Sunday, May 10, 2009

Nuggets Steal Game 3

Wow! What a game last night. The Mavs kept trying to put the Nuggets away but couldn't do it. Too many missed free throws and missed shots.

With 31 seconds left in the game, Jason Terry hit a corner 3 to put the Mavs up 4. But on the next posession, the Mavs gave Melo a clear path to the basket for a quick easy dunk. Mavs only up 2. The Mavs came down on the next possession and Dirk took a tough 17 foot fade away and missed. This gave the Nuggets 6.6 seconds for Melo's heroics.

Melo got the ball on the left side of the court and dribbled to the right side near the 3 pt line. With about 3 seconds to go, the Mavs defender slapped Melo hard across the wrist. No foul call was made. Melo continued with the play and nailed the 3 with 1 second remaining on the clock. Dirk took a desperation shot at the end and missed. Game Nuggets.

As to the controversial no call, that is how the game had been called all night. The Nuggets repeatedly received no calls after getting knocked down or hit. For example, on every Jason Kidd post up of the 4th quarter, he hooked Chauncy with his left hand to get around him. A clear offensive foul. No call. The only reason the Mavs were in the game were the repeated ghost calls the Mavs had received throughout the game. Nene, Melo and JR all got called for fouls when there was little or no contact.

But given those facts, at the end of the game, the Mavs should have been up 10. The missed a number of free throws and three point play opportunities down the stretch. They should have been up at least 4 on that last shot.

Anyway, just 1 more win for the Nuggets and they can start preparing for the Lakers.