OAKLAND, Calif. — This would define the season.
After the first quarter against Golden State, Denver was down 37-22, on the road, in front of a franchise-record crowd, in a must-win game.
Desperate Denver coach George Karl decided to gamble. He implemented a zone defense.
Sure enough, in Denver’s 114-105 win, the Warriors shot just 37.5 percent in the final three quarters, stymied on their home court in the biggest game of both teams’ seasons.
In the Nuggets’ locker room, after “celebrating like we won the championship,” Carmelo Anthony was asked if this zone was something Denver practices a lot.
“Nope,” he said with his million-watt, million-dollar smile. “I was surprised by it tonight. It worked, though. We don’t even work on it. But after giving up 37 points, we had to change something.”
It’s not like the Nuggets never played zone this season. They have played it in spurts. But on Thursday, they played it for the majority of the final three quarters, rattling one of the NBA’s most potent and confident offenses.
With the win, the Nuggets (48-31) remain in the eighth and final playoff spot, but are now a full game ahead of Golden State (47-32) — with just three games left for each team. Denver also holds the all-important tiebreaker, because the Nuggets won the season series 3-1.
Denver’s next game is Saturday at Utah, followed by home games Sunday against Houston and Wednesday against Memphis. Golden State’s remaining opponents are the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix and Seattle.
“I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet,” Karl said.
The Nuggets can still blow this thing. But after Thursday’s paramount win, it would take a collapse worse than last weekend’s losses to Sacramento and the SuperSonics. Moreover, like Anthony said, “I think this is a great confidence boost for us. I’m proud, and we had a lot of pride tonight. We did it.”
Players on both teams referred to this regular-season game as a “playoff game.” During the day Thursday, the Nuggets had a focused vibe at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, walking stoically in the hallways, sensing the moment.
Before the game, the intimidating Kenyon Martin prowled around the locker room, muttering motivation aloud, notably: “Let’s do this. If you’re scared, stay the (expletive) in here.”
But, because these are your unpredictable Nuggets, they played the first quarter like they were, indeed, scared.
The Warriors were in the zone until Denver went to its zone.
Denver’s defensive set was sometimes like a 2-1-2, with a roamer in the middle. This helped Denver tilt its defense toward Warriors guard Baron Davis, and frustrate him when he roamed the middle of the zone. Martin played in the middle at times, as did Eduardo Najera, who was “incredible,” according to Karl.
Sparked by a 21-1 run to start the second quarter, Denver led 61-60 at the half. At that point, Davis had nine assists. He had two the rest of the game.
“A lot of guys don’t like to run the zone sometimes because it exposes so many gaps, but today we had a strong zone,” Denver center Marcus Camby said. “Guys were bouncing, guys were active and we contested a lot of 3-point shots. That enabled us to get rebounds and go down and score.”
Allen Iverson was back to being A.I., so Denver went downcourt and scored a lot.
After three average games, including a 13-point outing in a lifeless loss to Sacramento, Iverson was a bulldog at Golden State, hitting impossible jumpers, bouncing into the lane and off defenders, and generally just carrying Denver on his little back.
But reserve J.R. Smith was the X factor. He played 26 minutes and finished with 24 points, including eight in the second-quarter comeback. He nailed a big 3-pointer to start off the fourth quarter, giving Denver a 92-82 lead.
“J.R. was really asserting himself,” Camby said, “in the biggest game of the season.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
How it stands
The Nuggets now hold the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. A look at how the final three games could play out:
Tiebreaker. Nuggets are a game ahead of the Warriors and hold the tiebreaker, winning the season series 3-1.
The clincher. Denver can clinch by winning two of its last three games (at Utah, then home vs. Houston and Memphis).
Warrior hopes. To make the playoffs, Golden State would need to win its final three games and have Denver lose twice.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Linas Kleiza went scoreless in his 14 minutes, but Denver coach George Karl was still complimentary about Kleiza’s defensive contributions. . . . Guard Allen Iverson had just two turnovers. In the Nuggets’ previous game versus the Clippers, he had none; in the double-OT loss at Seattle he had only two.
Final thought
This game was billed as a must-win and Denver rose to the occasion, playing a dynamic offensive game and buckling down on defense after Golden State took a big first-quarter lead.
Up next
At Utah, 7 p.m., Saturday
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
