all-star was cheered by the crowd during introductions. But the usual boos for Bryant, who finished with 25 points, returned by the end of the first quarter.
The Nuggets and Lakers went into halftime tied at 51, with Kleiza leading the way with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting off the bench. The Nuggets were aided by 17 fast-break points in the first half.
After Thursday’s shootaround, coach George Karl pointed out the Nuggets had not won a third quarter since the all-star break, although they actually had won one. And they added another last night.
Looking for energy, Karl started Kleiza in the second half over guard Steve Blake.
“Tonight the ball was moving. We had (Kleiza) as our third offensive face, having incredible rhythm,” Karl said. “On both ends of the court we were the better team. You usually win when that happens.”
Kleiza’s second 3-pointer of the third quarter gave Denver a 63-57 lead with 7:48 remaining. Six consecutive points by Anthony, who finished with 26 points, gave the Nuggets a 74-64 lead with 4:22 left in the third. Living up to Karl’s third-quarter challenge, Denver won the frame 36-21 by shooting 68.8 percent, making all four 3-pointers and scoring 10 points off turnovers. Anthony scored 10 points in the third on 3-of-4 shooting with 4-of-6 from the line.
“Toward the end of the game, that was the biggest part of the whole game,” guard Allen Iverson said. “That’s where we’ve been struggling. Coach has been harping on that a lot.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-954-1098 or mspears@denverpost.com.
