This one hurt.
The Nuggets, desperate for a victory after dropping two over the weekend, played resilient basketball against Detroit on Monday night. And with 6.5 seconds left, Denver down by three, J.R. Smith was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. But he missed two of the three free throws, and Detroit escaped the Pepsi Center with a 98-93 win.
Denver’s Kenyon Martin got his right hand on the missed third free throw, but he couldn’t corral the ball and missed a dunk attempt.
The game was the annual homecoming of Detroit’s Chauncey Billups, who played high school ball at George Washington, college ball at Colorado and two seasons with the Nuggets. The all-star guard finished with 20 points and eight assists, including a clutch 3-pointer with 1:50 left that gave Detroit a 93-86 lead.
Allen Iverson led Denver with 28 points. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, tied for the team lead with Marcus Camby.
The Pistons (42-15) controlled the pace, which they do most of the time. But the Nuggets (33-23) adapted. Detroit led by just two points after one quarter, 30-28. At halftime the game was tied 49-49 and after three quarters, it was tied 73-73.
It’s been a wacky seven days for Denver. The Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics last Tuesday, the team with the NBA’s best record. Then they lost two consecutive games to Chicago and Milwaukee, who entered Monday with a combined 43 wins, one more than Boston. And on Monday, the Nuggets played Detroit tough but lost.
