The night began with thoughts of a division title running through the Nuggets’ heads. At halftime, those thoughts turned to what they needed to do to win the game.
And they did — just barely.
The Nuggets have needed game-winning shots on two occasions this season to beat Oklahoma City. They didn’t need one Wednesday, but the Thunder pushed the Nuggets yet again before falling 122-112 at the Pepsi Center.
“It was not one of my favorite games,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “It seemed like we were trying to beat the defense just off the dribble all night long. In the second half, I thought we found the pass a little bit more.”
Pregame division implications weren’t realized, after Portland’s victory at fading San Antonio earlier in the evening. The Nuggets could have won the division with a Portland loss combined with their victory, but a division title will have to wait until at least tonight.
A Nuggets win over the Los Angeles Lakers tonight clinches their second Northwest Division title. Not only that, the Nuggets would inch closer to clinching the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed as well. Only Houston could beat them out for the spot. The Nuggets own tiebreakers over both Portland (division record) and San Antonio (head-to-head), but Houston owns the tiebreaker over the Nuggets with a 3-1 series victory.
Still, with everything on the line, it makes this back-to-back arguably the most important of the season.
“We’ve proved to teams that we are legit,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “This is another game on our schedule. It’s a big game, but it’s another game. We’re going in there trying to win. But if we don’t, it’s not something that we’re going to hold our heads down.”
There is plenty on the line for the Lakers as well, as they are jockeying with Cleveland for the NBA’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Winning in L.A. hasn’t been the Nuggets’ specialty the last couple of seasons. They have a four-game losing streak there, last winning April 3, 2007. Assistant coach Adrian Dantley coached that day because Karl was on leave to be with his son, Coby, who was fighting thyroid cancer.
“It’s a free swing,” Karl said. “If we win, it’s a big win for us and can catapult us into a lot of nice things to be said about us. But the truth of the matter is it really doesn’t have a high priority. But I think it’ll be a playoff game.”
The Nuggets will enter the game hot. They’ve won eight straight, 13 of their last 14 and three straight on the road. On the second of back-to-backs the Nuggets are 9-11, but have won in each of the last two instances.
“It’s the NBA,” guard Chauncey Billups said. “It’s a great opportunity for us going into a tough building with one of the best teams in the NBA to have the opportunity to do something special. It’s exciting.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Down the stretch
The Nuggets eliminated Utah from the Northwest Division chase Wednesday. Portland stayed alive, winning at San Antonio.
Wednesday night Denver won, Portland won.
What it means The Nuggets need one win or one Portland loss to clinch the division (tiebreakers favor the Nuggets because they have a better record against the division). Denver also will clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with two wins in its final three games.
What’s left Gms. back, Gms. left, At home
Denver — 3 1
Portland 2 1/2 4 3
Today Denver at Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
The Nuggets are 27 games above .500 for the first time in their 33-year NBA history. . . . Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. . . . Chris Andersen blocked seven shots; the Nuggets had 13 as a team. . . . Of the Nuggets’ 26 assists, 19 came in the second half. . . . The Nuggets scored 28 points off of 16 Oklahoma City turnovers.
Final thought
Given the fact that Oklahoma City has played the Nuggets tough all season, the degree of difficulty to get the win wasn’t a surprise. Their biggest statement can be made tonight.
Up next
At Los Angeles Lakers, tonight, 8:30 p.m.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post; The Associated Press
Denver at L.A. Lakers
8:30 p.m. tonight, TNT, KRCN 1060 AM, KTNI 101.5 FM
Spotlight on Andrew Bynum: The Lakers center is expected to return to action tonight against the Nuggets after missing more than two months with a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee. At his best, he is one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. He’s averaging 14 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks this season.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
