It takes about 1.8 seconds for the average person to read this sentence.
And that’s how long it took the Nuggets to change the course of fate Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center.
They hadn’t led the Portland Trail Blazers by more than five points in the first half until Arron Afflalo’s layup at the buzzer stretched the lead to seven at halftime.
The Nuggets were up by only two points when J.R. Smith hit a tough 3-pointer with the shot clock about to expire and with only 1.8 seconds left in the first half. Then, with the crowd still roaring, Afflalo stole the inbounds pass and made his layup. The Nuggets never looked back, cruising to a 95-77 victory and snapping a three-game losing streak.
“I thought it was a psychological hit for (the Trail Blazers),” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “They were staying with us, they were doing some good things. And all of a sudden, they go into halftime down seven.”
Feeding off the momentum, Denver outscored Portland 30-17 in the third quarter and won without Carmelo Anthony, who missed his fourth game to be with his family after the death of his sister. Anthony, who won’t play tonight at Minnesota, is expected to return to Denver on Thursday. The Nuggets play Sacramento on Saturday.
Perhaps fittingly, the Nuggets will start the new year anew — their Jan. 1 game against the Kings will be their first this season with a full roster.
Tuesday’s win, well, it was about as rejuvenating as any Denver win all season. The defense had been offensive of late. Also, the win preserved a little history. Denver remains the only NBA team without a four-game losing streak this season. And the Nuggets have played 304 games (since February 2007) without losing four in a row, the longest streak of any NBA team. In other words, the Nuggets may get cuts, but they don’t bleed.
Karl had preached defense to his team since the losing streak began, and against Portland, playing without all-star Brandon Roy (knee), the defense was “sound and solid all night,” Karl said. Indeed, the Nuggets kept Portland from controlling the game with its 3-pointers and rebounding.
“We were aggressive and trapped, and everybody knew they had to be in the right spot,” Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said.
Karl credited the victory to “the old guys,” in reference to Billups and Kenyon Martin, his 30-something team leaders. Billups, who has averaged 23 points in Melo’s absence, scored 18 and also had a season-high nine assists. Martin, still getting limited minutes since returning from knee surgery, made all five of his shots in 16 minutes.
The Nuggets are 17-13 with one more game in December). “To put it in perspective,” Karl said, “my dream season, on Jan. 1, had us winning 20 games. So realistically, we’re still in a very good place. Schedule-wise, we have 52 games left and 19 against .500 teams or better. So the schedule will soften. The Hollinger Report (on ) has us with the No. 1 hardest schedule this season.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Tuesday was the first time this season all five Denver starters scored in double figures. . . . Portland has lost five straight in Denver. . . . After the game, Chauncey Billups was interviewed on the court in front of the fans, and he made a point to wish his parents — sitting in the stands — a happy anniversary.
Final thought
A little D goes a long way.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
Denver at Minnesota
6 p.m. tonight, ALT, 950 AM
Spotlight on Kevin Love: Well, the good news for the Nuggets is the Minnesota big man probably can’t do much better against them than he did in the previous meeting. Love scored a career-high 43 points Dec. 18 at the Pepsi Center. Love is more of a threat with his rebounding. He leads the NBA with 15.5 per game, sparking debate whether a guy from a losing team should make an all-star team. Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
