In the spirit of primary season, George Karl has narrowed down the division race. “My gut says Utah or Denver is going to win the Northwest Division.”
Karl’s Nuggets are in a tight division race with Utah and Portland, but Karl thinks it will come down to the division-leading Jazz and his guys.
Though the upcoming all-star break isn’t the halfway point of the season, historically it’s a gauge for how teams have progressed. Moreover, it can be a chance for a team to rejuvenate — or lose its mojo during the lounging lapse.
This makes the Nuggets’ next three games important, as they try to enter the break with confidence. The Nuggets (30-19) are 13-5 against Eastern Conference teams, which is encouraging, because their next three games are against Eastern Conference teams. And Denver has already defeated each of these teams this season, all at the Pepsi Center.
These games — Cleveland tonight, Miami on Tuesday, Orlando on Wednesday — are on the road, where the Nuggets are 9-13.
But their efficient effort against Washington on Friday and the videotape of their win against Cleveland should be reassuring for the Nuggets tonight. Against the Wizards, Denver shot a season-high 56.4 percent from the field. And in the previous game against Cleveland, Denver shot 55 percent, making a franchise record 12 3-pointers.
Historic performance(s).
Forward Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 49 points Friday, which made him the third Nuggets player this season to score 40 or more points in one game — Allen Iverson scored 51 on Dec. 5 and Linas Kleiza scored 41 on Jan. 17. The last season the Nuggets had three different players with 40 or more points in a game was 1990-91 — Michael Adams, Walter Davis and Orlando Woolridge.
A change of pace.
The Nuggets played pretty good defense Friday after struggling of late. The Wizards were never in the game, trailing by as many as 21 points in the 111-100 loss.
“We were just helping each other,” guard Iverson said. “A guy gets beat, just be there for your teammate. We shut them down when we needed to.”
In the past 16 games, Nuggets opponents average 107.0 points, compared to opponents’ season average of 104.1, fourth-highest in the NBA. Seven of their past 16 opponents have scored 60 or more points in the first half.
“We have the switch — we turn it on, we turn it off,” the disgruntled Karl said.
On pace.
The Nuggets’ 30-19 record through 49 games is tied for the third-best in franchise history. At this point in the past three seasons, Denver was 25-24, 26-23 and 22-27.
Karl said the team is on pace for his “realistic” goal of 51 wins this season.
“And you have to respect the injuries and the circumstances,” Karl said. “We have played better than I could expect us to play, at times. What’s exciting about our team is I think they know they can play better. They feel that, they talk about that. Can we get there, with the circumstances we’ve been dealt? I kind of like their inner character.”
DENVER AT CLEVELAND
5 p.m. tonight, ALT and ESPN; KKFN 950 AM
Spotlight on Zydrunas Ilgauskas: Possibly the best Lithuanian in tonight’s game (Linas Kleiza has been playing well, though), Ilgauskas continues to rebound at a high level in his 10th season. In fact, his 9.7 per game is a career high and good for 17th-best in the NBA. In Friday’s game against Atlanta, the center scored 17 points with 11 rebounds (seven offensive), and four blocks, too. Two games earlier, he scored 21 in the upset win against the Boston Celtics, who have the best record in the NBA.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets: In Denver’s last game, Carmelo Anthony was 3-for-3 from 3-point range. The rest of the team was 0-for-12. Denver is fourth in the NBA with 106.6 points per game, its highest average since 1990-91 (119.9). Said coach George Karl: “With the way we play, we’re going to have bad shots. San Antonio can play five games in a row without taking five bad shots. But the way I want to play is quick, aggressive and, at times, we’re going to take a shot that an old-school coach would say ‘Hmm.’ ”
Cavaliers: Cleveland is 15-7 at home this season. In Cleveland’s only game against Denver, a 122-100 loss, athletic defender Larry Hughes received two quick technical fouls and was ejected with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Forward LeBron James has scored in double figures in 89 straight games, which ranks as the second-longest streak in the NBA — trailing only Anthony (174). James is 2-7 all-time against the Nuggets.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
