No Ron Artest. No Brad Miller. No Beno Udrih for 8 out of 9 games. The Kings were desperately shorthanded against the Denver Nuggets, a high scoring, high altitude team running on a 9-game home winning streak, looking to clinch a playoff spot in the stacked Western Conference. It wouldn't even matter that they were missing starting power forward Kenyon Martin, due to suspension. The Kings had one of their most difficult challenges yet ahead of them, and it would take their best effort without 3 of their starters.
1ST QUARTER
Rookie Spencer Hawes would get his second start at center, his first at Memphis. John Salmons would also get his first start in a while too. He posted his first and only triple double in former Philly teammate Allen Iverson's Denver debut. He came pretty close to another one. The Kings jumped out to an 11-6 lead, all before the Nuggets jumped on a 16-0 run. The Kings couldn't do anything to stop Linas Kleiza, who hit the buzzer beating shot in Sacramento in December after trailing for most of that game. He was explosive with 14 points in the quarter. Carmelo Anthony also had 10 points. The Kings struggled with missed shots and turnovers, and it looked like they would have a long night as they trailed 25-34.
2ND QUARTER
The scoring continued for Denver, but the Kings fought back to eventually take the lead at 46-45. The Kings offense was soaring. They had 19 assists on 24 shots. Kevin Martin, playing with the flu, had 17 points while Francisco Garcia had 14 points. Point guard Anthony Johnson even got a rare dunk. The Nuggets staryed in the game as they trailed 59-56 at halftime.
Nuggets' head coach George Karl was worried about the game. He said, "I told 'Melo during the first half when they came back and took the lead and the momentum was going their way, I told him I didn't feel good about this game."
3RD QUARTER
The Kings kept up the attack to put up 88 points in the and it looked like they would be on their way to a well earned win if they kept up the attack, led by Martin's 26 points and Garcia's 20 points. Allen Iverson was quiet offensively for the night with only 10 points, but he was on the prowl defensively trying to force turnovers. Melo had 26 points but this would be nowhere near his total as he would lead the Nuggets rally as they were down 88-79.
4TH QUARTER
The Kings jumped to a 10 point lead early in the quarter. By then, Melo had enough of losing and started to light it up. He scored 21 out of second career best 47 points in the 4th quarter, his second 40 point game of the year (last time 49). He scored 21 of the last 25 Nuggets points and 15 of the last Nuggets points. The Kings however never let go of the lead as free throws would be the only thing that would keep them in the game. The last 8 points were all free throws, with Martin and Garcia going 8/8, 4 free throws each. J.R. Smith went for the game-tying 3 pointer at the buzzer, but Mikki Moore put a hand in his face and the Kings upset another playoff hopeful.
HIGHLIGHTS
Team High = *
Game High = **
KINGS
Martin: 36 pts*, 4 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast, 6 TO
Garcia: 29 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, stl, 5 TO** (bench)
Moore: 23 pts, 10 reb*, blk*, ast
Salmons: 9 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl**
Hawes: 8 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl
Johnson: 5 pts, 8 ast*, reb, 4 TO
Shelden Williams: 8 pts, 5 reb (bench)
Quincy Douby: 0 pts, 4 reb (3 off.*), 2 ast (bench)
Injured: Beno Udrih PG, Ron Artest SF, Brad Miller C
NUGGETS
Anthony: 47 pts**, 11 reb (5 off.), 3 stl*, 2 ast
Kleiza: 28 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 4 TO*
Marcus Camby: 4 pts, 14 reb**, 11 ast**, blk, 4 TO*
Eduardo Najera: 8 pts, 9 reb (5 off.**), 2 blk**, 2 stl, ast (bench)
Iverson: 13 pts, 6 ast, 2 reb, blk, stl
Smith: 13 pts, 3 ast, 2 reb, 4 TO* (bench)
Anthony Carter: 2 pts, 5 ast, 2 reb (1 off.)
Suspended: Kenyon Martin
For a team decimated by injuries, again, the Kings feel a mile high after pulling off another upset against a team pushing for a playoff spot, the first being Houston. They finally got vengance against a team they played well with before. It's nothing new for the Kings though, playing the role of spoiler. The list of teams that the Kings have beaten that are looking for a playoff spot in the West, every team except for the Suns. If they have 36 wins, hurt by injuries all year. It makes me wonder how many wins they might have if Bibby didn't miss 35 games, Artest didn't miss 20 games before missing this one and leading scorer Martin didn't miss 19 games. At this point, it doesn't matter. It actually makes them better for next year.
Without Bibby getting hurt, Udrih never would have had his breakout year. Without Artest and Martin missing time, Salmons and Garcia wouldn't have had their breakouts as well. Although Salmons has faded away from how he performed as a starter, Garcia has proven to be the go to guy off of the bench and a clutch player after hitting 3 game winners.
The Nuggets are beating themselves up with Iverson saying, "I'm definitely concerned if we're going to play like this. We've got to play better teams than them down the stretch. I'm confident, but, yeah, I'm concerned."
They'll have to be concerned. They have 4 away games, including the Warriors and Jazz and a home game against the cooling Rockets. The loss helps the Spurs clinch a playoff spot and gives the Warriors a chance to re-take the 8th spot against the Hornets. There were major consequences to losing this game, and now they're feeling the pressure.
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