With the Nuggets the past six seasons, there have been peaks and valleys, to be sure, from all-star appearances to courtroom appearances, little defense to a little defense, the A.I. experiment and the cost-cutting experiment.
And now this journey has taken the Nuggets to a very comforting place. With Tuesday’s 111-104 win against the Knicks, the Nuggets (49-26) have the best record through 75 games in their NBA history, and they clinched a playoff spot for the sixth straight season. Only Dallas, Detroit and San Antonio have also been in the playoffs every year since 2003-04.
And with San Antonio’s shocking loss to Oklahoma City, the Nuggets are in second place in the Western Conference, leading the Spurs by half a game.
After losing three straight games in early March, the Nuggets have won nine of their past 10 games, and four in succession.
The Nuggets led by as many as 27 points in the second quarter, but the visitors came out of the halftime locker room firing, and with just over a minute left in the third, Denver led by just three, with scattered boos at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets entered the third quarter up seven, but sharp shooting from J.R. Smith (who finished with 17 points) and Linas Kleiza (13), helped bury the Knicks.
Denver forward Carmelo Anthony averages 22.8 points per game, but in his previous five, he had averaged 30.4. Tuesday looked like an opportunity for Anthony to explode, due to his recent success and recent success against the Knicks (32 points in the previous matchup). And in the first half, Anthony was brilliant, making seven of his 10 attempts, heading into the half with 16 points in 16 minutes. He finished the evening with a team-high 29.
Melo did an excellent job of scoring efficiently (13-for-20 shooting) and had a potpourri of points, be they difficult drives to the basket or jumpers with opponents’ hands in his face. He even caught a key inbound alley-oop with 5:18 left, giving Denver and eight-point lead.
