Nuggets-Bulls: Chicago Blows Away Denver in the Windy City

In a game in which Denver dominated early, Chicago kept fighting back.

The Nuggets led 31-21 after the first period. The lead came from solid team play, good passing, and defense.

However, the Nuggets let the Bulls back into the game and it was tied 54-54 at half.

In the second half, Denver was forced to play small when Kenyon Martin left the game with back spasms—a reoccurring injury that has been ailing him for the past three games—and Chicago took advantage.

At one point, the Nuggets had JR Smith, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Linas, and Nene on the court. That's right Denver fans—three guards, a 3-playing-the-4, and the starting center as a lineup.

When Chicago's Joakim Noah plays well against it, you know it's not a good lineup. Noah, who averages 5.4 points per game, ended with 13. Many came against the Nuggets' small squad.

The big story of this game however, was the refs. They took over and called so many fouls, it resembled an international game. The men could not play basketball, which no one, including the NBA brass, wants.

The Nuggets were outscored from the line by 17—the exact amount that they lost by. To the Bulls' credit, they shot phenomenally well at the line at 91.4 percent. Yet, the game was lopsided as the Bulls shot 34 free-throws to the Nuggets 21.

Ticky-tack, light, or no-contact fouls were called all night, in Chicago's favor.

Melo' was called for a shooting foul when his hands were straight up in the air. The refs blew the whistle on Chauncey very late when the player he was guarding fell to the ground.

Even with the uneven foul calls, the Nuggets should have won the game.

They came out of the half flat. Too many jumpers were taken instead of driving the ball to the hoop. Martin's presence was definitely missed.

After the loss, the Nuggets fell to 5-2 on their current season-long eight game road trip. If they can go get one in an early game Sunday against Milwaukee, the trip will be a resounding success.

The Weave: Denver's defense struggled, giving up 116 points to the Bulls.

During their previous three-game winning streak, they had only given up an average of 81.3 per game....Ben Gordon was huge with a game high 37 points. The Nuggets' high man was Billups with 25.

The Nuggets had 18 turnovers, shot horribly from the free-throw line, and scored under 100. Even with this loss though, Denver is 21-3 against sub .500 teams—the best record in the NBA.