Thunder Vs. Nuggets, Game 4: Denver Stays Alive With 104-101 Win

The Nuggets will not be swept under the rug.

Game 5 is set for Wednesday back in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City came roaring back in the second quarter but Denver answered late to head into the half tied at 45-45. Ty Lawson leads all scorers with 14 points while Kenyon Martin has 11 points and six rebounds. Denver’s shooting cooled off in the second period as they closed the half at 42%.

Kevin Durant has 10 points to lead the Thunder with Russell Westbrook close behind with nine. Neither player is shooting the ball particularly well with Durant going 2-8 and Westbrook at 3-12. Serge Ibaka chipped in eight points and seven rebounds. Oklahoma City has to feel pretty good to be tied with both Durant and Westbrook off the mark shooting wise in the first half.

While looking to avoid a sweep, Denver is off to a fast start leading Oklahoma City by a score of 26-20 after one. Kenyon Martin scored nine points in the first quarter to lead the Nuggets who shot a sizzling 52%. Aaron Afflalo added six points for Denver.

Oklahoma City has had a tougher time offensively in the early going as they hit just 33% of their field goal attempts in the opening period. Kevin Durant scored eight points while Russell Westbrook tossed in seven. The Thunder have been able to stay close thanks to going 6-10 from the free throw line in the first. Conversely the Nuggets are just 3-4 from the line thus far.

So Denver figured something out, that the ‘Melo thing wasn’t going to work, but that the system was pretty good, that Karl is a fantastic coach. But it took losing ‘Melo to get that evidence, and unfortunately, the Nuggets didn’t exactly get a future superstar or a shot at future superstars in the swap. The Nuggets got solid pieces to plug into the system, players who can produce now but won’t ever really replicate Anthony’s singular on-court presence. But now they need a star, preferably one more like Durant than ‘Melo. And, as any number of teams in the lottery can tell you, that’s a tall task, a bit of fortune mixed with luck and destiny.

So instead of a classic series, it appears we’re getting a lesson in the power of The Star in the NBA, and a reminder that while trading a star may be the only course of action for whatever reason(s), it’s still a crummy thing to have to do. If the Thunder vanquish the Nuggets for good (and by “for good” I mean “for the 2010-11 season”), it won’t be a victory for ‘Melo, but it won’t be a victory for Denver either. While that seems obvious, the strain of anti-star fervor that accompanied Anthony’s fall from grace might have made enough people forget that when ‘Melo was in town, the team got a bit further than this.