Carmelo and Kobe went head to head and the rookie showed his stuff, leading his team to victory.

ESPN Boxscore Web: Kobe gets upstaged (Denver Post) Up Next: Utah, Fri @ 7:00MT

Nuggs find themselves again in New Year...

The Nuggets had lost their way of late, losing three in a row at a home, and 4 of their last 5 games. They have been out rebounded in 10 straight games, and have found it hard to get their running game going when they can't do a better job on the boards.

Who would have thought that the mighty Lakers would be the answer to our woes?

Sure, it helped that the Lakers were without big men Shaq and Malone, but they still have two of their future HOF players in Kobe and Payton in the line-up. Yes, the Lakers have also been struggling of late, losing 4 straight, but the Nuggets had just lost badly to the lowly Atlanta here in Denver.

There were a few key sequences that showed the Nuggets were back early in the game. At one point, Chris Andersen (aka Birdman) was shoved out of bounds by Lakers rookie Brian Cook as he was hauling in a defensive rebound. No foul was called (why do the Nuggets still seem to get the shaft on decent calls) and Andersen made the mistake of trying to throw it back in right under the Nuggets basket. Cook, along with two other Lakers stood there drooling over the easy dunk. Instead, Andersen flew back on the court and soared high to block Cook's attempt. Bad play, then an awesome play to wipe it away. Andersen grabbed the blocked ball, found Andre Miller, who threw it ahead for an easy Voshon Lenard jumper on the fast break. The record crowd of 19,739 went wild.

Three things seem to be clear lately in the Nuggets wins. They must run, they must share the ball, and they must live up to this year's mantra - "working overtime", or hustle on the court. They accomplish those two things, and they are really, really tough to beat this year. Case in point:

Reality check: We have the same number of wins as the Lakers, nearly half-way into the season?

Warning: Potential Soapbox moment. I was not into the whole "Boo Kobe" and "Guilty! Guilty!" chants that rained down from the rowdy Pepsi Center crowd. He admitted that he had a transgression here in Colorado. That was a horrible thing to do on several levels, as a husband and as a role model to the kids that follow the NBA. He has not yet been tried for the sexual assault case, so as our American right says - he's innocent until proven guilty. Don't let the media get you all riled up and just enjoy the game. I'm all about positive energy to support the home team, and I do yell at the refs when I think they missed a call. Otherwise, save your yelling for when Kobe steps to the line and you want the Pepsi Center to rock just enough that his free throw clanks off the rim. Okay, so I admit that I do still boo Nick a little when he comes to town... but not the whole game. :)

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Til next game,

Alan