For years, defense was a rumor that surrounded the Nuggets. Other teams played it, the Nuggets watched.
Until this season. In the biggest game of the season, and one of the biggest in franchise history, the Nuggets suffocated the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday with a defense that seemed to enjoy the sweat it took — and the angst it produced on the other bench. Only two Lakers shot over .500 from the field.
The Nuggets held L.A. to 41.5 percent shooting from the field, which should be good enough to win any game, let alone Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. Kobe Bryant scored 34 points but missed 16 field-goal attempts.
And 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom proved to be the rumor on this night, barely making his presence known. Denver made the Lakers big man all but disappear in front of a packed house. Odom made one field goal, a meaningless 3-pointer late in the game, and missed his other seven attempts.
