Denver Vs Sacramento: The First 4 GamesGame 1: Denver roll past Kings
Denver had a huge 4th quarter to defeat the Kings 85-72. The game was all tied up at the end of the third at 54-54, but Melo and Shannon came to the party. They ended up with 28 and 18 respectively. Chris Andersen was the performer of the game, picking up 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Ty Maximilian scored 10 points and dished off 4 dimes.
For Sacramento, Brook Lopex was their best player with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Beno Udrih was the high point man with 20 points, along with 9 assists to be just shy of his double-double. Kevin Martin had 19, while John Salmons chipped in with 11.
It was a promising start to Denver's series, with Melo and the Birdman both firing in this first game.
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SAC@DEN
DEN: 85 (Anthony 28, Brown 18, Andersen 14)
SAC: 72 (Udrih 20, Martin 19, Lopez 13)
Sprite Performer of the Game: Chris Andersen 14 points 15 rebounds 3 assists 3 blocks 1 steal
Rebounds
DEN: Andersen 15
SAC: Lopez 13
Assists
DEN: Parker, Maximilian 4
SAC: Udrih 9
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Game 2: Kings stun Nuggets in Denver
The Sacramento Kings have pulled off a massive upset by downing the Denver Nuggets 82-74. Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih both had massive scoring nights with 22 and 21 respectively. Udrih once again narrowly missed out on a double-double with 9 assists. John Salmons had 13, while Brook Lopez was the Performer of the Game. He had an incredible night with 16 points, 19 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. He absolutely killed Denver on the offensive glass.
For the Nuggets, Carmelo Anthony (25) and Shannon Brown (21) both got 20+ points. However, there wasn't much help from the rest of their team, with Ty Maximilian the next highest scorer with 7. Chris Andersen once again had a strong game, leading his team in rebounds (10) and assists (7).
This game could serve as a good wakeup call for Denver, who are the overwhelming favourites in this series.
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SAC@DEN
SAC: 82 (Martin 22, Udrih 21, Lopez 16)
DEN: 74 (Anthony 25, Brown 21, Maximilian 7)
Sprite Performer of the Game: Brook Lopez 16 points 19 rebounds 3 blocks
Rebounds
SAC: Lopez 19
DEN: Andersen 10
Assists
SAC: Udrih 9
DEN: Andersen 7
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Game 3: Kings take series lead in emphatic win
Despite a massive game by Carmelo Anthony, the Sacramento Kings have taken a 2-1 series lead with a 94-80 win over Denver. Anthony scored 48 on the night to lead all scorers, but once again, he had little help with Shannon Brown (13) the only other double figure scorer. The Kings however had a nicely distributed scoring performance, with all 5 starters getting double figures.
Kevin Martin led the way with 23 points to go with his 12 rebounds. Beno Udrih had 19, while Garcia and Salmons both recorded 14 each. The Performer of the Game though was once again Brook Lopez. He is creating nightmares for Denver on the offensive glass. He ended up with 17 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks.
The Nuggets might have to make a serious adjustment to control Brook Lopez in the next game, otherwise they risk going down 3-1.
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DEN@SAC
SAC: 94 (Martin 23, Udrih 19, Lopez 17)
DEN: 80 (Anthony 48, Brown 13, Andersen 6)
Sprite Performer of the Game: Brook Lopez 17 points 17 rebounds 5 blocks
Rebounds
SAC: Lopez 17
DEN: Andersen 9
Assists
SAC: Udrih 9
DEN: Maximilian 6
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Game 4: Denver make adjustment to level series
It took a starting lineup change, but Denver managed to blow-out the Kings in game 4. The final score was 97-83. Shaquille O'Neal started at centre, while Chris Andersen was shifted to power forward. This created a lethal combination as Shaq had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while the Birdman came up with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. With his new role on the bench, Ty Maximilian was the top scorer of the game with 30 points, while Melo had a quieter night with 13.
For the Kings, Kevin Martin had a big night with 28 points, while Udrih (17), Garcia (16) and Lopez all registered double figures. The story of the game however was how Brook Lopez was restricted by the Big Diesel. He only managed to get 6 boards in the whole game.
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DEN@SAC
DEN: 97 (Maximilian 30, Andersen 20, O'Neal 18)
SAC: 83 (Martin 28, Udrih 17, Garcia 16)
Sprite Performer of the Game: Chris Andersen 20 points 6 rebounds 3 blocks
Rebounds
DEN: O'Neal 11
SAC: Lopez, Martin 6
Assists
DEN: Billups 8
SAC: Udrih 7
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Well it looks like the Kings' reputation as giant killers hasn't gone away just yet. So far it's been a hard fought series. Can Denver claim it in 6? Will the Kings claim it in 6? Or will this one go down to the wire?
The concluding games will be up soon
I thought that 2K10 had a few too many trades in its association mode, but Live 10 has proven to be far worse. Just from looking at the screenshots on this page and the last, I noticed that Oklahoma City and Indiana have completely revamped rosters. Neither teams have any of their current star players, which is pretty disappointing.
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