PHILADELPHIA — He’s having a terrible game!
He’s having a terrific game!
Terrible!
Terrific!
Such was Wednesday night for Nene. The Nuggets big man was 1-for-6 in the first quarter. But by the 5:30 mark in the third quarter, he had 16 points and eight boards.
Things were looking good for the big guy — until he suddenly drew his fourth foul, sending him to the bench.
But when the overtime thriller was over — Denver won 108-104 — Nene had finished with some of his best numbers of the season: 20 points, 14 rebounds and three assists.
“He was being aggressive — we need him to be aggressive all the time,” said Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson, who often looks for Nene during basket penetration. “Our pick-and-rolls, if he rolls, he knows I’m either going to find him or he’ll draw attention (from defenders) and the opposite side is going to be open. He played well for us.”
For the season, Nene is averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Injury update. Timofey Mozgov, Denver’s starting center, did not play because of a lower back strain.
Reserve shooting guard Rudy Fernandez (Achilles tendon strain) was also out. Both will be re-evaluated heading into Friday’s game at Washington. Kosta Koufos started for Mozgov but played only in the first quarter, shooting 2-for-5 from the field, finishing with four points and three rebounds.
Rising stars? Bucks coach Scott Skiles endured playing against the 76ers’ Jrue Holiday on Monday. Then Skiles suffered through Lawson on Tuesday. The young point guards faced off in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Asked if these are two of the NBA’s top blossoming point guards, Skiles said: “I think it’s fair to say. Both guys have improved. Holiday, we didn’t have much of an answer for him. As I said after the game, he played a very under-control game. Ty is a little more explosive with his end-to-end speed. He’s a penetrator and a very strong finisher at the rim. They’ve both improved, for sure.”
Holiday finished with 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting against Denver, after a 24-point splurge against Milwaukee. Lawson had 13 points and seven assists Wednesday, while Holiday had just four assists.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
