Los Angeles – When the schedule for the second half of the season displays considerably more road games than home contests, it isn’t supposed to be an advantage.
But then, what team has been as bizarre as these Nuggets?
The road is their sanctuary, and Saturday night the Staples Center was as comfortable as any the Nuggets have played in this season. They came, they got behind, they rallied and won – again.
Denver’s 96-93 win over the Clippers was its third straight on the road and allowed the Nuggets to tie the single-season franchise record for road wins. Denver now has 19 of them. It is 7-7 on the road since the all-star break, and that has allowed the Nuggets to maintain some sort of sanity in a season where the home court has been absolutely no advantage.
“It’s kind of backwards,” Nuggets center Marcus Camby said. “Usually since I’ve been here, we’ve been a better home team than a road team, but this season we might be playing our best basketball away from the Pepsi Center. I don’t know how to pinpoint it, but it’s a good thing. If we make the playoffs, which I’m sure we are, we are probably going to open on the road. So it’s definitely big.”
Allen Iverson shot the Nuggets back into the game in the fourth quarter. Back-to-back baskets, including a 3-pointer with 3:57 left, tied the game at 83 and capped a 12-3 run, bringing Denver back from an 80-71 deficit. Timely defensive plays and big offensive possessions from Carmelo Anthony kept the game tight.
The Clippers inched back to a 91-87 lead with 1:43 left, but two more Iverson scores tied the game at 91 with 57.4 left. After an Elton Brand basket gave the Clippers a 93-91 lead with 43.6 seconds, the Nuggets went to Anthony, who dribbled out of a double-team and passed to a wide-open Linas Kleiza in the corner. Kleiza hit a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a 94-93 lead with 15.8 left.
“We did not cover the 3-point shooter,” Brand said. “He was 0-for-7 for the whole game, but he hit the one that counted.”
On the Clippers’ ensuing possession, Iverson stripped a driving Corey Maggette, Denver scooped up the loose ball and Iverson was fouled. He hit two free throws and the Clippers missed a desperation 3-point attempt to end the game.
Iverson was brilliant in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 34 points in that period. Anthony had 23 points.
“I thought A.I. really had a great game, a great stretch run,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I thought our defense was super. It’s the second game in a row that we won it more with our defense than our offense.”
The win kept the Nuggets (40-36) on solid playoff footing. They moved into sixth because of a tiebreaker advantage over the Lakers.
“For a year and a half we’ve had our troubles playing this team,” Camby said. “It’s definitely good to come in and get a win.”
The Clippers were led by Maggette’s 24 points, and Brand added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
