Nuggets survive in Chicago, Bulls buzzer-beater too late
By John Livingston | November 11, 2009
The Denver Nuggets escaped Chicago with a 90-89 win over the Bulls Tuesday night, despite a buzzer-beating attempt by Bulls center Brad Miller. It was a hard fought contest that the Nuggets had to feel fortunate to come out on top of.
After Chauncey Billups hit one free throw to put the Nuggets ahead 90-89 with 0.6 seconds on the clock, he intentionally missed the second shot to attempt to run out the clock. However the Bulls rebounded ith just 0.3 ticks left on the clock and called a timeout. The Bulls had an opportunity to in bound the ball and get a quick shot off for the win. Miller got the pass and jacked up a quick shot from the top of the key that went in and the Chicago crowd and players began to celebrate. However after almost ten minutes of review the referees determined that Miller’s fingers were still on the ball as time expired.
When it was all said and done the Nuggets came away with a much needed victory after they had dropped two straight to the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks on their 6 game road trip. It was important that the Nuggets close out the last two games of the trip with at least one win so they could return home feeling confident about their road play.
Nuggets fans were excited to see the return of J.R. Smith to the lineup, but with an even bigger change than his new number, 5. Smith now wants to be known by his given name, Earl Smith III. While Earl Swish certainly doesn’t have the ring to it that J.R. Swish had, it is easy to assume that Earl will soon be getting new nicknames from the Denver faithful. Smith saw considerable playing time in his first game of the season with the team. He played over 29 minutes but did struggle with his shot. Smith went just 1-9 from the field and 0-3 from the 3 point line where he makes his living. He was successful driving into the lane and creating plays for his team mate as he collected 5 assists.
Kenyon Martin also returned to the lineup after being sidelined against the Hawks with a bruised left fibula. His return was much appreciated as he finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Carmelo Anthony led the team in scoring with 20 points with Billups right behind him with 17.
A big concern for the Nuggets has to be their ability to grab the defensive rebound. Joakim Noah of the Bulls racked up 6 offensive boards in the game and finished with a whopping 21 total. The big men need to do a better job of boxing out the opponents in the paint to clear out rebounds and start their fast break.
Coach George Karl also rewarded rookie guard Ty Lawson for his stellar play early on this season by giving him considerably more time than Anthony Carter, who was slated to be the second back up guard. With Smith’s return to the lineup it was great to see Karl reward the rookie with quality minutes and limit the struggling Carter.
With Smith and Martin back in the lineup Joey Graham and Renaldo Balkman failed to see action. The two had seen regular minutes and even a start in Atlanta but their struggles in that contest and the return of Smith and Martin meant limited minutes for the rest of the bench.
The win was also George Karl’s 939th win all time which places him at 8th all time as he passed the legendary Red Auerbach on the all time list.
The Nuggets will try to close the road trip on a good note tonight as they go to Milwaukee to face the Bucks.
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