TORONTO — It’s hard to grimace when you’re smiling. Such was the case for the Nuggets’ Nene in Wednesday’s win, as he played through overwhelming neck pain to tally 21 points and 39 minutes, both team highs.
“I want to say thank you to God, because in my mind, I can’t do it,” Nene said. “When I’m weak, he’s strong.”
Before the game, Nene admitted he was not feeling any better than he did Monday — in the game he sat out — but “I need to play. We have no big men. I need to help these guys.”
Indeed, with Steven Hunter hurt, Denver has only Chris Andersen as a reserve post.
“I feel the pain when I look up or the ball swings fast, a sharp pain,” Nene said. “But I need to help.”
The Brazilian had many highlights Wednesday against the Raptors. In the second quarter, Nene received a pass in the low post from Anthony Carter and assaulted the rim with a dunk while being fouled. Nene also made a seemingly effortless bounce pass in the second quarter to Carmelo Anthony for a two-handed slam. And then with 3.7 seconds left in the first half, Nene hit his first 3-pointer of the season, near the Nuggets bench on the left wing, to give the Nuggets a 53-50 lead going into the locker room.
Coach, on Coach.
Karl is the eighth- longest-tenured coach in NBA history and talks often about the importance of coaches getting to build continuity in this era. And so, Karl said it was “a sad moment” when he heard that fellow Denver coach Mike Shanahan was relieved of his duties by the Broncos.
“It was very disappointing,” said Karl, the Nuggets’ coach since January 2005. “I like the institution, like where there’s a (Jazz coach) Jerry Sloan mentality where it’s not the coach, it’s the players. It doesn’t happen very often in our society, in our culture of sport right now.”
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
