Lakers-Nuggets Game One: LA Wire Work

I'd like to say that these teams don't like each other -- and they don't, given how the Lakers have treated the Nuggets as their own personal chew toy for the past few years -- but the real story is that the Nuggets just don't like anyone. The Blazers and Mavericks series have established these guys as basically the Pistons of the West, albeit a Pistons team with a better scoring forward and a much worse coach. Well, OK, not really, but you get what I mean.

In the first half, the Nuggets somehow failed to lead despite shooting 14 points better; credit goes to some abysmal free throw shooting and the Laker bench picking up some threes. It was also notable that the Lakers really only have one shutdown on the ball defender, and that's Kobe Bryant, unfortunately, at least on this night. When they put him on Chauncey Billups, Billups struggled; when they put him on Carmelo, the ex-Orangeman quieted down. I'm not sure how he does that over seven games, but this is the Lakers -- Kobe will take entire games off, especially on the road. They, um, pace themselves well.

At the half, Magic Johnson talked about how he knew Kobe Bryant was going to be good tonight, because of the quality of his pre-game sweat. No, I'm not making this up, and no, Magic didn't tell us how that sweat tasted as he slobbed Kobe's knob. Um, I get that it's your laundry and all, Tragic, but you do realize you were speaking in public, right?

In the third, Melo got it back going again, and you know he's white-hot when the three ball is going, too. The Lakers also had one of those classic brain-dead moments in an inbounds play, where Lamar Odom didn't know that the 8 second clock was shorter than usual. I just don't see how that happens at home. The quarter also saw a 9-0 Lakers run answered by the road team, and it was followed by a Bryant technical, his fifth of the playoffs. I'd be comfortable putting an absurd amount of money on the wager that Kobe will someone not get too many more technicals in this playoff, considering that he's going to start missing games fairly soon if he keeps up the mouth. At this point in his career, Bryant does not drive unless he feels it's well and truly necessary, and he squawks on all contact. Something to keep in mind in a couple of years, especially when you are picking for fantasy. The quarter end with a 2-point Nugs lead.

In the fourth, Kenyon Martin goes out on a possible hand injury, following a collision with Bryant. Billups still isn't shooting all that well, but he is distributing, especially to the Nug Bigs, and Annthony and Bryant match makes as we go to the wire. With 5:30 left, Odom blocked 'Melo, leading to a run out that didn't score despite playing 4-on-5. Martin defends Gasol well, but Billups misses a shot that could have made it 8, and on the trip back, Trevor Ariza hits a wide-open three to make it a 2-point game. A Martin miss is followed by Anderson turning Bryant in the lane, and the hustling Birdman has just been huge for the road team. A Melo O-board and make gives him 39 (!), and the Nugs a 4-point lead with 3:25 left.

After the ads, the Lemur shows how much hand-checking has been going on between Anthony and Bryant; that will be a huge post-game opportunity for Jackson. A Bryant make cuts it to three and gets the crowd back into it. A Gasol block on Nene in tight is huge, and so is the Fisher three from the Kobe pass that makes it a 97-96 lead. Gasol gets the charge call on Anthony, and that's the first Denver turnover of the fourth quarter; it's amazing that they can't turn that into an actual lead. Gasol gets to the line against Martin, who wisely refuses any chance at the continuation play, and he misses both as Nene boards.

Billups over-dribbles and launches a terrible three that's all cotton; wow. 99-97 Nugs with 90 seconds to play. Fisher launches a terrible three with a begging move for contact that the refs ignore, but Gasol gets the board and Nene's sixth foul. After two Gasol makes, the game is tied again with 70 seconds left.

Billups feeds Anderson, who can't make a tough runner; the ball goes to the floor with the bodies for a jump ball between Odom and Anderson with 57 seconds left and 7 on the clock. Odom wins the tip. A Bryant iso leads to a miss, but Billups fails to control the board, and we go to commerce with 35.5 seconds left and the Lakers having possession. Mark Jackson more or less dooms the Nugs by praising Anthony's defense on Bryant on the last possession, because that just means Kobe's going to score to close this, right?

Bryant gets the inbound and draws a dumb strip attempt foul from Martin with 30.5 left, but I'm not sure we can expect great decision-making from a guy with tattooed lipstick marks on his neck. Two makes gives the Lake Show a 101-99 lead and more ads. Denver goes small out of the timeout, and Ariza steals the Anthony Carter inbound; it leads to Bryant getting to the line with 10 seconds left. Bryant makes the throws to make it a two possession game.

You really can't overstate the importance of Ariza's steal here, not that there will be any danger of that in the post-game analysis; it took the home team from a position of vulnerability to one of dominance, and the Nugs have to be damn near perfect just to force overtime. But don't overestimate the importance over Furious George Karl blowing his matchup with Coach Phillip by making an ice-cold guy execute an inbounds play over the length of Lamar Odom; that move was downright Dunleavian.

Martin inbounds to Billups, who steps back and nails the corner three while getting away with stepping out of bounds -- holy crap on many levels. Bryant collects the inbounds and is fouled, and makes two more from the line to make him 9 for 9 for the night. The Lakers foul J.R. Smith rather than let him shoot a three with 3.2 seconds left. He makes the first, then needs to miss the second; he does, but Bryant gets the board, and to add insult to injury, Smith goes down in a heap with an ankle injury at the buzzer.

Just a hell of a game, but in the final analysis, Bryant was just better than Anthony tonight, especially late. Lakers 105, Nuggets 103, and I can't see how this series doesn't go long, but make no mistake -- Denver played a really good game tonight, and still didn't win, mostly from bad decision late, but also from the failure to close out quarters. If Jackson had Denver's personnel, I think Denver moves on. But that ain't how the personnel is allocated.