Nene saves the day
DENVER — If not for Nene’s breakout first half, Carmelo Anthony’s fourth-quarter fireworks and Anthony Carter’s defensive deftness wouldn’t have mattered much.
Nene kept Denver in it until his teammates could turn this one into a laugher, scoring 18 of his playoff career- high 24 points in the first half of the Nuggets’ 109-95 rout of the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday in the opener of their second-round series.
“’Melo in foul trouble and kind of searching for an offensive confidence, we got it from Nene,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “The balance of our team has quietly been a strength of who we are. In the second half ’Melo got into the game, J. R. [Smith] jumped into the game and our defense was fantastic.”
Nene, who beat testicular cancer last year, played more minutes than ever this season and over the last month he really hit a wall. In the Nuggets’ five-game dispatch of New Orleans in the first round, he averaged 9.0 points and 7.8 rebounds.
His fantastic first half saved the Nuggets, who poured it on the second half thanks to 20 Dallas turnovers, eight by Jason Kidd. Anthony scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, including a dunk off Smith’s behind-the-back assist.
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