With the game tied, the ball in the hands of Los Angeles Clippers forward Tim Thomas and the final seconds of regulation ticking off the clock, Kenyon Martin reached in and literally wrestled the ball away from Thomas. The result was overtime, and the new identity of the Denver Nuggets was evident.
No longer are the Nuggets a pretty, offensive-minded team. Instead, toughness and physicality are becoming a trademark of this year's iteration of the Denver Nuggets.
When all was said and done, the Nuggets finished with a 113-103 overtime victory over the Clippers. The win was nothing short of remarkable considering Denver was playing without star Carmelo Anthony and was trailing by 18 points at the break, which makes Friday night's win the second largest halftime deficit a Nuggets team has overcome to win a game.
"It was tough," Denver starting point guard Anthony Carter said of the team's play in the first-half. "Everybody was kind of frustrated. We weren't making shots, but once we started making shots the defense came alive. Once we got the defense going it's hard to stop us then because we just played so hard.
"We're never going to quit. No matter what we're going to keep fighting."
"In the overtime I thought we had more energy than they had," Denver head coach George Karl said. "It turned out to be a hell of a win for us.
"The three things that hurt us in the first-half were turnovers, rebounds, and we were giving them more free throws. If we were going to win the game we were going to have to have a special defensive effort. I don't know how many easy shots they got in the second half, but I don't remember very many of them."
With former Nugget Marcus Camby watching in street clothes from the Clippers' bench, Nene showed he is more than ready to be the team's starting center finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Just how good was Nene? Well, the team was +30 when he was in the game, which is far-and-away the best mark of any player who participated in Friday night's contest.
"Nene is getting his rhythm back," Carter said. "He stepped up big tonight. He was dunking the ball like crazy, rebounding, defending guards on the wing. As long as he stays healthy we're going to be really good."
Nene was far from the only contributor, though. Dahntay Jones was huge off the bench scoring 13 points and going 11-12 from the free throw line. In addition to his aggressive offensive approach, Jones was most impressive on the defensive end. He is showing signs of developing into the Bruce Bowen or Raja Bell type of defender the Nuggets have been searching for now for some time.
"I just tried to provide a spark off the bench and use the defensive end to get us going offensively, and it worked," Jones said.
Allen Iverson started slow but finished with a flurry. He was good down the stretch and in overtime finishing the game with 25 points and five assists.
"I thought in overtime (Iverson) had more energy and more spirit than anybody on the court," Karl said.
Clippers point guard Baron Davis took a nasty fall in the first quarter of the game bruising his tailbone and did not return to the game. Asked after the game how much the loss of Davis impacted the outcome, Karl replied: "Baron's a great player, but how much rhythm and conditioning he has, I don't know. Don't forget, we didn't have Melo, either."
The good news for Denver is Carmelo Anthony will return from his two-game suspension on Saturday. The bad news is the Los Angeles Lakers are already asleep in their hotel room awaiting Denver's return for the home opener.
"When we put Melo back on the court our guys slot in a lot better into what they do and what they're capable of doing," Karl explained.
Should be an exciting night at Pepsi Center. Make sure to stay tuned to HOOPSWORLD for wall-to-wall coverage of Denver's home opener. Tip-off is slated for shortly after 7:00 pm MDT.
