Nuggets Click on All Cylinders and Handle Heat

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 99-82 Tuesday night, in a lopsided contest similar to their first meeting.

The first game was won by the Nuggets 108-97, and Denver handled the Heat in similar fashion again in this game.

The Nuggets’ last game was against the New Jersey Nets, in which Denver was outscored 114-70. For the past three days Nuggets fans were worried and apprehensive whether the Nuggets would rebound from the devastating loss.

After three days off, the Denver Nuggets did exactly that, dominating in a game that coming in, looked like a close game on paper.

From the opening tip, the Nuggets looked like a team that was determined to pull out a win against a tough opponent on the road.

In the first quarter, the defensive intensity was up across the board for Denver. Carmelo Anthony drew the defensive assignment of covering Shaun “The Matrix” Marion. Early in the game, Marion was passed the ball in the mid-post, drove the ball, was bodied-up by 'Melo, and got the ball ripped by Anthony in a great defensive play.

A few plays later, Dahntay Jones had an excellent play on Dwyane Wade. He poked the ball off of Wade’s knee, out of bounds. At first, the refs got the play right and called it Nuggets' ball. After deliberation, the possession was given to the Heat, to Denver's chagrin.

Chauncey drove the lane and dished to fellow players many times in the first. Good, quick passing, which created easy drives and quick points, led the Nuggets to one of the best quarters of the season, as they raced to a 32-20 lead after one.

The two leading players of the first half were Kenyon “K-Mart” Martin, and JR Smith.

Martin, with an array of fadeaway jumpers and alley-oops, was huge in this game. K-Mart ended up with 18 points and 10 rebounds, the leading player in a Nuggets win.

JR “June Bug” Smith was witnessed dancing all over defenders and very active on the defensive end also. He had a halfcourt pass to the “Birdman” Chris Andersen, and a breathtaking bounce pass to Nene, both for easy dunks.

The Nuggets played unselfish basketball, including a 10-0 run in a three minute span, and were up 56-40 at the half.

The second half was a different story. Miami outscored Denver by seven in the third period, and brought the game as close as five with nine minutes remaining in the contest.

However, “Mr. Big-Shot” Billups hit two three-pointers in a row that both put daggers into the Heat and gave the Nuggets a 97-79 lead with little over three minutes left.

Overall, the Denver Nuggets needed to come out and play a sound game against a very competitive East team.

The Nuggets did so, and won the game to go to 35-17, to pull within one game of the Spurs at 35-15. It was a hard-fought victory, and a game that needed to be won by the Denver Nuggets.

The Weave: Carmelo Anthony had a quiet game with 19 points, and nine rebounds in the win. Chauncey Billups had a great game shooting (10-17), and led the Nuggets with 23 points. He added five assists.

Wade tore up the Nuggets’ defense going for 33 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Denver has gone to 2-0 against the Heat with one game remaining. Denver improved to 3-1 on their current season-long eight-game road trip. The next biggest test comes tomorrow night against Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.