AUBURN HILLS, MICH. — It seemed scripted. Denver down two, final possession of the game, ball in Chauncey Billups’ hands – on the court where Mr. Big Shot hit so many. But Billups drove and couldn’t get the layup attempt to land.
And so, Denver lost Thursday at Detroit, 101-99, and the Nuggets will return home 2-2 on this road trip.
But this one hurt, oh my.
This Pistons aren’t bad – they have Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon. But Thursday, they had none of those guys (all injured). Guys such as Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye and even former Nugget Chucky Atkins played big minutes.
Denver’s Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points on 16-for-28 shooting, but Detroit countered with Charlie Villanueva. He averages 15 points per game, but he scored 27 on Thursday, playing in a 48-minute zone. At one point, the shot clock was about to expire and he heaved a 3-pointer, right in front of Denver coach George Karl. Of course, it went in. Then a fellow named DaJuan Summers, whom you probably have never heard of, splashed a 3-pointer right in Carmelo Anthony’s face on the next possession, and the Pistons led 87-79.
The game’s turning point didn’t involve points – Denver’s J.R. Smith missed a transition dunk – dunk! – with 1:08 left in the third quarter. At the time, the game was tied at 73. On the other end, Chucky Atkins responded with a 3, then Nene was called for a charge and by the end of the quarter, it was 80-73.
The Nuggets have now lost seven straight games to Detroit, Denver’s longest current losing streak against one team. And Denver hasn’t won a game in Detroit since 1995.
Meanwhile, Those Los Angeles Lakers sure are good.
They’re 17-3 (goodness!) and 9-0 since all-star Pau Gasol returned from injury (gracious!).
The Nuggets know that homecourt advantage is paramount in the Western Conference Finals, yes, but with Thursday’s loss at Detroit, Denver has lost back-to-back games to sub-.500 teams, another couple setbacks.
The only way to ultimately catch the Lakers is to win games like these (or, at least, split). With each Nuggets loss – road, home, whatever – one wonders not only if they’ll end up as the two-seed again, but also if they’ll end up playing L.A. in the second round, not the third.
It’s early in the season, yes. But the Lakers just keep winning.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
