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Camby keys huge win, sends Celtics packing

Record crowd watches Denver pile up points

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 20, 2008 at 12:45 a.m.

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Anthony Carter looks to pass as the Celtics' James Posey defends in the first quarter Tuesday. Carter scored 14 points.

Photo by Chris Schneider / The Rocky

Anthony Carter looks to pass as the Celtics' James Posey defends in the first quarter Tuesday. Carter scored 14 points.

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Marcus Camby called for the Nuggets to show restraint. Then he showed none against Boston.

The center, who said beforehand he doesn't believe the Nuggets need to make a deal by Thursday's NBA trade deadline, nearly had a triple-double Tuesday night as the Nuggets beat the team with the NBA's best record, 124-118.

Many in the Pepsi Center regular-season record crowd of 19,894 came to see Camby block shots and grab rebounds. They didn't come to see him make a clutch three-pointer.

But that's what Camby did when he made one from the right side with 2:19 to play in the game. That gave the Nuggets a 111-104 lead, and they never led by fewer than three the rest of the way.

"I'm not against that shot," Nuggets coach George Karl said of Camby, who totaled 11 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks, making his third three-pointer of the season. "It was scary at first, but it looked like it was going in."

In the end, the Nuggets threw a scare into the Celtics (41-10) of the Eastern Conference, who had been 16-0 this season against Western Conference teams.

They gave up the most points they have all season.

The Nuggets got a game-high 29 points from forward Carmelo Anthony. Guard Allen Iverson broke out of a slump by scoring 28 points while shooting 14-of-20 from the free-throw line.

Iverson also has said he doesn't believe it's necessary for the Nuggets (33-20), who played their last game before the trade deadline, to make a move. The win against the Celtics did nothing to change his mind.

"It lets you know we're capable of beating the best teams," Iverson said. "But I felt like that before this game. On any given night, we can compete with any given team.

"Winning this game right here should put a lot of pressure on us night in and night out. If you can beat a team like this, you definitely can beat all the rest of the teams."

It must be said the Celtics did not have forward Kevin Garnett at full strength. Garnett returned after missing nine games because of an abdominal strain, and was scheduled to play limited minutes.

Garnett got in for 21 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-7 shooting.

"No pain," said Garnett, who didn't make any excuses. "No discomfort."

The Nuggets had felt discomfort since losing 119-93 on Nov. 7 in Boston. They used that as motivation.

"Just having in the back of our mind what they did to us at the beginning of the season let us bring momentum into the game," said Anthony, who called it a statement victory.

While Camby's shot gave the Nuggets ample breathing room, there was one anxious moment in the waning seconds. Trailing 121-115, Celtics guard Ray Allen launched a three-pointer that was way short.

Anthony pulled down what he thought was a rebound with 13.7 seconds to play. Instead, Anthony, who said the ball would have landed "right into my hands" had he not jumped, was called for goaltending.

"Bennie Adams' call. Wow," Karl said of the official. "I remember his call in the (2005) playoff game. Does he like making big calls, bad calls at the end of games? How can you call goaltending when half the ball is below the rim?"

Karl was referring to a May 2, 2005, overtime loss by the Nuggets in the playoffs against San Antonio. He said Adams was out of position and called a Nuggets three-pointer good for only two.

But Tuesday's call did not cost the Nuggets. They clinched the game with three late free throws.

"It was almost like a playoff atmosphere," said Camby, impressed with the crowd that broke the previous Pepsi Center regular-season record of 19,866 set in 2004-05 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Does the resounding win mean Karl also doesn't think the Nuggets need to make a trade?

"I've never said we had to make a move," he said.

One of the players mentioned most in possible trades played a key role. Forward Linas Kleiza scored six of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, making consecutive three-pointers that extended a 95-91 lead to 101-91 with 7:31 to play.

Kleiza left in the final minute of the second quarter after suffering a sprained left ankle, but he came back in the second half.

"I'll have to play through it," Kleiza said. "It'll be a little while."

Come Thursday, Kleiza will find out if he still will be with the Nuggets for a while.

ETC.: Nuggets guard Chucky Atkins, who is out because of a sports hernia and still projects to return in mid- to late-March, has begun shooting drills. . . . Nuggets center Steven Hunter, out the previous four games because of a sore knee, was in uniform but didn't play. . . . Boston coach Doc Rivers criticized the officials for Denver shooting 49 free throws to 28 for the Celtics, calling it a "hell of a stat."

Nuggets 124, Celtics 118

FG FT Reb

BOSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Pierce 40:59 8-18 6-7 0-6 7 4 24

Garnett 20:56 2-7 0-0 1-8 0 0 4

Perkins 9:37 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 2

Rondo 30:16 9-15 3-6 3-4 1 6 22

RAllen 36:25 8-19 0-0 2-3 5 5 20

Powe 21:05 4-10 5-8 6-11 0 4 13

Posey 37:04 4-10 2-4 1-6 1 5 13

TAllen 18:41 4-5 1-1 0-2 1 2 9

House 17:47 4-13 0-0 0-2 3 4 9

Davis 7:10 0-1 2-2 1-3 1 1 2

Totals 240 44-99 19-28 14-47 19 33 118

Percentages - FG .444, FT .679. Three-point goals - 11-33, .333 (R. Allen 4-11, Posey 3-8, Pierce 2-6, Rondo 1-1, House 1-6, Garnett 0-1). Team rebounds - 12. Team turnovers - 14 (15 pts.). Blocked shots - 6 (Perkins 2, Powe 2, R. Allen, T.Allen). Turnovers - 13 (Garnett 4, Perkins 2, Pierce 2, Rondo 2, R. Allen, Davis, House). Steals - 8 (Posey 4, Garnett 2, T. Allen, Powe). Technicals - Pierce, 7:37 first; coach Rivers, 1:51 third.

FG FT Reb

DENVER Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Anthony 38:30 8-17 12-13 3-7 4 5 29

Martin 27:37 8-12 3-7 0-6 1 6 19

Camby 40:15 4-8 2-4 2-13 3 5 11

Carter 32:14 5-10 3-5 1-4 8 4 14

Iverson 45:00 7-16 14-20 1-7 9 3 28

Kleiza 18:18 4-5 0-0 1-4 3 2 11

Smith 17:26 3-9 0-0 0-2 0 0 7

Najera 20:40 2-3 0-0 0-2 1 1 5

Totals 240 41-80 34-49 8-45 29 26 124

Percentages - FG .513, FT .694. Three-point goals - 8-17, .471 (Kleiza 3-3, Anthony 1-1, Camby 1-1, Najera 1-2, Carter 1-3, Smith 1-6, Iverson 0-1). Team rebounds - 14. Team turnovers - 16 (20 pts.). Blocked shots - 12 (Camby 9, Najera 2, Martin). Turnovers - 16 (Anthony 6, Iverson 4, Carter 2, Camby, Kleiza, Martin, Najera). Steals - 9 (Camby 3, Anthony 2, Martin 2, Carter, Smith). Technicals - None. Flagrant fouls - Martin, 6:05 first.

Boston 31 31 22 34 - 118

Denver 36 26 26 36 - 124

A - 19,894 (19,155). T - 2:38. Officials - Joe DeRosa, Bennie Adams, Eli Roe.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com

ANGLING FOR ARTEST

A source close to the situation said Tuesday he would "bet against" the Nuggets acquiring Ron Artest of the Kings by Thursday's trade deadline if Linas Kleiza must be included in the deal. The source said it's "too risky" because Artest can opt out of his contract after the season and Kleiza has so much upside.

"It's kind of flattering," Kleiza said of being linked to trades. "But you've got to stay focused. There are a lot of rumors. I'm here and hope to stay here a long time."

Eduardo Najera is a candidate to be packaged with Kleiza for Artest. Najera is attractive for many deals because of his expiring $4.95 million contract.

"The only thing I can do is just block (trade rumors) out and survive two more days," Najera said.

NO NENE RETURN?

Nuggets center Marcus Camby isn't anticipating the return this season of Nene, recovering from testicular cancer.

"We'd love to have him back, but the approach we're doing right now is that he's not going to be here," Camby said of Nene, who began light workouts Monday. "(That's) the approach as players. I don't know what management and coaches are thinking."

Nuggets coach George Karl said "there's still an optimism to get him back."

Karl said Nene, who might have chemotherapy, is considering "a couple different options" and "soon" will have his next treatment.

TICKET INCREASE

The Nuggets will increase most ticket prices for the 2008-09 season by as much as $11 for the most expensive seats. Prices won't increase for the lowest-priced seats. (Information: 303-405-1212 or nuggets.com)

Section 2007-08 2008-09

Lower level center prime $124 $135

Lower level center $100 $109

Lower level corner $65 $71

Lower level ends $53 $56

Upper center prime $41 $45

Upper center $31 $33

Upper corner $21 $22

Upper ends $10 $10

Comments

  • February 20, 2008

    7:22 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jeremynix writes:

    Great Game.....I wonder if their are still refs in the NBA with gambling problems. the fourth quarter was full of questionable calls, the airball goaltending call by far being the worst. The other thing that really bothered me about this game, was the amount of Boston fans in the stands. At one point in the game, you could hear a large number of spectators chanting 'LETS GO CELTICS' over and over....I'm sick of it. Denver fans need to stand behind this team..we are lucky to have them...I hope we can keep this team intact...and stand pat through the trade deadline. We need a Rockies like run to end the season...because anything short of GREAT..means we don't make the playoffs in the crowded western conference. GO NUGGETS!

  • February 20, 2008

    7:30 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    BirdonaWire writes:

    Jeremynix, I agree that we shouldn't let other teams' fans be louder, but Boston people are so annoying that I'll let this one pass. Attack of the Masholes!!!!

  • February 20, 2008

    9:23 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    jbowen43 writes:

    I have been watching the NBA games for nearly fifty years. The referees now are the worst ever. Egos as big as Michael Jordan's and Kobe's. Apparently the league is so desperate for officials they will tolerate incompetence and outright bias against certain players.

  • February 20, 2008

    2:37 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    WillyNilly writes:

    It was a great game...all the kudos in the world to the Nuggets for staying focused and playing a solid game. It could have easily gone the other way.

    The refs were terrible, and I'm not saying that as a biased Nuggets fan. We really were wondering if any of them had money on the game.

    The bad calls already mentioned were indeed bad, but there were many charging penalties called against the Nuggets that were questionable to say the least. The Celtics were falling over like dominoes every time a Nugget touched them or made a move to the basket, and the refs were buying it all the way. I hope those guys butts were sore this morning from falling on them so much.

    Oh well, the Nugs kept focused on the matter at hand and beat them anyway. That's something to be proud of, you guys were great last night. You beat the Celtics and the refs.

    No trades please, leave them alone and let the chemistry continue to develop.