January 21st, 2009 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in 
Whether the thin air in Colorado had anything to do with the Sacramento Kings’ performance Tuesday night in their game against the Denver Nuggets would be speculative, but nonetheless, the Nuggets put together a strong second and third quarter span as they easily defeated Sacramento 118-99 at Pepsi Center.
Denver started slowly at first as they were down by 10 in the second quarter when Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith led a 19-4 explosion over a 5:24 span to take a 43-38 lead; Kleiza scored 11 while Smith added 9 points to that offensive run.
The Nuggets extended their lead to 48-42 on free throws by Chauncey Billups and Nene Hilario; Smith would then proceed to add a dunk and a Kleiza layup to make it 52-42 with 2:30 left in the first half. Denver upped their lead to 12 before going into halftime ahead 57-45.
The Nuggets put this game away early in the third quarter as they went on a 17-4 run as they went ahead by as many as 24, taking an insurmountable 94-75 lead into the final quarter. Denver’s high scorer was Kleiza with 27 points and 6 rebounds while Chauncey Billups added 22 with 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals; Smith pitched in, scoring 19 with 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals but committed 6 turnovers while Kenyon Martin added 16 with a rebound, 3 assists and a blocked shot.
Sacramento was led by Kevin Martin with 25 points (including 3 treys), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal while Jason Thompson added 18 with 11 rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot; Bobby Jackson, from off the bench, pitched in 15 (including 4 three-pointers) with 4 rebounds, 3 assists but turned the ball over 5 times. Denver (28-15) plays again on Sunday when they host the Utah Jazz while Sacramento (10-32) returns home to host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Tags: 
