San Antonio at Denver: Game 4 Recap
The Spurs take command
By Cub Buenning
On Saturday night during Game 3 of the Denver v. San Antonio series, the Nuggets trailed in the 4th quarter by double digits, and despite making multiple runs, were never able to “get over the hump.” Last night in Game 4, the Nuggets, who led for most of the evening, not only chaperoned the Spurs to “the hump” but made sure their opponents made it safely over the other side. The visitors escaped the Mile High City with a 96-89 win, stretching their series advantage to 3-1.
The Spurs’ role players, again, did some of the most serious damage highlighted by Robert Horry knocking down a three with just 30 seconds remaining to put to the Spurs up for good. In a similar fashion to Game 3, the Spurs seized control of the game during a stretch with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan resting on the bench. The Nuggets played their best basketball of the series racing out to an 8-point lead at half, thanks in large part to a behemoth 34 first-half points in the paint. The Nuggets’ dynamic duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson played great, but the first half also saw Marcus Camby wake up and put up better numbers in the game’s first 24 minutes than he had in the entirety of Game 3.
The Nuggets were in possession of a six-point lead going into the game’s final 12 minutes but two quick threes by Spurs’ guards Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili evened the game. As the quarter began to melt away, however, it became extremely apparent which of the two sides was the more seasoned. Although, they played much of the quarter at their desired pace, the Nuggets spent the game’s final 5 minutes settling for one jump shot after another. Meanwhile, the Spurs were the beneficiaries of patience and a mental toughness which produced lay-ups and wide-open looks from the perimeter. With just over three minutes left and the game knotted at 85, I scribbled down this sentence:
‘The Spurs look like they’ve been here before. Not so sure about these Nuggets.’
My feeling was verified minutes later when Duncan split Camby and Nene to put the Spurs up 90-87 with about a minute left. A missed Denver shot led to another Spur possession, but Nene stepped in front of a cross-court pass and found Steve Blake open at the three-point line. The shot was good, but Blake’s right foot was just on the stripe. The Pepsi Center crowd, expecting a tied game, was stunned to learn their team was still down one with 35 ticks left. Enter Big Shot Rob. With a sagged-in defense, Parker drove the right side of the lane. Camby helped, then recovered out to Horry who launched a high-arcing, rainbow–not unlike the hundreds of other springtime bombs he has hoisted in his illustrious playoff career–that hit nothing but net. Spurs up four. Game and series, suddenly on ice. To make matters worse, the Nuggets settled for bad jump shots from JR Smith and Blake on their last two possessions.
After Melo was saddled with his 4th offensive foul with 1:15 left in the third quarter and the Nuggets leading by nine, the Spurs outscored the Nuggets 34-16.
On the Nuggets’ end of things, the same issue glared its head in this game. For the entire series, the Spurs have been unable to slow the inside play of the Nene. But again the team fails to go to the 5th-year forward in crunch time, instead opting for shots from the perimeter. Last night, he again scored 18, but only had nine shot attempts from the field. In the past two games, Nene has gone 14-20 from the field, not to mention hitting 8 of 9 from the line. This guy has the skill to make those numbers from one game.
While I think the Nuggets can take Game 5 in San Antonio tomorrow, as I see them as a much more professional group than in year’s past, I feel the series might be out of reach. The Nuggets surely are a team on the rise, but they are blatantly not ready to contend now in the wickedly competitive Western Conference.
11 Responses to “San Antonio at Denver: Game 4 Recap”
May.1 at 2:26 pm
Jnr says:
nene has come up with some stellar play of late, would be nice to see the nuggs make use of it game 5.
Somewhere deep inside i believe the nuggets have enough to win the next 2 games and make it a series, but the spurs are the spurs! ah well i enjoyed game 1
May.1 at 2:43 pm
Edown says:
Good stuff Cub
May.1 at 3:00 pm
me says:
one of the Nuggets problems is iverson taking a lot of bad shots off the pick and roll, just like in philly.
May.1 at 3:28 pm
allenp says:
The Nuggets are not getting much from their bench and they are playing Iverson way to many minutes. He’s both conserving energy and pushing to hard to break through. Karl needs something from his bench so that he get the kind of rest the Spurs get for their starters. Parker and Duncan sit no matter what the score is because Popovich trusts the rest of his team to do their jobs. JR Smith is killing the Nuggets on both sides of the ball and Kleiza has been fairly invisible. Reggie Evans hasn’t gotten a second of tick the entire series. And dude who complained about iverson’s shots is stupid. He makes way more good decisions than bad. The Spurs are just the more polished team.
May.1 at 6:02 pm
Drew says:
Thanks for the summary. I was at the game, and the Nuggets fell apart when Melo got his string of offensive fouls. The guy can’t get a call. Maybe it’s his rep after the fight, or maybe it’s his physical style. I know that every fan says that about his team, and I recognize that AI is a great flopper and the Nuggets were allowed to beat up poor Timmy and were not called for it. But Melo consistently gets hammered under the basket and Bruce Bowen is beating him up as bad as the Nugs are pounding Duncan. It’s ok not to call that and let the teams play. But I don’t understand calling Melo for 4 straight offensive fouls. The guy gets no respect.
May.1 at 6:24 pm
rob stewart says:
I don’t agree that A.I. is taking alot of bad shots. Last night he missed some layups that any coach should live with him taking. He did take a few difficult shots but all superstars are going to do that, especially if they take around 20 shots a night. If Iverson makes his layups we are looking at an entire different ball game. I love the Nuggets but I think tomorrow may be it. Go Warriors
May.1 at 6:48 pm
deestarbuckz says:
I feel you rob…. I was at the game too. Melo couldn’t get a call but watching his mid-range game is beautiful!
May.1 at 7:21 pm
deestarbuckz says:
And does anyone know what the hell the J.R. Smith was smoking before the playoffs?
May.2 at 12:49 am
Ben Osborne says:
Wanted more from this series.
May.2 at 6:37 am
Slobodan Chutzpah says:
I have been a big Iverson fan for a long time, but I’m starting to turn sour on him. He IS taking a lot of bad shots when there’s really no reason for it and he almost never passes the ball. Previously we attributed all of that on the 76ers sucking, but he has been surprisingly bad at adjusting his game. His offense nowadays mostly consists of overdribbling and shooting fall-away jumpers, which is part of the reason the Nuggets’ offense is so predictable. Yes, he can still do great things when he gets it going, but he’s taking a lot of (better) shots for other people off the table with his single-minded play, and he’s not doing much defensively (have you noticed, for instance, how he never fights through a screen?). Also, Denver really hasn’t been as close in this series as the points would suggest.
May.2 at 11:01 am
Cub Buenning says:
Each of the Nuggets’ 3 losses were a one-possession game in the final minutes….. maybe it is actually even closer.
Slobo, i will grant you, however, that the flow of the game (ie. ease of getting open shots) is completely in the Spurs favor. GIVE THE BALL TO NENE!