Nuggets-Suns: A Tale of Two Halves, and Two Streaks

The Denver Nuggets came into Monday night's game a Mile-High, winning their last five in a row. All five came against sub-.500 teams, and most were at home, but wins are top priority for Denver during the stretch run. The Nuggets need the home court advantage when it comes to playoff time. 

The Phoenix Suns entered the matchup on a four-game win streak of their own, last winning in a 32 point blow-out against the Wizards in Washington. The Suns are in ninth place in the West, still alive for a playoff bid, but just barely.

Phoenix started the game as though they understood what was on the line. Denver on the other hand were flat. The Suns came out to an early 10 point lead in the first quarter, and held on to the lead throughout the first half.

The Nuggets were plain out-played in the first half. The were out rebounded, and out hustled, mainly by Louis Amundson. Amundson, the backup power forward for the Suns, finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots, and were all over the court in the first half. 

Denver though, did not quit, and did not let Phoenix pull away.

With 44.9 seconds left in the first half, the Nuggets were down 10 points. Carmelo drove the ball, scored a floating lay-up and was fouled. He missed the and-one, but Leinas Kleiza got the rebound, and the Nuggets scored again.

Denver then stopped Phoenix from scoring, and Anthony Carter threw a laser pass to Klieza, who caught, dribbled once, and took a 35-foot hook shot that banked in before the buzzer.

All that magic luckily brought Denver back to 60-63 at the half, which was a much closer scoreline than the game had been up to that point.

The second half was completely different for the Nuggets squad, as they came out of the break on fire.

Denver scored six straight in the third quarter, a 13-0 run including the end of first half wildness. Phoenix was outscored by seven points in the third quarter, and Denver led 92-88 after three.

The fourth quarter was a different story altogether.

The game continued on its way with physical, sometimes sloppy play, then, with 7:40 left in the game, a whistle blew from out of no where. Just like that, Nene was ejected from the game.

Originally, fellow Nuggets' fans and I missed the contact and were blown away by Nene's ejection. Nene is a powerful center, but is soft spoken, and rarely argues with referees.

When Altitude showed the replay, it was easy to see that Nene was fed up with Amundson's active, grabby defense.

Nene dropped a head but to Amundon's forehead, which was originally missed, then elbowed Amundson in the face. The foul was called a Flagrant Two, and the Nuggets were without Nene for the remainder of the game.

The contest became very tight down the strech, and the Nuggets held off the Suns until four minutes left in the game. From there, the scoring was back and forth, during which J.R. Smith hit a huge three-pointer, and Melo' had a great rebound and score.

The game came down to the final shot as, with 3.9 seconds left, Denver found themselves down by three. The ball was inbounded to Carmelo, who was double teamed, yet still managed to get off a decent shot that veered left. No good. Suns win 118-115

While the win was huge for Phoenix, the loss was not devestating for Denver, who play New Orleans on Wednesday. The Suns, now 39-31, are three games back from the eighth and final spot in the West.

Denver, at 45-26, are tied with New Orleans, which makes Wednesday night's game more important, and a game behind Houston. The Nuggets remain a game ahead of Utah and Portland also.

The Weave

Right after Nene's ejection, Bill Spooner, the referee that ejected Denver's starting center, got in Nene's face and bellied-up to the 6'11" Brazilian. The move was wrong on the referee's part because he seemed to entice Nene into more physical contact, something Nene would have been suspended for. The NBA should look at this tape and Spooner should be suspended, or at least docked pay.

In the game against the Suns, Carmelo Anthony had 29, and Chauncey Billups added 20. For Phoenix, Grant Hill led with 23, and Jason Richardson scored 22 points. The Nuggets were out rebounded by 13, 46-33, but had less turnovers than the Suns, 20-15.

The Nuggets' next game, on Wednesday, is even more important because the Nuggets have already lost two to the Hornets, and need to stay ahead of them in the standings to ensure home court in the playoffs.