Help? Melo got it. Selfish? Not the Nuggets, at least not this night. Game 6? A reality.
For one night, all was right with the Nuggets, who played poised and possessed during a 116-102 victory over Utah on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center. Denver overcame a knee injury to Nene to force Game 6 to be played Friday in Salt Lake City, with the Jazz leading the first-round playoff series 3-2.
After the Nuggets lost Game 4, all-star Carmelo Anthony said he needed help from his teammates. J.R. Smith, of all people, tweeted: “You play selfish you lose selfish that’s all I’m saying about the game!”
Well, the Nuggets reached their magic number of 20 assists — they were 42-7 in the regular season when reaching that mark — and, with their season on life support, resuscitated their confidence.
Huge obstacles remain; the Nuggets were blown out in their previous two playoff games in Utah. If the Nuggets can somehow win Game 6, the best-of-seven series would be determined Sunday at the Pepsi Center.
The last NBA team to win a playoff series after trailing 3-1 was the Suns, who defeated the Lakers in 2006.
“In times like this you learn a lot about your team,” said Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups, who scored 21 points in Game 5. “some people would hang their head and say, ‘They got us.’ Not one guy did that. . . . Now we have a chance to put the pressure (on Utah).”
But doom looms. Nene went down with 5:03 left in the second quarter, after colliding with Jazz star Carlos Boozer. Nene sustained an injury to his left knee. He hobbled off the court and didn’t return, leaving a huge void in the low post. He will have an MRI today.
“I told him we got this, keep your head up and everything will be all right,” said Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin. “We’ll find out more (today). But if he can’t go, we’ll just have to step up.”
Because of the injury, Johan Petro, the Nuggets’ normal garbage-time center, was suddenly playing critical minutes in the team’s biggest game of the season. Chris Andersen, the occasional Birdman, logged some big minutes too. Combined, “Bird-tro” scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
As for Smith, he played his best game of the series, making nifty passes and taking shots in rhythm, not the silly shots he’s prone to shoot.
His fourth 3-pointer of the night — on his fourth 3-point attempt — gave Denver a 99-92 lead with 7:09 left and was the Nuggets’ eighth consecutive make beyond the arc. Smith finished with 17 points, including 10 in the decisive fourth quarter.
“That’s every coach’s dream — balanced scoring,” said Nuggets acting head coach Adrian Dantley. “We ran the same offense, moved the ball better and got 20 assists. Tonight, we just hit our shots. When you make shots, it makes a big difference.”
Billups began the night defending Deron Williams, or trying to anyway. The Jazz’s star point guard has been Magic-good during this series and not only did he hit numerous jumpers in Billups’ face, he caused Billups to pick up three first-half fouls, the third on a D-Will jumper with just 1.3 seconds left in the half.
But in the third quarter Billups helped Denver build a working margin, scoring 12 points. He kept Denver afloat and the Nuggets led by five points entering the fourth quarter.
Anthony’s 26 points led six Nuggets in double-figure scoring.
Williams scored a game-high 34 points for the Jazz and also had 10 assists. Boozer finished with 25 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. But the Jazz got just 16 points from its bench — and all came from one player, Paul Millsap.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
