With Kanye West blaring from the locker room speakers, and some Nuggets players rapping along, Kenyon Martin’s voice temporarily rose above the celebration.
After someone said to the Nuggets forward, “Big win tonight,” Martin announced, “Big is an understatement. That was probably one of the most important wins of the season.”
Denver defeated Golden State 119-112 in a Saturday night fight that came down to the final two minutes. Martin splashed a baseline jumper with 1:11 left for a 115-110 lead, the final dagger that could turn out to be one of the biggest shots of the season.
You see, with the victory, Denver (45-28) overtook the Warriors (44-28) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Denver leads the Warriors by a half-game, and it trails Dallas by a half-game as well (sure enough, Dallas plays Golden State today).
The victory also gives Denver the opportunity to secure the season series on April 10 at Golden State, because Denver has won two of the three games. If Golden State is to win that game, the tiebreaker is determined by conference record. And mathematically, if Denver and Golden State finish tied, there is no way Golden State could have a better conference record. And Denver has won five straight games, including wins against Dallas and Golden State.
“We’re confident that we can figure out how to win almost every night we play,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
Before Saturday’s win at a sold-out Pepsi Center, Karl said Martin had been the team’s MVP over the past six weeks, thanks notably to his smothering defense.
A couple hours later, he was the game’s MVP thanks to his offense. Martin scored a season-high 30 points — five shy of a career high — and added 11 rebounds and two blocks.
“Kenyon was incredible,” Karl said. “I think Kenyon is learning how to get into the middle of the defense where he can be powerful and effective. He lets Marcus (Camby) have the high-post, and Kenyon is getting underneath the defense, getting catches where he can operate. Earlier in the season, he was getting the catches a little bit outside of his comfort zone.”
Martin’s offense was needed because a usual offensive weapon, Allen Iverson, had one of his worst games of the season. In Iverson’s defense, his injured right ring finger was smacked early and “it just bothered me throughout,” he said. But the all-star scored only 14 points (he averages 26.5) while shooting just 4-for-20 from the field.
“I was hoping my teammates didn’t think I was out there point-shaving,” Iverson said with a smile.
Iverson did tally a team-high eight assists on a night when five Nuggets had five or more. The Nuggets finished with 36 assists, and they are 23-1 when they have 29 or more assists, a telling mark about their offense when it clicks.
And what about Denver’s defense? Often a subject of criticism — and rightfully so — the defense was sturdy Saturday. The Warriors shot just 40.4 percent from the floor and 10-for-30 from 3-point range, normally their bread-and-butter.
“We had a good defensive effort against a very good offensive team,” Karl said.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Denver is in a playoff spot for the first time since Feb. 22. Denver guard J.R. Smith tied a career-high with seven assists. He finished the night with 20 points in 26 minutes off the bench, but he also missed 8-of-9 3-point attempts.
Final thought
Denver is playing like a playoff team. The Nuggets buckled down on defense and made big shots late, notably Eduardo Najera’s 3-pointer and Kenyon Martin’s baseline jumper.
Up next
Vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Monday
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
