Beating the Lakers and the Heat were great, but tonight’s victory over the 76ers on the road might have been the best win of the year for the Nuggets. Andre Miller was the star netting 28 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds. Miller was aggressive all night, consistently penetrating and dishing the ball. He basically carried the Nuggets late in the fourth when it seemed the 76ers were pulling away. The Nuggets held on in overtime thanks to some key stops and of course, a go-ahead jumper from Miller.
Before that great fourth quarter and overtime, the Nuggets found themselves down 14 points with 8 minutes to go in the second quarter. It looked to be one of those typical roads games coming off a back-to-back where the Nuggets would play catch up all game long. Instead the Nuggets go on a ridiculous 26-6 run to close out and take a 6 point lead at half. This was a key point in the game as it showed the 76ers they were going to get a fight from the Nuggets.
This was probably the best NBA game I have seen all year. Both teams were going back and forth all night long but the Nuggets were able to finish off the 76ers to win their second straight game and improve their record to 10-5.
In the meantime Carmelo Anthony shot a stellar 5-22 as his Knicks lost to the lowly Suns at home (sorry couldn’t resist).
Observations:
> I love having Andre Miller on this team. Miller played exceptionally well tonight against his former team (as he usually does against his former teams). He was huge in the first half run that got the Nuggets the lead and was even better late in the fourth. He made a huge three, had a three point play, and had multiple converted drives to put the Nuggets up one at the end of regulation. Miller finished the fourth quarter with 12 points.
Miller also had 10 assists, passing Nick Van Exel for 4th all-time on the Nugget’s list. We have been constantly talking about who is going to step up for the Nuggets late in games and be ‘the guy’, well tonight, that guy was Andre Miller.
> I give Nene a lot of crap sometimes but tonight he was great. Nene played his best game of the year scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Usually the only reason I’m critical of him is because he isn’t aggressive enough but tonight he was a different player. He had multiple dunks and at one point looked like he called for the ball in the post, something you don’t usually see from him. I don’t know if he is just getting healthy now but I hope this is a sign of things to come.
> Anybody else see that attractive 20-something sitting and laughing with David Stern in the first quarter? I did a little research (Wikipedia) and it appears he is married, so surely she was just a fan/coworker right? Stern doesn’t seem like much of a ladies man but I could be wrong.
> This is a great win for the Nuggets because Philadelphia is a very solid team. They have a nice mix of youth and veteran players. Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala are solid veterans that can still play and Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner are two of the more exciting young players to watch. Doug Collins is a solid coach and I fully expect them to compete in a lackluster Atlantic division.
The Nuggets are right in the middle of a 4 game in 5 night stretch that will continue Friday at the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are one of the worst teams in the NBA so hopefully the Nuggets will handle their business.
