WASHINGTON — Marcus Camby, the Nuggets center, has played in the NBA for 12 seasons, in which he has made a total of seven 3-pointers. That’s not a lot. But on Friday at Verizon Center, when seemingly any Nugget could hit a 3-pointer, Camby decided to take his 52nd career 3-point attempt, and, of course, he made the shot.
This occurred during the Nuggets’ third-quarter barrage against Washington, when they made five of seven 3-point attempts. The Nuggets led by nine at halftime against Washington – and led by 31 after three.
Denver’s 118-92 domination of winless Washington was much needed, after an emotional week on the East Coast.
“I could tell today in shootaround we had a focus and seriousness that we sometimes have, sometimes don’t have,” said Nuggets coach George Karl, whose team had lost three consecutive games.
The game served as a quasi-homecoming for the Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, who grew up about 180 miles down the road in Hampton, Va., and went to college at Washington’s Georgetown University. Same for teammate Carmelo Anthony, who is a native of nearby Baltimore.
Both players glistened. Anthony scored a game-high 32 points with five rebounds and five assists, a well-rounded night following a puny effort on Wednesday at Boston. Half of his 32 came in the third quarter, when he shot 7-for-11, including two 3-pointers. And Iverson led all players with eight assists, feeding numerous long-range attacks.
“Melo led us tonight,” Iverson said. “He caught fire and we just rode his coattails.”
Actually, the night started terribly. The Nuggets (3-3) took two busses to the Verizon Center, and the second bus, which carried four starters and coach George Karl, got stuck in rush-hour traffic. And rush hour went into overtime. The bus took an hour and 15 minutes to arrive at the arena.
“I was stressed,” Karl said. “It was uncomfortable not being in your routine before the game. Walking (to the game) was talked about. We were a block away and still going slow. That’s when I was about ready to scream.”
Meanwhile, in the locker room, some Nuggets personnel fretted, but forward Eduardo Najera pointed out that five reserves were indeed there, “so we’re good to go.”
At 7:15 p.m., the first bus arrived with the starters and coach, only 53 minutes before tipoff.
The game was Denver’s first without Nene, the energetic power forward, who previously split time with Kenyon Martin, the starter returning slowly from knee surgery. With Nene back in Denver for Friday’s surgery, Martin was cleared to play in back-to-backs; he’ll play tonight at Indiana. And on Friday, he played well, confidently swishing jump shots, slamming his body into fellow power forwards. He finished the night with 12 points and three rebounds in 21 minutes.
“We’re going to need him,” Camby said.
The Wizards (0-5) looked awful, lacking the fire or firepower to keep up with the lively Nuggets. Nuggets guard Yakhouba Diawara got the start and was assigned to guard all-star Gilbert Arenas. Diawara, inserted primarily for his defense, made two 3-pointers in the first quarter, and also smothered Arenas, who finished with a quiet 18 points on 5-for-13 shooting.
“I thought Bobby Jones, Yakhouba, Eddie (Najera) all gave us an energy defensively,” Karl said. “And I don’t think Gilbert wanted to play against full-court pressure.”
The Nuggets defense, overall, was the best it has been this season. Denver held Washington to just 38.3-percent shooting, and the Nuggets tallied 15 steals.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets shot 12-for-25 from 3-point range (48 percent), close to their 51.1 percent overall from the field. And Camby flirted with a triple-double, but not the kind one would expect. He finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Oddly enough, he didn’t block one shot.
For the Nuggets, thee emotions were omnipresent all week, beginning with Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden, site of the brawl last season. Then on Wednesday, playing a back-to-back in Boston, the Nuggets were obliterated, losing by as many as 41 points in the 119-93 loss. All along, the Nuggets were without three guards due to injury, and then came word on Thursday that Nene needed surgery on his thumb, sidelining him for six weeks.
But on Friday, everything came together smoothly for the Nuggets, after little had gone smoothly, even just an hour before tip-off.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Nuggets on cruise control, a timeout was called, and the Verizon Center in-house deejay asked the crowd to get on their feet and dance. Instead, many got on their feet and walked toward the exits.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
