Your Denver Nuggets started their five game road trip on a good note by easily beating the Milwaukee Bucks 105 – 95 with much needed bench help from one Corey Brewer.
Nice way to rebound from a disappointing home loss Nuggets!
Sometimes getting on the road is the best thing for a team after such an up and down homestand. When the Nuggets got to Milwaukee last night they were greeted by tremendously cold and snowy weather, which prevented the usual college-like atmosphere at the Bradley Center. This benefited the Nuggets greatly as the sparse crowd was never really in the game. And from the second quarter to midway through the fourth quarter the Nuggets flirted with a twenty point lead and they were never seriously challenged by Brandon Jennings and the rest of the Bucks.
Players of the game
– Corey Brewer did so much work tonight, he actually did “werk.” He finished with a line of 22 points 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Coming in early because of Nuggets foul trouble (and a Rudy Fernandez injury), Brewer provided much needed energy and tenacity that sparked the Nuggets out of the defensive doldrums the Bucks put them in. Whether he is running back ahead of a break or slicing the interior of the Bucks defense (and the occasional timely three-point shot) or using quick hands to knock away a pass, Brewer did it all. Mega star tonight Mr. Corey Brewer. Big round of applause!
– Al Harrington made the most of his minutes on the floor and contributed 16 points and 5 rebounds. Once again Big Al was the largest Nugget on the court. Small ball seems to work against the Bucks for some odd reason. As long as it’s kept solely to the team from Milwaukee you will hear no complaints from me. Big Al had himself a very nice game off the bench and had some very nice three point shots (Nuggets finished a respectable 12 -25 from three point land.)
– Ty Lawson and Andre Miller for their assists. Ty didn’t have the greatest of offensive games, and frankly Andre Miller still looks disinterested and mopey out there. HOWEVER, both point guards had themselves a great time dishing the rock and coming back with dimes. Ty Lawson finished with 9 assists, and Dre finished with 11 handouts. Dre’s passing improved dramatically tonight as opposed to his overall lackluster play the last few games. Lawson has, unfortunately, had his worst offensive games of the season over the last two contests, hopefully he snaps out of it. Otherwise 20 total assists from your point guards is outstanding!
The other players all contributed well. No one had a terrible game. Danilo Gallinari got himself into foul trouble early and sat out most of the second half. Even with his limited action he finished with 14 points 5 rebounds 3 steals and 2 assists. Considering he rarely saw the floor, that is not bad at all. Chris Andersen played more minutes tonight (22 minutes) than he has in a long time and contributed 5 points and 5 rebounds. Nene Hilario also finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds and sat out the entire fourth quarter.
The ebb and flow of the game was entirely on the Nuggets side. Milwaukee was extremely limited offensively, and even though Brandon Jennings finished with 30 points – much of that was in the second half garbage time when threes and shots were being chucked like confetti at a Rip Taylor parade. Andrew Bogut was contained and finished with only 2 points and didn’t come back in the game after midway through the third quarter.
All in all, this is a win you absolutely cannot complain about in any way shape or from. Good for the Nuggets to get the taste of that lethargic Utah performance out of their mouths. On to Philadelphia tomorrow night!
Special Announcement
Your Denver Nuggets have been good enough to provide PRIMO seats for the January 27th Toronto Raptors game at Pepsi Center exclusively to Denver Stiffs!
The tickets will be behind the Nuggets bench on row three. These tickets will be given away at Stiffs Night Out on January 21st at Jakes Food and Spirits, when the Nuggets play the Knicks (game is this upcoming Saturday). This is unprecedented, and I’m sure you join Andy, Nate and myself in thanking the Nuggets for such a generous offer.
Get ready for an amazing night at Jakes for Stiffs Night Out. Remember to RSVP on our Facebook page or follow this link to Nate’s post about it.
Go Nuggets!
Twitter: @jmorton78 https://twitter.com/#!/jmorton78
