Sure enough, there was a WWE-style rumble Monday at the Pepsi Center.
While World Wrestling Entertainment put on its scheduled show at the Staples Center, the Nuggets put a stranglehold on the Lakers at the Pepsi Center, winning 120-101 and tying the Western Conference finals at 2-2. The only thing missing was a folding chair to Kobe Bryant’s head.
“They just kicked our (expletive),” said the Lakers’ Bryant, who scored a game-high 34 points.
Denver’s big men were sensational. No other word for it (well, you could translate it, and thus Nene would say in Portuguese: “sensacional”). So was super-sub J.R. Smith, who threw in 24 points.
But the beatdown came in the paint, where the Nuggets had their way, grabbing 58 rebounds, 18 more than the Lakers.
Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen were lively, angry, wily and hungry. If Shaquille O’Neal were to give them nicknames, he would call them “The Big Adjectives.”
Martin led the way with a game-high 15 rebounds, banging in the low post as if Mark Cuban were suited up. Nene had 13 boards, seven at the offensive end. And “The Birdman” Ander-sen leapt for rebounds as if in a Picasso painting, multicolored arms and legs angled in weird directions, flying toward the glass with nary a Lakers big man in sight. He played just 24 minutes, but he grabbed 14 rebounds.
“I was just trying to keep up with K-Mart,” Birdman said in the postgame locker room, after strapping on his snakeskin boots. (“Watch out,” he warned. “They’ll bite you.”)
“Rebounding,” Denver coach George Karl said, “is a big part of this series, and if I had to say one thing, I think that was the fundamental change that gave us extra possessions. We were trying to get our big guys underneath the basket and on the baseline, more than out front. That gives them angles and opportunities.”
The big men’s big night bailed out a Nuggets team with their best player, Carmelo Anthony, feeling sick. Fifteen minutes before the game, Melo was vomiting in the home team restroom, suffering from what he called a stomach virus. Not for one second, he said, did he contemplate not playing, though he struggled through a 3-for-16 shooting night. By halftime, his right ankle was throbbing and he received an IV.
Picking up the offense were Smith and Chauncey Billups, who tied for the team lead with 24 points.
Karl spoke on length Sunday about his unpredictable gunslinger, Smith, and the need for J.R. to stop launching 3-pointers at every turn. In the first three games of this series, Smith averaged seven points. Karl said Smith needed to stop trying to hit home runs and instead hit for average.
In other words — drive!
Smith did so early and often in Game 4, slaloming into the lane, other times bulldozing. By halftime, he had nine points and four assists. By game’s end, he not only led the team in scoring, but hit 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, his drives creating wide-open 3s late in the game.
“I had really gotten down on myself,” Smith said of his reaction after Game 3.
Smith added that he greatly appreciated the fact his coaches and teammates continue to work on his game’s development.
Sitting next to Smith at the postgame news conference, the veteran Billups chimed in: “Where am I on that, teammate side or coaching side?”
“You might be in the middle,” Smith said, with a grin. “He (Billups) got so mad at me I had to put a towel over my head.”
Another big win, another big night for Mr. Big Shot. For the past three seasons, Billups’ Pistons advanced to the conference finals, but were stopped. Asked whether joining Denver put his career into another gear, the 32-year-old said: “I do. (My teammates) helped me rejuvenate myself.”
The Nuggets are helping each other possibly advance to unchartered territory for the organization, the NBA Finals.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Highlights
Big boards.
The Nuggets outrebounded the Lakers 58-40, while snagging 20 on the offensive end. Nene had seven offensive boards, 13 overall. Kenyon Martin had 15 rebounds and Chris Andersen 14.
J.R. Swish.
Nuggets reserve J.R. Smith scored 24 points in 28 minutes, making 9-of-17 shots, 4-of-9 from 3-point range. He also had four assists and two steals.
Lowlights
Tough night.
After averaging 14 points in the first three games, Lakers guard Trevor Ariza scored three points in 26 minutes, while committing five fouls.
No L.O.
Key Lakers reserve Lamar Odom was 1-for-8 from the field, scoring five points, while also battling foul trouble. He also had a team-high three turnovers.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
3-Pointers
The Denver Post’s Chris Dempsey revisits three questions raised before Game 4:
1. Will the Nuggets’ Carmelo Anthony get back on track? Well . . . Let’s just say an under-the-weather Anthony tried. He was sick and had to take fluids at halftime. The forward was frigid from the field in the first half, missing his first 10 shots. He also rolled his right ankle during the second quarter and had to leave for a minute to get it looked at before returning. He was 1-for-11 from the field in the first half and scored three points. He finished with 15, going 3-of-16 from the field and 9-of-11 on free throws.
2. Will the Nuggets’ perimeter shooting improve? Not early. The 3-point stripe has turned on the Nuggets lately, and though they were more cognizant of the shots they were taking, it did not mean they were making them Monday. The Nuggets hit just two of their first 15 shots behind the arc. But they heated up in the fourth quarter, hitting 5-of-9 attempts to finish 7-of-24 for the game.
3. Can the Nuggets execute in the fourth quarter? Yes. There would be no need for a a key inbounds play late in the game Monday. The Nuggets did their work early, breaking the game open with timely baskets. They got out into the open court and played stout defense. Their early success eliminated the need for late- game heroics and also covered up getting three technical fouls.
