Sharp-shooting Nuggets topple Jazz to stave off elimination

Basketball Betting Lines

04/29/2010 - Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, as the hot-shooting Denver Nuggets beat Utah, 116-102, to force a sixth game in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Chauncey Billups tallied 21 points for the Nuggets, who still trail 3-2 and will try to stay alive again Friday night in Salt Lake City. Denver has yet to erase a 3-1 deficit to win a seven-game playoff series (0-9).

"We responded as a unit to the challenge that was at hand," Anthony said. "Everybody stepped up tonight, did their part."

Kenyon Martin totaled 18 points and nine rebounds, while J.R. Smith hit four three-point shots on the way to a 17-point night for the Nuggets, who had lost their previous eight elimination games. This is their first such win since the 1994 West semifinals against Utah.

"When you're down to elimination, every game is the big game," Billups said. "Today, we had the advantage of being at home. We gave a great effort the whole game. We have the chance to put the pressure back on them."

Denver made eight straight shots from beyond the arc at one point and ended 9-of-17 from long distance. They were also 33-of-42 at the foul line.

"I thought our defense broke down a little bit," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They did a terrific job with what they were trying to accomplish. They got to the free throw line and made it very difficult for us to win a game."

The Nuggets won despite not having forward Nene for most of the game. He sprained his left knee in the second quarter and didn't return.

Deron Williams had 34 points and 10 assists for Utah, which had won the previous three games. Carlos Boozer added 25 points and 16 rebounds.

Martin and Billups both had three fouls by the end of the first half, but the Nuggets found themselves down just 52-50 at the intermission. Anthony and Billups then combined for 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the third quarter.

Chris Andersen, who had 10 points and seven rebounds and played despite a noticeable limp, hit a free throw to start a 6-0 run. Anthony added a tip-in, and Ty Lawson capped it with a three-pointer for an 86-79 Denver lead with 1:40 left.

Williams sank a jumper, bringing Utah within 86-81 going to the fourth, but Denver made 16 foul shots in the last period.

The Jazz still had life when Paul Millsap banked in a hook shot for a 94-92 deficit, but Martin made a layup, Smith buried a three-pointer and Johan Petro's tip-in hiked the advantage to nine midway through the fourth.

Utah never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

"It just seems like we couldn't get over that hump," Williams said. "In the fourth, we got down by seven or eight points and kind of panicked. It starts with me as the leader of the team. It's my job to keep us calm. We'll do a better job next game."

Utah held a 27-25 edge after one quarter. Nene suffered his injury with nearly five minutes left in the second quarter when he banged into the left leg of Boozer. Nene was helped off the court by trainer Jim Gillen and didn't return.

"We'll find out how severe his injury is," Nuggets coach Adrian Dantley said. "They told me it's a knee sprain, but if he doesn't play we'll just go without him. Utah went without two players (Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko). We'll just have to go without our player."

Game Notes

Williams is the first player in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assists in each of the first five games of a playoff series...Only eight teams have ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, most recently the Phoenix Suns in the 2006 first round to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers...Millsap had 16 points and Wesley Matthews 15 for Utah...Denver ended at 50.7 percent from the field...Williams fouled out in the final minute.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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