New Orleans took one in the eye socket tonight… we were right there till the last second. These close ones probably hurt the most; Melvin Ely’s probably hurting bad as well. Word is he fractured his aforementioned facial feature. Ouch. But in the end, you have to tip your hat to Carmelo Anthony. He wasn’t hitting anything, so he made it a mission to get down low and work for close shots and rebounds.
|
Pace |
Eff |
eFG |
FT/FG |
OREB% |
TOr |
|
|
NOR |
96.0 |
103.1 |
51.2% |
14.1 |
25.0 |
18.8 |
|
DEN |
109.4 |
49.4% |
26.2 |
25.0 |
13.5 |
1. Shooting (X) The Hornets follow their best defensive FG% of the year with one of their worst. The bad part: Melo started 3-17 and finished 7-11. Denver really turned up the intensity down the stretch to a level New O couldn’t match. That being said, I’ll take a tough loss on the road to a 14-7 team without our two best shooters.
2. Turnovers (X) AI and AC battled Paul and Pargo in the turnover war and came out on top. CP3 gave it away a season high 5 times, while David West lost it 5 times himself. Denver really made it a point to attack his dribble as he posted up, and this affected him down the stretch especially.
3. Offensive Rebounding (√) It was awesome seeing four of the best rebounders in the game battle it out to a standstill. Martin got 8 boards. Chandler one-upped him with 9. Camby pulled down 15. And West one-upped him with 16.
4. Free Throws (X) Denver won this game by getting to the foul line. That may seem like an overstatement, but the free throw line was what got struggling Carmelo Anthony back on track. Had he not gotten to the line midway through the third, and throughout the fourth, his shot may never have started to drop.
5. Pace (96) Denver’s pace through and through. The Hornets did a valiant job keeping it close with the fast pace. But you won’t often beat a 13-7 with two of the top scorers in the NBA, missing two of your own starters. George Karl had a great strategy for this one, and the Nuggets players did a fantastic job implementing it.
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