[Rocky Mountain News]Streak ends as Nuggets fall in Houston

Streak ends as Nuggets fall in Houston

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News
April 16, 2005

So long, Seattle and Dallas. Hello, San Antonio.

Barring an unlikely turn of events in the next four days, the Denver Nuggets will be heading to San Antonio for the playoffs after a critical loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.

Playing without their most indispensable player, Marcus Camby, the Nuggets suffered a Texas-sized meltdown at the most inopportune time as their 10-game winning streak came to an end with a 115-87 defeat at the Toyota Center. Houston (49-31) moved one game in front of Denver (48-32) and into a tie with the Sacramento Kings in the jostling for the No. 5 and 6 seeds in the Western Conference.

Since the Rockets hold the head-to-head tiebreaker against Sacramento - as well as Denver - they currently claim the fifth seed. Both Houston and Sacramento would have to lose their final two games and the Nuggets win their final two for Denver to capture fifth place and a first-round meeting with the No. 4 Dallas Mavericks.

The sixth seed and a date with the No. 3 Seattle SuperSonics also is a long shot for Denver, which would have to win its final two games and then hope the wins and losses between Sacramento and Houston fall the right way. As things stand, the Nuggets would face the San Antonio Spurs in a two-versus-seven matchup. San Antonio, which trails Phoenix by two games for the top spot in the West, has won two NBA titles in the past six seasons and is considered the favorite again if Tim Duncan stays healthy.

''Right now we just want to finish the regular season off,'' Denver forward Carmelo Anthony said. ''Who we play in the playoffs, that don't really matter. We just want to get out there and play, compete and see what happens.''

The Nuggets play at Phoenix on Monday and conclude the season at home against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Rockets are done with their road schedule and close with games against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sonics, while the Kings play at Utah and at home against Phoenix.

''We want to win out and if we win out the rest of our games and we end up sixth, then that's the best we can do,'' Rockets forward Scott Padgett said. Riding their longest winning streak in 17 years, the Nuggets looked poised to win their 11th straight game after jumping out to a 14-point first-quarter lead.

The Rockets, however, regrouped thanks to strong performances from their reserves.

Former Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo came up big with 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots in 22 minutes. Mike James added 23 points, including a three-pointer that gave the Rockets a 24-point lead with 7 minutes, 44 seconds left in the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Nuggets were saddled with their most lopsided loss of the season and only their third defeat in 27 games since the All-Star break.

Asked if a bad game was inevitable given his team's extended run of success, coach George Karl said, ''I thought it was supposed to come about a month ago.''

The loss emphasized Camby's importance to Denver's success. Without their leading rebounder and shot-blocker, the Nuggets had all kinds of problems controlling the boards and getting out on the fast break. Denver scored only eight points in transition in the final three quarters and were out rebounded 44-30. When Mutombo was on the floor, the Rockets outscored the Nuggets 61-31.

''Yao wasn't their best big guy tonight,'' Karl said. ''Mutombo was a much better player than he was.''

Tracy McGrady wasn't bad, either.

The five-time All-Star missed seven of his first nine shots before finding a groove midway through the second quarter. McGrady finished with 32 points on 10-of-21 shooting, including six-of-seven from three-point range.

''I should be given a lot of responsibility (for the loss),'' Karl said. ''It's the first time I've played Houston and I misread 'em. I thought they were a little more of a balanced team and the truth of the matter is they're McGrady's team.''

If the Rockets go as McGrady goes, the Nuggets go when Camby goes. Denver fell to 5-9 when Camby does not play, and that likely will be the case again Monday against Phoenix. Camby was not optimistic about his chances against the Suns as he tries to get healthy for the playoffs.

''I'm going to be smart,'' he said. ''Definitely thinking about the team, but I have to worry about myself. If we locked into that seventh (seed), I'm not going to try to be no hero and go out there just to go out there and try to play.

''Hopefully I can feel better in a couple days. If not, then save it for the playoffs.''

Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin also is limping to the finish line. Martin landed hard on his chronically sore left knee at the end of the second quarter and started the second half on the bench. He played 14 minutes in the second half and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Despite his production, Martin said he might miss Monday's game against the Suns.

''I'm not trying to be a hero, but if I can go, I'm going to go,'' he said. ''I'm not going to leave my team stranded.''

Despite missing Camby in the middle, the Nuggets got off to a quick start, jumping out to an 18-4 lead with a 14-0 run less than six minutes into the game.

Houston was able to do damage control, pulling to 34-24 at the end of the first quarter, which qualified as a moral victory. Denver had averaged 36.7 points in the first quarter of its previous four games.

The Nuggets could not protect the lead, however, as the Houston bench brought the Rockets back.

Mutombo provided a flashback to his days in Denver by grabbing nine rebounds in the second quarter, including five offensive boards, and made 6-of-7 free throws, while Padgett scored eight points in a 2:44 span that got the Rockets even at 39.

McGrady took over from there, scoring 10 points in the final 5:05 of the half to give Houston a 56-49 lead at the break. It was the first time in 11 quarters that the Nuggets found themselves trailing in a game.

The Houston onslaught continued after halftime as the Rockets opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run. The Nuggets got as close as 79-70 late in the quarter but Houston put the game away with a 16-2 run in the first 4:16 of the fourth.

''It's over,'' Martin said. ''We had a good run. We lost. Bottom line, they beat us. We wanted to win, we just didn't get it done. They were playing for something, we were playing for something. They got it done.''

ETC: Nuggets guard Greg Buckner returned after sitting out two games with a broken bone in his right hand. Wearing a protective wrap on the hand, Buckner scored six points and grabbed five rebounds. ... Anthony suffered through one of his tougher nights of the season. He missed 13 of 17 shots and grabbed only two rebounds. He finished with 16 points, thanks to an 8-for-9 night at the free-throw line. ... After trailing by 14 points early in the game, Houston outscored Denver by 42 points after the 6:40 mark of the first quarter.

llopezaa@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5388

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nuggets/article/0,1299,DRMN_20_3707241,00.html

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3138646

More quotes from Karl in the Houston Chronicle (I didn't feel like opening another thread, the above will probably be linked again):

Soon Mike James began lighting up the Denver defense on his way to 23 points. Scott Padgett, who had missed his first three shots, dropped in three of his next four shots.And when Tracy McGrady lived up to Denver coach George Karl's pregame praise --- "I think he's better than Kobe (Bryant) and I think he's better than (Kevin) Garnett." --- the Rockets rolled.

"We did a decent job of containing Tracy McGrady for a long period," Karl said. "Then he blew up. We didn't make him make tough shots. Most of his shots, he was in control. He was dictating. And he killed us with his playmaking."

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Makes me wonder how he would have defensed Tracy in a rematch. Tracy can beat most doubleteams but Karl is an expert at neutralizing top players of other teams.