![]() Johan Petro chipped in four points and six boards with Nene out. The Nuggets said he would be re-evaluated Thursday. Nene was having another quiet game, with two points and one rebound but four assists when he went out. He stayed down for a few minutes, then limped to the locker room, leaning on trainer Jim Gillen. ![]() He was working under the basket when Boozer's left leg slammed into his left knee. ![]() Nene sprained his left knee with five minutes left in the first half. His two three-pointers and two free throws highlighted a 12-4 run that sent the Jazz into the locker room with a 52-50 lead. Williams especially backed up his proclamations about being the top point guard in the NBA in the closing minutes of the first half when the Nuggets looked like they were about to take control early. Still, the Nuggets were finally able to capitalize once again on their athleticism and quickness, something that had been stifled since the series opener, in large part because of the many whistles that forced them to keep taking the ball out of bounds. He also put Ty Lawson on Williams, and although Lawson brought superior speed to the position, his helter-skelter play also produced some turnovers and poor possessions for Denver. So, the Nuggets turned to Billups, who has 138 games of playoff experience and was on one of the eight teams that overcame 3-1 playoff deficits (Detroit over Orlando in 2003).Īcting coach Adrian Dantley acknowledged the potential pitfalls to this strategy, saying Billups had to be careful not to foul Williams in transition or during his noteworthy coast-to-coast dashes. The Nuggets have been helpless to curb Williams, who is the first player since Magic Johnson 20 years ago to register at least 20 points and 10 assists in each of the first four games of a playoff series. The Nuggets led 86-81 after three quarters before pouring it on like they did in Game 1, a 126-113 win. ![]() He finished with three points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. But backup big man Kyrylo Fesenko, who had played so well in the absence of Andrei Kirilenko (calf) and Mehmet Okur (Achilles' tendon) for the last three games, all Utah wins, didn't do so well Wednesday. Williams said nothing would change no matter who was guarding him, and he was right, getting 34 points and 10 assists before fouling out in the final minute.Ĭarlos Boozer had 25 points and 16 boards for Utah. The Nuggets had lost eight straight elimination games, six since Anthony joined the team in 2003.Īfter infighting and insults dominated their locker room in the aftermath of their two losses at Salt Lake City, the Nuggets were a much more cohesive group even in the face of another outstanding performance by Utah's Deron Williams, who declared after shootaround that he was the best point guard in the NBA right now.Īfter watching him average 27.6 points and 12.0 rebounds over the first four games of the series, the Nuggets put Billups on Williams from the start instead of Aaron Afflalo. The hometown Nuggets, trying to become the first team in four years to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs, sent the series back to Salt Lake City for Game 6 on Friday night despite losing centre Nene to a sprained left knee in the first half.Īnthony had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Smith made four big three-pointers among his 17 points, and Chauncey Billups had 21 points for the Nuggets.ĭenver won a game in which it was facing elimination for the first time since the 1994 Western Conference semifinals against Utah. Smith found his long-range touch and the Denver Nuggets avoided elimination with a 116-102 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. Carmelo Anthony got the help he was begging for, J.R. ![]()
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