What a series (Game 4)

The Nuggets had a new confidence going into game 4, having finally gotten in the win column, though the Raptors were still confident in their abilities at home and to close out the series. The Nuggets began the game much like they did game 2, going down low early and often, and jumped out to another early lead. Duncan and KG were just proving that they are a dynamic duo down low, one that could only hope to be contained. Carmelo Anthony continued to struggle early on, as he was ice cold from the field. The Nuggets also hit a dry spot however, with the second team coming in and slowing it down. With the Raptors closing in Ray Allen, the initial number one pick of the Nuggets, began to shine with his play. The sharpshooter not only began making his threes, but also brought Michael Redd down low and dominated him in the lane. To go along with Yao Ming in the pick and roll, Allen and Yao were able to increase the lead on the Raptors. With the starters back in to start the 2nd half the Nuggets continued their strong play and were able to increase their lead again, with Wade and Duncan taking the game over. Throughout the quarter the Raptors faithful began to file out as the Nuggets turned up the heat and increased the lead to over 15, with Duncan starting to shine, ending the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ray Allen and Yao Ming came in to end the 3rd and begin the 4th, starting right where they left off. The Nuggets were on their way to evening up the series, and used this time to get Rudy Gay going, hitting all his shots in the 4th to get him into double digits and really feel confident for the eventual game 5. Carmelo Anthony also found his stroke again, as well as his ability to penetrate and score, though Paul Pierce was unable to get going. Despite their dropping of their two games at home, the Raptors were confident in themselves, especially with the strong play of Dwight Howard, Marcus Camby, and Carmelo scoring over 20 points in the 4th quarter after his slow start. With the series tied at 2-2, and heading back to Denver for a deciding game 5 the Raptors might have been too confident, with both Carmelo and his coach saying that he may score 80 the next game after what they saw in that 4th quarter the next game. This, along with the calling out of Deron Williams not being the scoring factor of an All-SGL player despite his excelling at the game's other aspects, gave the Nuggets all the bulletin board material that they would need.