First Quarter
Last times these teams met, Cleveland took a solid 105-97 victory over Denver. Things have not changed for the Cavaliers, as they still hold the second spot, but they have changed for the Nuggets, as they dropped from fifth to ninth.
It started off really tense, as both teams did not want to stay behind the other. Nuggets held the lead most of the time, and the great shooting of Donte Greene and Anthony Parker was the main reason they were on their heels, not down by 20.
When Greene hit a three in somepoint, they took the lead, but it was not enough, as the first ended 29-28 for Denvers advantage.
Cavaliers top scorer : D.Greene 9 PTS 1 REB 1 AST
Nuggets top scorer : Nene 6 PTS 2 REB
Second Quarter
The second was just like the first. Nuggets were holding the lead and Cleveland was behind them, not letting them go away too far.
At some point, Denver took a 9 point lead, with the help of the veteran point guard Allen Iverson. Still, Donte Greene was stroking it and he was backed up by Parker, who always got the game back.
Some solid play was also shown from Thaddeus Young, who got eigth points in quick tempo, but the main reason of the Nuggets still keeping the lead was Aaron Afflalo, who hit a three in the end part.
But with Clevelands Baron Davis hitting a buzzer-beater two, the half ended 62-60, with both teams looking to go on a huge run.
Cavaliers top scorer : D.Greene 17 PTS 3 REB 1 AST 1 BLK
Nuggets top scorer : A.Afflalo 15 PTS
Third Quarter
Game picture was pretty much this : Cavaliers score, Denver score back, Cavaliers score, Denver score back. And that was for a quite a while, as both teams were killing it.
But I got to say, the main reason that Denver held a two point lead, was Nenes shooting.
I loved the part when Baron Davis dunked on Chandler, and the next play, AI threw a alley-oop to Chandler.
But with three minutes left, Denver went on a run, and the scoring changed pretty big. They got the lead to four, then to six and at some point, it was a double-digit game at 10.
With Eric Bledsoe hitting a final buzzer-beater from downtown, it ended 96-89, with Cleveland needing a big push.
Cavaliers top scorer : D.Greene 23 PTS 4 REB 2 AST 1 BLK
Nuggets top scorer : A.Iverson 19 PTS 2 AST 3 STL
Forth Quarter
With AI and Nene being on fire, Cavaliers needed somebody else to get the game back for them. And they had two unpredictable players off the bench, as both Manny Harris and Demar DeRozan started scoring and dominating again, and with their help, they got the game to a tie.
But as their play was not enough, Donte Greene started to contribute even more, to just nail them. Denvers AI was on fire at the end, showing his real self.
But with 20 seconds in, Cavaliers went closer and closer, but with the Nuggets great free throw shooters, they had no chance to take the win, as it ended 134-130.
Press Conference :
"Byron Scott, how do you feel about Manny Harris having 15 on the night, and all of his points were in the forth quarter?"
"It just tells me that I have to give him more minutes."
"Iverson, might I say, how does it feel to dominate like in the old days?"
"Well, I want to finish with a bang, so I am trying to take this team to the playoffs."
Conclusion :
I am doubting, but Denver needs to really pick it up if they want a chance in the playoffs. For Cleveland, it is safe to say that continuing their style of play, they will be holding the second spot in the league until the playoffs.
Box Scores :
Pictures
Create a Caption Contest !
Create a funny caption for this picture, winner gets 3 points and the contest winner will be announced in the game against Atlanta
Photo : Elton Brand putting his head in the net while Harris is dunking
sucks that you lost. Old AI with 9 steals.
This is weird as hell, but hey, my association is coming to be weird or smt. Turner was a surprise for me as well.
