After burning up the nets around assorted NBA courts for most of the last week, the Nuggets found themselves slogging through quicksand Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards. The team that averaged 115 points on its recently completed four-game trip, scoring 125 and 123 in its previous two contests, was trailing by six points at halftime to a Wizards squad with 21 wins.
But Denver woke up in time to win 97-87.
For much of the night, the Nuggets looked like a team playing its fifth game in seven nights. Come to think of it, the Pepsi Center crowd, which hadn’t seen the Nuggets since a scintillating win over Portland on March 7, seemed equally sleepy — no surprise, given the yawn-inducing hoops on display.
The highlight of the evening for Denver? That came with just under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, when Carmelo Anthony hit a short jump shot from the lane. The basket wasn’t record-setting or anything of the sort. No, the nondescript two-pointer represented the first lead of the game for Denver, the home team taking a 52-51 advantage.
And given the type of night it was for the Nuggets, even that slight high-water mark evaporated. A basket by Chauncey Billups about two minutes earlier was reviewed and ruled a two-pointer instead of a 3, meaning Anthony’s basket only tied the game.
That meant that the honor of putting Denver ahead after what seemed like an eternity went to Arron Afflalo, whose 3-pointer with 7:15 left gave the team a 54-52 edge.
After what seemed like a lifetime, the period ended with the Nuggets clinging to a 65-63 lead, the final points of the quarter being scored on a half-court 3-pointer by Washington’s Alonzo Gee. The spectacular effort barely drew a sigh from the assemblage.
There was a stir early in the fourth quarter, when former Nuggets guard Earl Boykins made his first appearance of the game. And there was applause when the diminutive 5-foot-4 veteran connected on a 3-pointer.
But the Nuggets rallied, getting five points from Anthony Carter to help them regain the lead. And when J.R. Smith hit Nene for a fast-break dunk and a 79-70 lead, it seemed clear that, despite the lack of style points or ESPN-worthy footage, the Nuggets would nonetheless escape from the muck with a win.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
