Where to start?
How about the Nuggets’ offense? It was absolutely overwhelming in Monday night’s 122-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Guard Allen Iverson said it felt like he was shooting into the ocean.
J.R. Smith said: “I felt like I couldn’t miss.”
But what about the defense?
Yes, LeBron James scored 27 points, right around the all-star’s average. But all the King’s men were deplorable. Their starter with the next highest point total was Daniel Gibson, who finished with seven.
In what was the Nuggets’ most complete game of this young season, they smothered the defending Eastern Conference champions, thanks to a season-high 55 percent shooting and a season-high 37 points from Iverson.
“I’ve never seen him get hot like that,” Smith said.
There was a constellation of stars. LeBron. Melo. A.I. But in front of a camera-clicking crowd at the Pepsi Center, the reserve Smith glistened, scoring a season-high 29 points in nearly 24 minutes. The Nuggets led 88-68 after three quarters, and at that point Smith had 14 points, three 3-pointers and added a physics-defying, two-handed backward slam on an alley-oop from Iverson.
But in the fourth quarter, he kept on firing and kept on hitting, making three more 3-pointers, finishing 7-for-8 from long-range.
“I think J.R. sparked us big-time,” Iverson said.
The Nuggets shot 55 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3-point range, making 12-of-22 attempts. This is the first time in team history Denver made at least 12 3-pointers in three consecutive games.
The Cavaliers, exhausted from a win at the Los Angeles Clippers last night, floated into Denver like a balloon low on helium. Then, less than five minutes into the game, official Bill Spooner stuck in the pin.
Cleveland starting guard Larry Hughes shared his thoughts with Spooner, who didn’t agree with said viewpoints. And so, Spooner requested that Hughes leave the court for the evening, and even showed Hughes the way by zealously pointing toward the exit.
Asked who fouled him, Hughes said: “(Anthony) four times, and they didn’t call a foul.”
After the ejection, the Nuggets finished the first quarter up 21-18, but Cleveland’s 24 percent shooting from the field was a harbinger. In the second quarter, Denver outscored the Cavaliers 37-25.
In their previous win at Indiana, the Nuggets allowed just 32 points in the second half, and in the first half against Cleveland, they allowed just 43. The Nuggets controlled Cleveland’s big men in the first half — Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had just five points at halftime — and Denver’s perimeter defense was agile, forcing forced shots. The Cavaliers shot 35 percent in the first half, trailing 58-43.
Asked if his team just picked up where it left off at Indiana, Iverson said: “Absolutely. Can’t say it any better than that. That’s exactly what we did. We rode that momentum from the last game. That’s something we should try to do every game — have a sense of urgency and come out ready to play.”
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, who averages 4.6 rebounds per game, had seven after the first quarter. He grabbed just two more the rest of the night.
Final thought
Yes, the Cavaliers were tired, but this was another commendable win for Denver, which played sturdy defense all night against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
Up next
vs. Portland, 7 p.m., Wednesday.
Melo and the King
Carmelo Anthony vs. LeBron James in Denver:
NOV. 12, 2007: Denver 122, Cleveland 100
Anthony: 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists
James: 27 points, one rebound, four assists
JAN. 18, 2006: Denver 90, Cleveland 89
Anthony: 17 points, one rebound, three assists
James: 24 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists
DEC. 2, 2004: Cleveland 92, Denver 73
Anthony: 14 points, four rebounds, no assists
James: 17 points, eight rebounds, nine assists
DEC. 2, 2003: Denver 115, Cleveland 103
Anthony: 26 points, five rebounds, two assists
James: 19 points, six rebounds, five assists
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
