Rockets vs. Nuggets According to the Rocky Mountain Times

The Denver Post had the AP article. No need to post that.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_5277819,00.html

Nuggets fall to .500 with loss to Rockets

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News
January 12, 2007

George Karl bowed his head in frustration yet again in this most trying time of his coaching career.

"This whole situation,’’ the Nuggets boss said of how the suspension to Carmelo Anthony has been hard on him.

Once again, the Nuggets were close. And once again they fell.

The Nuggets lost 90-86 to Houston on Friday night at the Pepsi Center. It was their seventh loss in eight games, and there are still three games left before Anthony returns from a 15-game penalty for fighting.

But there was one big bright spot on Friday. In his first game since the Nuggets acquired him up Thursday from Milwaukee, point guard Steve Blake scored all of his season-high 13 points in the second half.

Blake looked good alongside guard Allen Iverson, who scored a game-high 28 points. Blake handed out six assists and shot 5-of-8 in 29 minutes.

"It felt great,’’ said Blake, acquired for guard Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge. "I'm happy these guys I had around me are going to make me a better player. I'm looking forward to playing more with these guys."

It looked as if Blake’s debut might produce what Karl said would have been a "hell of a win.’’ The Nuggets led 83-77 after center Marcus Camby, who tied his career high with 24 rebounds, hit a 19-footer with 3:59 remaining.

But the Rockets, who had led by nine in the third quarter, went on a 9-0 run to take an 86-83 lead on guard Rafer Alston’s reverse layup with 1:37 left.

Iverson tied it on a three-pointer with 1:01 left. But forward Shane Battier, who scored a team-high 25 points, gave the Rockets the lead for good at 89-86 on a three-pointer with 46.7 seconds remaining.

Blake and Yakhouba Diawara missed three-pointers for Denver. Rockets guard Luther Head then wrapped up the game by hitting the second of two foul shots with 2.1 seconds left.

"It was frustrating just not to get the win,’’ Iverson said. "We had an opportunity to get the win, and we just didn't get it done.’’

Iverson at least could feel good about Blake’s showing.

"He's definitely a bright spot,’’ Iverson said. "He adds a lot of toughness to our team. His defense is underrated. He's a good defensive player. He can shoot the basketball and he makes smart decisions on the basketball court. Just seeing the way he played, being it was his first game and not being familiar with everything, it makes you feel good about the future and how good we can be."

As for the near future, the Nuggets (17-17), who dropped to .500 for the first time since they entered Nov. 21 at 4-4, are trying to win a game without Anthony. Before his return, the Nuggets, in third place in the Northwest Division and eighth in the Western conference, play at Portland, home to Cleveland and at Houston.

"We can get it done with the personnel we have,’’ Iverson said. "It's just tough right now. Maybe at the end of the season we'll be laughing about these games right here, especially the ones at home we should have won.’’

Karl, whose Nuggets are 4-8 during Anthony’s suspension, regularly has said his team is giving maximum effort. A prime example is Camby, who is playing with a broken right ring finger that is not fully healed and Friday morning missed shootaround due to illness.

But no one could tell. Camby, who also grabbed 24 rebounds Nov. 18, 2005 at Seattle, had 19 defensive boards, tying the NBA season-high set by Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor in a Dec. 29 triple-overtime win over the Lakers.

"I tell Marcus all the time, he’s one of the few guys in basketball who doesn’t have to score a lot of points to be an MVP-type player,’’ Karl said of Camby, who scored just seven.

Camby helped hold Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo to just 10 rebounds. It was Mutombo’s ninth-straight double figure rebounding outing, but he had averaged 14.9 in his previous seven games.

The Nuggets, getting solid defense from Diawara, also held Rockets star guard Tracy McGrady to 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting. It only seemed as if McGrady was being guarded at the free-throw line as he shot two-of-nine.

The problem for the Nuggets was shooting. With guard J.R. Smith, who started in his second game back after serving a 10-game suspension, going just 4-of-17, Denver shot a season-low 34.8 percent.

"Nobody is shooting the ball with a level of confidence right now,’’ said Karl, whose team is 10-10 at home, its worst Pepsi Center start since beginning 6-14 in 2002-03. "Just keep plugging away. That we had a chance to win a game shooting 34 percent is pretty incredible.’’

Well, perhaps Blake is shooting with confidence. After missing his only shot of the first half, Blake made five straight in the third and fourth quarters, including a trio of three-pointers.

"There wasn't any adjustment, just basic, simple basketball,’’ said Blake, who watched a tape of Denver’s game Wednesday against San Antonio after not having had a practice or a shootaround to prepare. "That's what coach Karl says. If you know the game and understand the game, you'll be fine.

"I definitely want to get everyone involved first. Guys were finding me for those jump shots. I wasn't forcing anything. Throughout my career, I've been shooting the ball pretty well, and I'm going to continue to do that."

Blake, who played last season for the Trail Blazers, returns to Portland on Sunday for the first time since he was traded to Milwaukee last July. Karl hopes he has more games like Friday’s in him.

"We would take that from (Blake) every night if we could,’’ Karl said.

Karl needs anything he can get for the Nuggets to make it through the final three games of Anthony’s exile.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5125