J.R. Smith

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For the Nuggets, it had been 24 years in the making. The team staring back at them was a familiar foe: The Los Angeles Lakers.

It was the 2009 Western Conference Finals.

The last time the Nuggets had made it this far, 1985, it was the also the Lakers standing between them and the NBA Finals. But since then, Magic Johnson had turned into Kobe Bryant. James Worthy became Pau Gasol. Byron Scott became Trevor Ariza.

The challenge was the same – try and beat one of the NBA’s hallmark franchises. The Nuggets, in some respects, were the surprise contender. The NBA knew they’d be good, but oddsmakers had them more toward the middle of the pack in preseason predictions.

But buoyed by the early season acquisition of Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets were much more than that. They breezed through the season on their way to 54 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. And they did it by being one of the deadliest teams, both offensively and defensively, in the NBA.

The Nuggets carried it over into the playoffs, winning eight of 10 games to beat New Orleans and Dallas on their way to the conference finals matchup with the Lakers.

The challenge was how a largely inexperienced Nuggets team could manage. By midway through the fourth quarter of Game 1, it was obvious. The Nuggets would stick to the script and allow that to see them through. With about six minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets were up six. They were not able to hold onto it, however, and the Lakers escaped with a two-point victory.

Game 2 was a Nuggets shocker. Still in Los Angeles, the stars played like stars – Carmelo Anthony had 34 points, Billups had 27, Kenyon Martin had 16 – but it was a huge game from reserve Linas Kleiza that put the Nuggets over the top. He hit four 3-pointers, three in the first half, on his way to 16 points. He added eight rebounds, and the Nuggets led the final 4:26 to notch a 106-103 victory at the Staples Center and knot the series at one game apiece.

Bryant took over with 41 points in Game 3, back in Denver, and the Lakers took a 2-1 series lead with a six-point victory. But the Nuggets weren’t done. J.R. Smith got hot from the 3-point line in Game 4, nailing four, and his 24 points off the bench led seven players in double figures and helped the Nuggets to a blowout 120-101 victory to tie the series at two games apiece.

The Lakers’ experience took over, and they won the final two games to win the series 4-2. And after the Lakers dominated Orlando in the NBA Finals, most experts viewed the Nuggets-Lakers WCF as the “real” Finals. The Nuggets were squarely on the radar with a solid performance on one of the NBA’s biggest stages.

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#TheGoldenAge: 2009 Western Conference Finals

One of the most successful seasons in Nuggets history methodically built itself to greatness month-after-month. The 2008-09 Nuggets were a study in steadiness, consistency, and a near-perfect blend of high-scoring offense and disruptive defense.

The roster itself was “officially” complete when the Nuggets traded for Chauncey Billups just three games into the season. And Mr. Big Shot, coming back to Denver from Detroit, fit in seamlessly. The Nuggets, 1-3 at the time Billups played his first game with the Nuggets, won that game and never looked back.

With Billups, the Nuggets went 53-25 the remainder of the season. But more importantly, they had The Look. We’re talking about the look of a winner. There was talent already on the roster, led by Carmelo Anthony. But Billups gave the team the blueprint of how to win, the moxie to win games of all kinds, the steely nature to perform in the most pressure-packed moments, and the hunger to never get complacent. And defensively, Billups became the proverbial head of the snake of a Nuggets team that finished in the top 10 in defensive rating.

Along the way, they carved out a personality of a team that could not only beat opponents, but beat them up in the process. Billups, Dahntay Jones and Kenyon Martin were the core of a physical squad that could win 88-80, as they did over the Bobcats that season; or win 129-116, as they did over Golden State late that season. They ascended to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

And in the playoffs, these Nuggets took off.

It started with a breeze in the first round. The Nuggets were too powerful for the Chris Paul and David West-led New Orleans Hornets. They not only won that series 4-1, but had a victory for the ages on the road in Game 4 in front of a stunned Hornets crowd. The Nuggets won that game by 58 – 58! – points, a margin of victory that still stands as tied for the largest win in NBA playoffs history.

Two games were competitive in that series, a fiery five-game affair between the two teams. Games 3 and 4 were decided by a total of three points – the Nuggets won one of them. Otherwise, Denver won every other game by an average of 13.3 points. Four more wins in five games. It was on to the conference finals to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

After a Nuggets’ 19-point win in Game 4, the series stood tied at two games apiece. The Lakers pulled out the final two games, but the Nuggets had served notice that they were, in fact, a bonafide contender.

And the team was stuffed with memorable players. Billups and Melo and Martin. Nene and Birdman and Linas Kleiza. Jones and J.R. Smith and Anthony Carter. Players that lifted the Nuggets to just the franchise’s second appearance in the conference finals.

The 2008-09 team was Nuggets basketball at its best. It very nearly led them to the NBA Finals.

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#TheGoldenAge: The 2008-09 Nuggets

Since about 2000, there were few NBA tasks tougher than getting to the playoffs in the Western Conference. But even with a Mission: Impossible degree of difficulty, the Nuggets found a way to become postseason mainstays anyway.

In 41 NBA seasons, the Nuggets have made the playoffs 24 times. Outside of a stretch of nine straight playoff appearances in the 1980s, there was not a more memorable run of getting to the postseason than the Nuggets doing so for 10 straight years from 2003-13.

Playoffs became the most satisfying forgone conclusion.

The Pepsi Center never rocked the way it did during these 10 seasons, buoyed by the full tilt energy of a team that marched through regular seasons with the precision of a marching band. But if anyone claimed they could see any of this coming, that would be a hard sell.

The Nuggets had floundered since making the playoffs in consecutive seasons in 1994 and 1995. The drought reached eight straight seasons without making the postseason, the longest stretch in team history. But then the team’s fortunes changed in a blink of an eye. In 2003, the Nuggets selected Carmelo Anthony with the third pick of the NBA draft. The team never missed a postseason while he was in Denver.

Adding to Anthony’s greatness on the court was coach George Karl’s smarts on the bench. Hired during the 2004 season after the Nuggets sloshed out of the gate, he led them on a 32-8 march through the remainder of that season. The Nuggets never won fewer than 53 percent of their games in any season under Karl.

Surrounding Anthony was a fun cast of characters – the fiery Kenyon Martin, the fun-loving Chris “Birdman” Andersen, the big shot-making Chauncey Billups, the 3-point shot making J.R. Smith, the steady Andre Miller, and the constantly smiling Nene, among them.

All were as memorable as the wins they put on the court in a 10-year span no Nuggets fan will ever forget.

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#TheGoldenAge: 10 Straight Seasons of Playoffs

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