Melo & J.R. Off as Nuggets Lose at the Buzzer to Hornets 114-112

In a story almost too sad to tell, the Nuggets led the entire game but Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith missed too many shots and the Hornets got too many second chance opportunities, including the one at the buzzer of the overtime as the Nuggets became a losing team by dropping yet another home game to a losing team, 114-112 in one overtime.

The Nugget's star small forward Melo badly missed a jumper in regulation that would have won it for the Nuggets, but at the end of overtime, the Hornet's small forward, Desmond Mason, was in position near the hoop to grab the ball off a Melo block of a short jumper by Chris Paul. Nene was close but Mason was in better position to grab it. Mason put in a mini-jumper with less than a second left that won it for the Hornets. So it was a small forward who won the game but it was not the Nugget's small forward.

The Nuggets had a 99-89 lead with 3:50 to play in regulation but were outscored 14-4 in that time. In this 3:50 period, the Nuggets had 5 missed shots, 2 turnovers, and committed 3 unforced personal fouls, while making two free throws and one tip-in. In short, they gave the game away, only they had to disappoint their fans further by playing in overtime, since it was 103-103 at the end of the 4th.

In overtime Melo made one jumper, missed one, and had one blocked by Desmond Mason. Blake made a nice layup but offset that by losing the ball out of bounds. J.R. Smith came in with 23 seconds left in overtime with the Nuggets losing 112-109 and promptly buried a three with 17 seconds left, setting up the Chris Paul blocked jumper and the Desmond Mason point blank jumper. Actually, all J.R.'s made shot did was increase the misery, since the Nuggets still lost and since his shot reminded fans that he was only 2/13 for 6 points in regulation time.

It is true, though, that if Marcus Camby had been at the hoop at the buzzer there would have been no Mason follow up. Of course, if Marcus Camby had been in, the Nuggets would have won it in regulation, despite the shooting problems of the once high flying Nuggets. Camby remained out for a second game with a groin strain. Predictably, the Nuggets were outrebounded, by a margin of 57-46. It is unusual for the Nuggets to be outrebounded, and they usually lose when they are.

When you have Eduardo Najera putting up and making enough shots to finish in double digits (11 points) for the first time in ages you know something is seriously wrong with the Nugget's offense. Aside from the jump shooting problems of the entire team except Iverson and maybe Kleiza of all people, Blake and A.I. are still trying to develop the best distribution patterns for the ball and George Karl is still trying to develop the best player rotations. But there is very little time left for these things to be improved.

At this point everyone is getting very tired and frustrated with these Nuggets, who had enough talent to go 50-32 this year but have had so many lost player games due to suspensions and injuries, and have had so many off games by key players, that many of their fans have at this point lost hope in them. Most fans can only stand so much disappointment, and the amount the average fan can take was reached tonight. Maybe Stern can give a couple of Nuggets a 20 game suspension so that the fans can throw in the towel on the season once and for all and immediately begin looking ahead to next season and the possible return of Kenyon Martin, assuming of course that K-Mart has been able to shake off the voodoo curse on his knee by then.

Enough already, the fans are saying. So at this point, the Nuggets will have to earn their fans back by winning 2 or 3 upsets on the road. Good luck. The Nuggets no longer have the benefit of the doubt. They now must prove themselves from scratch. If the Nuggets win a playoff series they will surprise their own fans as well as their opponents.

And at this point all Nugget's players and coaches can throw out all their own high expectations for the Nuggets and realize that the Nuggets are not even going to make the playoffs unless things change. It is going to take some road wins for the Nuggets to make the playoffs, and it is going to take some good fortune on the injury front, less inconsistency from J.R. and Blake, and more made jumpers from Melo for the Nuggets to win some road games. But hey, if that sounds too difficult, consider that the Hornets just won their 13th road game in their last 15. Yes, I said the Hornets. So it can't be that difficult to win some on the road.

Did someone put a voodoo curse on Allen Iverson that every team he ever plays for must be a hopeless, losing team? Maybe, because the Nugget's injuries and individual player performances are getting very creepy at this point. On the other hand, I am thinking of Iverson as more of an innocent bystander in this basketball horror movie. Melo this week said the team is "snake-bit", but I am thinking more in terms of a black magic spell. I'd say the curse is on the Nuggets as a team, not on Iverson, but then again, what do I know about black magic?

Kleiza played for 17 minutes and was 2/4 and 0/1 on 3's for 4 points and he added 4 rebounds. Reggie Evans played 25 minutes and was 3/4 and 1/2 from the line for 7 points, and he had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block, and a steal. Najera played for 37 minutes and was 4/5 and 3/3 from the line for 11 points, and he had 9 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.

Steve Blake played 38 minutes and was 6/12 and 2/7 on 3's for 14 points, and he also had 6 assists, 5 rebounds, a steal, and a block.

J.R. Smith played for 20 minutes and was 3/13, 2/8 on 3's, and 1/2 from the line for 9 points. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Every once in awhile, J.R. decides he would rather shoot long jumpers all game and not look very hard for lanes to drive to the hoop. In these cases he will usually be the hero or the goat. Tonight he was the goat. Why does J.R. sometimes put himself under that much pressure? Why doesn't J.R. mix up his shots EVERY game and get a few relatively easy layups, dunks, and free throws every time out? This is part of the mystery of J.R. Smith that no human can figure out. At the very least, someone should tell J.R. that he is way to young to be only a 3-point specialist, a role reserved for older veterans in the NBA.

Nene played for 35 minutes and was 8/16 and 2/6 from the line for 18 points, and he had 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal. It was a pretty good game, except that he, like the rest of the Nuggets, missed most of his jumpers. A Nene jump shot is too much to ask for at this point; he should stick to the layups, tip-ins, and dunks.

Melo played 40 minutes and was 9/23, 0/2 on 3's, and 9/9 from the line for 27 points, and he added 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. The bottom really fell out of his jumper; he was only 3/17 for that type of shot.

Allen Iverson, the innocent bystander to the train wreck that is the Nuggets, played the entire game despite coming off a severe ankle strain and was 9/21, 1/4 on 3's, and 3/5 from the line for 22 points, and he had 9 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. During breaks, Iverson iced his sprained right ankle on the bench.

Melo skipped his usual postgame podium stop and was said to have sat staring into his locker for several dozen minutes after the game. He knows he has lost many of the fans and will get them back only if he returns to the exact way he was shooting jump shots on December 16 and before then. There are very precise motions and thinking involved in any skill, and Melo's task is to reconnect with the exact motions and the thinking that had him making half his shots.

The next game will be Friday, Feb. 9 in Indianapolis to play the Pacers at 5 p.m. mountain time.