ORLANDO, Fla. — Maybe there is something to the growing feeling inside (and outside) the Nuggets organization that this season might be a special one.
For one night, it was certainly magical.
When do the Nuggets ever beat the Magic in Orlando? Pretty much never. But Thursday was one of those rare nights in what is becoming the rarest of seasons. The Nuggets got defensive and were streak busters, outlasting Orlando 82-73 on Wednesday night at Amway Arena, snapping a 15-game, 17-year losing skid in central Florida. It was a streak that began when guard Chauncey Billups was a freshman at George Washington High School.
“I think the guys were talking about it before the game,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “They were aware of it. There was a little bit of a buzz that they wanted to make sure they ended it.”
But that’s not all. The Nuggets are suddenly and not-so-quietly turning in the best season they’ve ever had in the NBA, and doing it in ways they had never done. Their 36-17 record at the all-star break is the best through 53 games in the team’s NBA history.
And the Nuggets are doing it with — gasp! — defense.
At the direction of Billups, the Nuggets turned up the physical heat on the Magic and played bump-and-grind basketball. The results were 23 turnovers forced in addition to holding the Magic to 30.4 percent shooting, both season worsts for Orlando. Magic players did their part to help with a frigid touch from nearly everywhere on the court. Rashard Lewis, Orlando’s second-leading scorer, had zero points at halftime and just 12 for the game.
“When we were the most physical team (in Detroit), we were successful,” Billups said. “They want to run free, shoot 3s and throw it into the big fella and let him play one-on-one. If you can try to run them off the 3-point line and show Dwight (Howard) a lot of different looks, you’ve got a chance to beat them.”
Motivation ran deep. Both Kenyon Martin and Billups played up the fact that in Orlando’s 106-88 win in Denver on Jan. 17, Magic starters remained in the game late into the contest, shooting 3-pointers, even though it was decided.
“Guys remembered it,” Martin said. “And me and Chauncey reminded guys before the game that that’s what it was. It was personal tonight. . . . Guys put that in the back of their mind, and we knew what we had to come out and do.”
Carmelo Anthony knew what he had to do — turn in an all-star performance. Anthony poured in a game-high 29 points despite being in foul trouble.
“I just wanted to attack, whether I got the call or not,” Anthony said. “I just wanted to go in there and keep attacking. . . . And I think it rubbed off on my teammates. They saw that, and they started attacking.
“It was a big win for us momentum-wise and confidence-wise, to finish out the break. A road trip like we had; we had one slip-up in New Jersey, but the last couple of games, we came back and redeemed ourselves.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
The eight minutes Johan Petro played in the first half equaled his total in any game with the Nuggets this season. . . . Orlando exceeded its season average for turnovers per game (13) in the first half, when the Magic had 15. Nine came in the first quarter. . . . The Nuggets’ 29 points allowed in the first half were a season low by an opponent. . . . Rashard Lewis scored his first basket on a goaltending call with 8:05 left in the third quarter.
Final thought
At 4-1, the Nuggets are through the hard part of the road trip. A 7-1 trip is no longer out of the question.
Up next
At Philadelphia, Feb. 18, 5 p.m.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
