Glorious & Gritty Late Night Win, At a Cost
Nuggets Top Rockets in Hard Fought, Double Overtime Win
In their first overtime affair of the season, the Nuggets proved steadfast and sturdy as they defeated the Houston Rockets, at home, by a score of 112-111, Friday morning at the Pepsi Center. It was well into the Friday morning hours by the time the Nuggets' Anthony Carter stepped up and hit a clutch one-handed 17 foot leaner to give the Nuggets their 15th win on the season. After taking a seven point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets appeared in control of the contest, but credit goes to Houston for fighting back and sending the game into not one, but two overtime periods. The gutsy win was not without its share of cost, as the Nuggets lost Kenyon Martin to a hamstring injury midway through the 3rd quarter. Marcus Camby also went down with an injury of his own but triumphantly fought through the pain to stay in the game, of which, he had a big hand in securing the victory. 
Up until the late stages of the second overtime period, when he fouled out, Marcus Camby played a vital defensive role in containing the Rockets' Yao Ming. Camby was noticeably sore after the game which makes one wonder if he will be able to suit up against the Blazers on Friday night. Kenyon Martin, even further in doubt following his hamstring injury, had already been labeled as questionable for Friday night's game, well before the final buzzer rang out against the Rockets. If Martin and Camby both are unavailable, George Karl will have to do some serious tinkering with the lineup, as the Nuggets would thus be without any true power forward or center on the active roster. Nenê, who was recently cleared to return to practice, is still seemingly a few days away from seeing any game time action. As the Fan's Jerry Schemmel alluded to at the closing of his broadcast, Jelani McCoy, whom the Nuggets recently waived, might be needing to catch a plane to Portland if the injury effect on the Nuggets front court does indeed turn out to be a major factor. Even if the Nuggets suit up their normal starting big men, they will still find out what it means to truly be up against it, as they prepare for, what could prove to be, their toughest back-to-back challenge of this young season as they tip off against the red hot Portland Trailblazers, on the road, just 19 hours after finishing off the Rockets (630pm MST::ALT2, AM950).
But as George Karl said, there is always a chance that the momentum from one win could power the team through any adversity that the team would be facing in the next evening's contest. The Nuggets were led, offensively, by Allen Iverson (36 pts. & 9 asst.) and Carmelo Anthony (37 pts. & 16 rebs.)- the 16 rebounds marked a career high for Anthony. The Nuggets young star was most impressive in the second half, as he recovered from a dismal first half shooting slump that saw him hit just 2 of his 17 shots. The Nuggets were further bolstered by Chucky Atkins. Making his regular season debut, Atkins chipped in 13 points, three of which came from a 3-pointer with 1:32 left in the second overtime session. Overall, it was an incredibly gutsy win for the Nuggets as they fought off a pesky and hungry Houston team, who had come into the game riding a two game loosing streak. Here is to hoping the Nuggets will be just as hungry to extract some revenge from the Trailblazers, a team that had embarrassed them on their own home court just days ago.
.
.
.
.
.
.
