Salt Lake City – Down the stretch, the Nuggets chose their words carefully. When the subject turned to the playoffs, players and coaches always supplanted any enthusiasm with the word “if.”
“If” the Nuggets made it, then …
Well, “if” can now be removed. A 115-106 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at Energy Solutions Arena clinched it.
The Nuggets are in the playoffs.
“It feels good to know that we’re in,” forward Carmelo Anthony said, “although we still got four games to go.”
Those four games will determine the Nuggets’ first-round playoff opponent. After Wednesday’s games, that would be San Antonio. But with the Spurs just two games behind the Suns, there is an outside chance the Nuggets could end up in Phoenix.
“The whole goal is to win a championship,” guard Steve Blake said. “So, we’re going to have to play certain teams sooner or later. So, you might as well go out there and play them back-to-back.”
Two bizarre circumstances led Denver to its latest victory, its seventh consecutive win: An astronomical edge in free throws taken and made – on the road, no less – and a sudden ability to knock down 3-point shots.
Denver made 29-of-33 free throws, taking 20 more than the Jazz (9-of-13). Anthony went 12-for-12 from the line.
“It’s frustrating when part of our game with the Jazz is we get to the line a lot,” Utah forward Matt Harpring said. “Tonight, we didn’t and the other team did, which, they shot what, 20 more free throws? That’s a lot.”
Then there was the 3-point shooting.
Denver hit 10-of-21 from behind the arc, led by Blake, who was 4-of-5 and finished with 16 points. Anthony scored 32 points to lead five Nuggets in double figures, including Allen Iverson’s 22 points and 12 assists. Anthony and Iverson each hit two 3-pointers.
“I wish we had it on a more consistent basis,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, laughing about the 3-point shooting.
What they do have of late is confidence, which is more than the Jazz can say. These two teams are headed in opposite directions. The Nuggets are undefeated in April (7-0), with four of those wins on the road. Northwest Division-champ Utah lost for the fifth straight time.
The Nuggets also set a franchise record with their 20th road victory.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” forward Linas Kleiza said. “I think we just focus more on the road.”
That may be the best sign for a team that will start the playoffs on the road. But the Nuggets plan to worry about that in the future. Wednesday night they were savoring their fourth consecutive playoff berth.
“I think it’s a pretty good accomplishment for the hand that we’ve been dealt,” Karl said. “We’re excited because we’re playing well. It’s a situation where we know we’re dangerous; we have a lot of weapons. If we continue to keep our composure and have some mental toughness in the fourth quarter and continue to get better defensively, I think we have a chance.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
