San Antonio (23-7) at Denver (14-16)

[ducks]

San Antonio (23-7) at Denver (14-16)
Preview - Box Score - Recap
Game Info: 9:00 pm EST Sat Dec 31, 2005
TV: KRRT, ALT Add to Calendar
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The only breaks the Denver Nuggets can catch lately are injury related.

Minus Marcus Camby, Denver has to face the best team in the Western Conference as it tries to avoid a third straight loss when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets have lost six of eight, including the first two on a season-high six-game homestand. The news grew worse Thursday when the team learned Camby would be sidelined for 1-to-2 weeks, and maybe longer.

Camby, the NBA's leading rebounder with 12.9 per game, underwent successful surgery on his broken right pinkie. He injured the finger against Golden State on Monday.

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"I was trying to persuade the doctor that I could keep playing with it," he said. "He was like, 'No.' I would risk further injury to myself and neither one of us would have wanted that."

The injury limited Camby to six minutes on Tuesday in a 108-106 loss to Philadelphia, and he was unable to play on Thursday as the Nuggets lost 112-105 to Seattle.

Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points in that defeat, getting held to two in the final 18 minutes. He's averaging 31.2 points in his last 11 games.

The Nuggets are 14-16, the same record they had through 30 games last season. That team went 35-17 the rest of the way and made the playoffs under Karl, who knows the Nuggets have to stay afloat in a tough Western Conference to make another run.

"I think a big part of basketball is perseverance and that's where we're at," Karl said. "I mean, we're not going to win 10 in a row, but we can persevere through to win enough games to stay in the hunt and stay in the fight, and I think we're going to do that."

San Antonio is 17-4 since Nov. 25, but every loss has been on the road.

The Spurs have won two straight since falling to Detroit in a rematch of the NBA Finals, beating Indiana 99-86 on Tuesday and routing New Orleans 111-84 on Thursday.

That marked the Spurs' largest margin of victory this season, and came just 11 days after they were embarrassed by the Hornets in an 89-76 loss.

"It was an unspoken motivation for us against them tonight," said Michael Finley, who scored 18 points and made all four of his 3-point attempts. "They beat us pretty well at their place, and we just wanted to establish ourselves early and often, and I think we did that."

Tim Duncan added 17 points and Manu Ginobili had 14 in his second game back after missing eight with a sprained right foot.

"I am not trying to rush anything right now," Ginobili said. "In the first quarter, I pushed my offensive (play). I just wanted to see where I am at now."

Ginobili has struggled in 11 career games against the Nuggets, averaging 10.1 points while shooting 32.2 percent from the field.

San Antonio is 19-6 on the road and 43-10 overall against Denver since 1994-95.

STANDINGS (through Dec. 29): Spurs - 1st place, Southwest Division. Nuggets - 2nd place (tied), 2 GB, Northwest Division.

PROBABLE STARTERS: Spurs - F Bruce Bowen, F Duncan, C Rasho Nesterovic, G Tony Parker, G Finley. Nuggets - F Kenyon Martin, F Anthony, C Francisco Elson, G Greg Buckner, G Andre Miller.

TEAM LEADERS: Spurs - Duncan, 20.8 ppg and 11.5 rpg; Parker, 6.3 apg. Nuggets - Anthony, 24.8 ppg; Camby, 12.9 rpg; Miller, 8.6 apg.

SEASON SERIES: Spurs, 1-0.

LAST MEETING: Nov. 1; Spurs, 102-91. At San Antonio, Parker and Finley combined to score 25 of their 42 points in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs overcame a five-point deficit to win their season opener.

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Spurs - 9-6 on the road; Nuggets - 9-6 at home.

Updated on Friday, Dec 30, 2005 7:44 pm EST

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Team Comparison
Team Record Standings PF PA Road/Home Streak L10
San Antonio 23-7 1st Southwest / 1st West 96.5 90.0 Road 9-6 Won 2 7-3
Denver 14-16 2nd Northwest / 9th West 99.6 98.5 Home 9-6 Lost 2 3-7
San Antonio Notes
Dec 30 F Bruce Bowen scored just three points on a dismal 0-of-4 from the field. ... San Antonio outscored the Hornets 56-34 in points in the paint. ... The Spurs shot a season-high 58.9 percent (43-of-73) from the field and also a season-best 73 percent (11-of-15) from beyond the arc. ... San Antonio's 11 3-pointer was the most on the season. ... F Tim Duncan had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.


Denver Notes
Dec 30 The Nuggets had 25 fast-break points in the first half but only four in the second half. ... Denver made just 5-of-21 3-pointers. G Greg Buckner, who never has been known for his shooting, attempted seven, while making two. ... F Eduardo Najera had four blocks in 19 minutes off the bench. ... Denver held a 50-34 advantage in points in the paint. ... The Nuggets played without C Marcus Camby, who underwent successful surgery to insert pins into his fractured right pinky Thursday.

[TDMVPDPOY]

easy win for the spurs

[ducks]

I am not too confident on this one
beings it is new years eve and it is on the road

[Spurologist]

melo'wned + no camby = spurs win.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Next!

[Despot]

So, when does Karl get fired???

[Pistons < Spurs]

easy win for the spurs



sounds like a jinx to me!

[z0sa]

Spurs should pull every win off.. spurs should be 82-0. Everyone knows that isn't gonna happen. I believe the Spurs will win this due to Denver being pretty much injury plagued and our defense will keep Carmelo from going too crazy.

[FreshPrince22]

Go Nuggets!! I mean.... errr Spurs... yea :blah

[midgetonadonkey]

Bowen usually does a good job holding Carmelo to a less than average night. If they can just contain Boykins, this should be a nice win.

[Warlord23]

^^ True, Oompa Loompa has been a major threat for us

[Bruno]

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nba/article/0,2777,DRMN_23922_4354502,00.html

Anthony ready for a challenge
Forward gears up for strong defense of Spurs' Bowen

Print By Paul Willis, Special to the News
December 31, 2005

While few expected the Denver Nuggets would carry a sub-.500 mark into the new year, one can only imagine where they would be without Carmelo Anthony.
The third-year forward has eclipsed the 20-point barrier in each of the past 14 games and has pushed his scoring average to 24.8. But if Anthony is going to keep his streak alive tonight against the San Antonio Spurs (7, Pepsi Center, Altitude), he'll have to do it against a defender that has given him, and many others, fits throughout his career: Bruce Bowen.

"The challenge is always good going against Bowen," said Anthony, whose streak began after returning from a sprained left ankle that kept him out for one game and most of another. "He makes you bring out your best. He's a quick defender, good hands, good feet, so I'm going to have to try to get some easy ones on him."

While the Nuggets (14-16) aim to halt a three-game losing streak on their home floor, Anthony will be trying to prove that his offensive game has risen to the point he can score against Bowen, widely considered one of the top defensive small forwards in the NBA, but one who Anthony began to figure out in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The Spurs (23-7) eliminated the Nuggets from the playoffs in five games last season, but Anthony averaged 19.2 points a game in the series, 1.6 below his season average.

With Anthony's recent surge - he is averaging 29.6 points during the streak - Bowen will prove an adequate measuring stick to how far Anthony's game has elevated.

"It'll be exciting," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Melo's been incredible, and through this struggle, he's shown tremendous professionalism and a star mentality to take responsibility. I thought last year in the playoffs, every game he got a little smarter and a little better against Bowen. This will be an opportunity to go against a great defender."

Anthony's streak has transcended the 14 games, as he has recorded at least 20 points in 21 of his past 23 games, including Nov. 28 against the New Jersey Nets when he turned the left ankle and left after 1 minute, 30 seconds with two points.

His three 40-point performances, including a career-best 45 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, are the most in a season by a Nuggets player since Michael Adams did it five times during the 1990-91 season.

"I just think he's been more aggressive," Nuggets point guard Andre Miller said. "He's knowing when to score, he's mixing up his shot with drives and getting to foul line. The main thing is, he's not just relying on his jump shot, he's getting to the basket."

It not only is Anthony's teammates who are lauding his play. Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis, who has played against Anthony numerous times, said he sees a different player this season.

"He's been playing well this year," Lewis said. "He's been taking it to the basket and he's not taking bad shots. He's been more efficient and he's knocking down that short jump shot."

Opponents are double-teaming Anthony more, a trend that probably will increase with the indefinite absence of second-leading scorer Marcus Camby, who had surgery Thursday to repair a broken right pinkie. So far, the extra attention hasn't curtailed Anthony's scoring.

In a 112-105 loss Thursday against Seattle, Anthony and All-Star shooting guard Ray Allen seemed to feed off each other in a riveting back-and-forth battle, one eventually won 41-32 in points by Allen.

Asked if Anthony officially had arrived as a top-tier NBA player, Allen said: "That's really not for me to decide. We've always respected his game and know what his ability is. . . . I think what

you're asking is, 'Is he an All- Star?' Yes, I think he's an All- Star, but I thought he was an All- Star last year. With only 12 guys on the team for each conference, you're going to have a couple guys left off and he was one of those."

While Anthony would figure to be a shoo-in for the All-Star team this season if his progress continues, his more immediate focus is trying to help resurrect the sliding Nuggets against one of the NBA's elite teams. And, of course, the challenge of Bowen.

"Bowen's always a test, but it's not just him," Miller said. "It's all their guys. They're all good defenders and they rely on each other, that's why they're good."

ETC.: With the Nuggets having lost Camby for at least several weeks, they have only 12 healthy players. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe doesn't foresee rookie guard Julius Hodge going to the NBA Development League any time soon. "I don't know if that's the smartest move now," Vandeweghe said . . . Asked who would assume the rebounding role with Camby out, Anthony said, "Everybody, including George."

[1Parker1]

This could be a possible loss...at least I think it will be a very close game. Beating a team on the road that is injury plagued and has lost 6 out of their last 8 is dangerous. They have extra motivation. Not to mention it's also the same team you almost swept out of the playoffs last season. :)

[boutons_]

"This could be a possible loss"

Spurs are always capable of giving games away by playing like shit, but I think the Nuggs are totally screwed and badly coached. Injuries are not their only problem. I figure George has already lost the team. Motivation and Nuggets don't belong on the same page.

[1Parker1]

Is K-Mart playing? Or is he also injured?

[boutons_]

KMart played the previous game vs Sonics, ineffectively. He's really not very good at anything but being an asshole jackass.

[ducks]

the pistons got beat today
nuggets can save face with their record if they beat the champs from last year
there is not such thing as a easy win in the nba

[RogerIsEatingASandwich]

KMart played the previous game vs Sonics, ineffectively. He's really not very good at anything but being an asshole jackass.

Very true! :lol

[manu]

let's just hope Manu doesnt get sandwhiched again

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/8798/carmelo7lr.jpg

CARMELA! i hate him ever since that play right there!!! DIRTY FAGGOT!!!! :flipoff :cuss

[jdelar03]

Shouldn’t we start making excuses for the spurs incase they lose. The one I like is they don't think it's fair to have to play on the road on a holiday...after all didn't we win the championship or was it Denver.
:rolleyes

[boutons_]

"being an asshole jackass."

... never fails, never grows up, total asshole.