Nuggets make a statement

With 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, 5-foot-11 rookie guard Ty Lawson darted through the paint and jumped over 7-foot D.J. Mbenga and Josh Powell to throw down an emphatic dunk.

The dunk had every remaining fan on their feet screaming with joy as the Denver Nuggets (7-3) laid a huge payback win on the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-79, at the Pepsi Center. Lawson’s slam put the cherry on top of the best game the Nuggets have played this year.

Everything seemed to go right against the Lakers (7-2) Friday night, with Carmelo Anthony leading the way. The Lakers had signed Ron Artest in the offseason specifically to defend Anthony after they nearly lost to the Nuggets in the conference finals last year.

Artest did a good job on Melo in the first half while holding him to only seven points. Melo got in foul trouble early in the second quarter and had to sit out most of the rest of the half with three fouls.

Artest got in foul trouble as well. Anthony exploited it and played Artest hard. He forced three quick fouls in the third quarter and Artest was sent to the bench. After that, Melo had a field day, netting 25 total points and four rebounds.

Guard J.R. Smith ─ who has gone back to usingJ.R. after changing it to Earl last week ─ contributed 20 points in 24 minutes. Smith provided a nice offensive spark and seemed to have shaken all of the rust shown in his first two games back.

Reserve point guard Lawson, who played 22 minutes, scored 13 points and added six assists. Lawson was too quick for every player on the Lakers’ roster, and the look in Kobe Bryant’s eyes as he watched the little guy bolt across the court was one of concern about the new-look Nuggets.

What was most impressive from this win was the defense. The constant double teams on Andrew Bynum and Bryant led to many turnovers and terrible shots. Arron Afflalo held Bryant in check while allowing him to score only 19 points.

The rebounding looked much better – Denver was outrebounded 48-47 — but Bynum tore it up in the paint. Bynum logged 19 points and 15 rebounds.

Don’t let last night’s game fool you. The Lakers were with out star 7-footer Pau Gasol, the big man who gave the Nuggets fits last year in the conference finals. However, it was obvious Friday night that if Denver had a big man to neutralize Gasol, the Lakers would be more beatable.

Friday night’s win was a nice rebound from the embarrassing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. The Nuggets look to keep the momentum going when they face the struggling Toronto Raptors at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.