Guess Those Nuggets Are Golden After All

I have to take responsibility for tonight's debacle. I'm guessing somebody on the Nuggets saw my pregame post, relayed it to the rest of the team right before they went out for their final warm-up and decided to use it as motivation for a 108-91 victory at the United Center.

Ty Lawson led all scorers with 27 points and came within one rebound of a double-double. ONE REBOUND! FROM A POINT GUARD! This wasn't Magic Johnson doing that. It was future Hall of Famer Ty Lawson. But Andre Miller came off the bench and took over double-double duties instead. 12 points and 10 rebounds for him.

As for the Bulls, well, it looked good for much of the first half. Then, the Nuggets took the lead right before the break and it all fell apart when they came back out on the floor. C.J. Watson scored 17 points and three players each had 14. The Bulls actually shot better from three-point territory better than Denver, but many other variables made it not matter.

The Nuggets outrebounded their hosts 45-32 (14-5 offensively) and had six fewer turnovers on a night where the teams were even in the assists department. Very often, those turnovers led to easy fast break opportunities that were converted upon. In fact, as I wrote that last sentence, I think another player in a dark blue jersey just threw down two more points, so the final score may not be so final. On many nights, the Bulls have been able to get easy shots. Not on this one though. The shooting looked okay on paper, but the offense didn't look in sync during that second half. Plus, every time it seemed like a run was forthcoming, the Nuggets were quick to respond. They weren't going to be pushovers for the best team in the NBA.

As well as the Bench Mob has carried this team, they can only survive without their MVP for so long. Yes, their record with him sitting is really good, better than it should be, but they can't win without him all the time. It was going to catch up to them eventually. Though I missed almost all of Saturday's game, all accounts point to that they should have lost. All that game did was delay the inevitable. The result is the Bulls' worst loss of the season.

Just gotta put it behind you and move on to the next one. That next one is in Atlanta on Wednesday. Remember, the Bulls lost when they last went to Philips Arena in January. A bit of revenge has to be in the forefront of the teams' minds.