Nuggets Overcome Everything To Ease Denver's Superbowl Pain

Now that the football season has come to a close Denver fans are deciding if the Colorado Avalanche are actually good enough to draw the interest of hockey bandwagoners. Before we give our allegiance to the Av's we have to check the heartbeat of  our Nuggets.  Tonight's game versus the Los Angeles Clippers was that type of evaluation.

The Nuggets recognized this game as a victory that they had to have, and they played in a manner to win it.  Sometimes in the field of competition you play the same way and still go home in defeat.  As individuals, we all fight to learn how to give our best efforts everyday and not always judge the results. As the Nuggets nation watched a Randy Foye jump shot fall from way deep (it took nearly 3 seconds from hand to net), they saw a game with a strong late effort finally fall our way.

Early in the game the Nuggets took a lead but eventually fell behind by 13 points.  A  time out, a strong push, and a magical Quincy Miller finger roll at the buzzer, and Denver took a lead into the half.  The Clippers did what good teams do and tried to bully the Nuggets into submission.  Around the 3 minute mark at games end,  the Clippers started to score with ease and had a 6 point lead late that felt like an insurmountable margin to this Nuggets fan and countless others that have seen this scene before.

Battered and bruised and backed against the wall, the Nuggets bounced off of the ropes and hit George Foreman, I mean beat the Clippers with a 3 point shot right at the final buzzer.

Despite missing a gang of free throws early, it was a series of free throws late that made all the difference in the world.  Making late free throws validated all of the energy it took to overcome the Clipper onslaught.  Miss even one of those free throws and you might not have the fire to keep fighting for the victory.  The Clippers hit a few big free throws themselves, along with a 3 point shot from Matt Barnes with 6.8 seconds left in the game.

If the Nuggets had not missed double digit free throws earlier in the game, then maybe this game isn't nearly as close.  But maybe if this game wasn't nearly as close, these young  Nuggets wouldn't have gotten a chance to learn the lesson of 'never say die'.

Sometimes to you make key stops.  Sometimes you get key offensive rebounds at the end of games.  Sometimes you might even be asked to hit free throws or buzzer beaters at the end of both halves.  Sometimes you will  have to do it all to overcome a difficult competitor.  Every time, you must be willing to do whatever it takes.  Crush them early,  or fight for a chance to win late.

Since Manning and the Broncos failed in the Superbowl, beating the Clippers was a great way to ease the pain.  By the time I checked the box scores I realized that Vegas had the Nuggets by 1.5 points.  Can you imagine being the guy who put money on either side of this game?  If you bet the Nuggets with the points you missed by 1/2 a point.  If you bet the Clippers you lost while watching a shot that took 3 seconds to fall.

Between that thought and this win, I am feeling better about getting smoked in a Bowl.