Martin steps up, Nuggets grab 103-89 win over Spurs

By Tim Price, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 31, 2010 4:59PM

SAN ANTONIO (NBA.com exclusive) -- Kenyon Martin remembers the last time he took 21 shots in a game.

"I wasn't happy with myself," he said, recalling a day when he thinks he made only eight or nine.

Inevitably, with league-leading scorer Carmelo Anthony out for the fourth-straight game, more would be expected of Martin on the offensive end of the floor. And Sunday against the Spurs, Martin produced with a season-high 12 field goals made from the 21 tries and 27 points in a 103-89 victory against San Antonio. He also had 11 rebounds in addition to matching the season high for points.

"More opportunities there," Martin said, noting Anthony's absence. "I'm just making plays and making myself more available. I'm just trying to be more aggressive as of late."

The win gave Denver (32-15) a sweep of the two games played against the Spurs this season in AT&T Center. And it gave San Antonio (27-19) a split of the two games the Spurs have played without Tony Parker since spraining his left ankle on Monday.

And on Sunday, the Spurs missed Parker more than the Nuggets hurt without Anthony. In fact, Denver is 3-1 in those games Anthony has missed recently and 6-3 in games all gamed Anthony has missed this season.

"I hope that says something about our perseverance and mental toughness," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I've always believed injuries are windows of opportunity. Our guys understand the strategy will be different, but we still can be a good team."

Martin, obviously, was the biggest one to climb through that window. But that change in strategy could be seen in the defensive play. Karl said he "demanded" the team step it up defensively, and Denver limited the Spurs to 43 percent shooting -- just 3-for-17 at the 3-point line.

Though George Hill has replaced Parker at the point guard, Roger Mason Jr. was inserted into the starting backcourt next to Hill for his second start of the season. Mason responded by going 1-for-6. He missed all five of his 3-pointers after hitting all three in just the fourth quarter off the bench Friday in the win against Memphis.

"It's a game we should have won," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, "but didn't because of ourselves. People need to step up and make shots."

Richard Jefferson was 5-for-14 and Manu Ginobili went 3-for-11. And though Tim Duncan's 5-for-10 day edged him away from a five-game shooting slump that saw him go 29-for-81 (36 percent), he got one shot off playing 5 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter against Denver.

If the Nuggets lost, they could have said they didn't win because of themselves. Denver turned the ball over 19 times, and the Spurs outscored Denver 27-18 off turnovers.

And now the Spurs face an extended stretch of going to places where games are not often given away. The Spurs finish the regular season by playing 24 of the final games on the road, starting with next eight while dirt replaces the hardwood at AT&T Center for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.

The Spurs don't return home for a game until Feb. 24. Though the Spurs have had separate homestands of the just-ended six-straight and twice of four-straight, they won't play consecutive home games again until March 24 and 26.

The Spurs are 8-9 on the road this season, and shooting like the Nuggets did in an enemy arena could help. Denver was beaten in the paint 40-26 but still shot almost 54 percent for the game.

A lot of that was set up by Chauncey Billups, who scored 25 but added 11 assists. Arron Afflalo was 6-for-6 from the floor.

"Kenyon was incredible (and) Afflalo was special," Karl said, "but our bigs in the second half battled Duncan down and Chauncey's just a stud. Just knows how to win games."

The Spurs trailed by only two when Antonio McDyess scored his fifth-straight point on a 19-footer with 3:24 to go.

But Denver closed out the game by outscoring San Antonio 16-4, and nine of that came from Martin. That included a 3-point play and a 3-point shot with 52 seconds left. Denver was 9-for-12 from 3-point territory.

• Nuggets: Anthony
• Spurs: Hairston, Parker

• Nuggets: --
• Spurs: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #30 Tony Brown, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 17607
• Duration: 2:20