Joseph Karl, his son said, was “a total nonathlete and didn’t understand the athletic world,” but Dad proudly attended his son’s games, embracing the foreign world of basketball.
“He did always say,” George Karl reminisced, “what he liked about athletics was — you can do things they can never take away from you. If you win the division, it’s our division — we’re on that team forever. It’s something we can brag about years from now. I think it’s a pretty good standard to live by.”
Joe Karl’s kid coached the Nuggets to the Northwest Division title Monday night — and Denver tied its franchise record for NBA victories — with a 118-98 win over the Sacramento Kings at the Pepsi Center.
“People really counted us out at the beginning of the season,” said guard J.R. Smith, wearing a division championship hat after torching the Kings with a career-high 45 points. “Now that we’re approaching 55 wins, it’s unbelievable.”
To get to 55, Denver (54-27) must win its final regular-season game Wednesday at Portland. A Denver win, or a loss by Houston (at Dallas) earlier that night, and the Nuggets are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. If Denver loses and Houston wins, the Nuggets would drop to No. 3 and Houston would have home-court advantage against Denver in the second round of the playoffs if both teams advanced that far.
The Nuggets haven’t won a first-round series since Smith was 8.
Since Carmelo Anthony was drafted by Denver in 2003, the team has advanced to the playoffs annually but never won a series. Karl changed the philosophy of the team in training camp — defense and teamwork would be actions, not words. Then in early November, Denver traded for hometown hero Chauncey Billups, whom Karl called “the poster child” for what he preached in the preseason. Now the Nuggets are division champions for just the sixth time, the first time since 2005-06.
“We played hard and played together,” said Anthony, who finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. “Nobody thought we would win the division, so that’s where I get my joy from. I like proving people wrong.”
Monday’s win will go down in Nuggets lore — not just for the historical significance, but because Smith shot out of his mind.
The reserve guard and resident firestarter made 11 3-pointers, a record for 3s made by a Nuggets player in one game (Michael Adams and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf each had nine). The Kings (16-65) were actually in the game, down just three with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. But in the fourth quarter, Smith’s shot was flammable — he made five of his eight 3-point attempts and all eight free throws, finishing with 23 fourth-quarter points.
“You know the water hoses they use to put fires out?” Anthony asked. “They needed that tonight (for Smith).”
Karl did point out that the shots Smith made weren’t “playoff shots. . . . He will be challenged to make good decisions to win playoff basketball.”
Karl knows postseason defenses will be tougher than Sacramento’s on Monday, and ill-advised long-range shots could hurt the Nuggets’ offensive flow — if they’re not falling.
“The spectacular doesn’t win in playoff basketball,” Karl said. “The tough-minded, hard-core guy wins in playoff basketball.”
But against struggling Sacramento, the spectacular won. And for a night, the Nuggets were kings.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Dahntay Jones suffered a bruised right shoulder. He is day to day. It’s the same shoulder he injured earlier in the season. . . . Nene chipped a tooth, but he returned to action. . . . Carmelo Anthony said he was still under the weather but definitely will play Wednesday night at Portland. . . . In the Nuggets’ last 23 games, only twice has an opponent shot 50 percent or better.
Final thought
It got a little frightening in the third quarter, but reserves Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith were clutch when it mattered most.
Up next
Wednesday at Portland, 8:30 p.m. Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
The race for second seed
Denver needs to win at Portland on Wednesday or have Houston lose at Dallas the same night to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. If Denver loses and Houston wins, Denver will be the No. 3 seed. Although San Antonio could wind up with the same record as Denver or Houston, it loses tiebreakers with both teams and can do no better than the No. 4 seed.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
Nugget of contention?
Denver will enter the playoffs as Northwest Division champion, a title that has had mixed results since the NBA went to six divisions in 2004-05:
2008: Utah, seeded fourth, lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
2007: Utah, seeded fourth, lost to San Antonio in the conference finals.
2006: Denver, seeded third, lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
2005: Seattle, seeded third, lost to San Antonio in the conference semifinals.
