The signs were all there. The Denver Nuggets, in Rip City, with it’s second night in a back-to-back, it wasn’t going to be a blow out. At best it was going to come down to that last shot. However, sloppy play,lackadaisical defense down the stretch, and poor shooting was the undertaker in Denver’s first loss.
Raymond Felton led the Portland Trailblazers to a 111-102 win over the Denver Nuggets .
Denver was bested by Portland on the glass by 20, and the Nuggets were abysmal from the 3-point line with only making 4-20.
Mozzy had 3 early fouls and was benched, Nene was jacking up easy jump shots, Al Harrington was bricking 3′s, Gallo was only 4-15 from the field, Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez were just as bad. For the night, Denver ONLY made 35-87 …… merely shooting 40%.
However, Denver had 28 fast-break points and Ty Lawson had a career high of 8 steals, and even despite the poor shooting, the game was tied at the half and stayed that way through the third and half of the 4th quarter.
Felton made 2 pivotal plays late in the 4th quarter that gave Portland a 7-point lead. Denver’s lack of defense, missing rebounds, poor calls and clanking shots just added to their demise.
Fear not, wavering fans, this is one game, and losses are bound to happen.
Denver face a back-to-back, again, face the Lakers both times, on Saturday and Sunday.
Until next time,
Mrs. NBA
