Melo's legend as a clutch player grows

These aren't the same big bad Wolves that knocked us out of the playoffs 2 years ago, but these aren't those same Nuggets either.

Here's the real scoop on what happened in the waning minutes of overtime, that you probably won't read on the official online recaps...

DJ hit a three to put the Nuggets up 99-95 with less than a minute to go. The T-Wolves inbounded the ball and got it to Ricky Davis. K-Mart helped double-team him with a great front out on the perimeter, forcing him into a bad pass. Camby jumped into the passing lane and grabbed the ball. DJ then missed a three from the corner with just 27 seconds left.

Now here's where it starts to diverge from what you will read on the official sites. Mark Blount (ex-Nugget) made a surprising 15 foot jumper to cut the lead to 2 points with just 15 seconds left. The Nuggets inbounded the ball to Melo, who split thru the double team of Garnett and another Trenton Hassell. Garnett grabbed Melo's arm to get a foul and stop the clock, separating him from the ball. Somehow, all three refs missed the play and let KG get away with it, ending up with a slam to tie the score instead. It was one of the worst missed calls I've seen in quite awhile - it was an easy call - KG grabbed Melo with two hands to stop the clock, and the refs either looked the other way or swallowed their whistles.

Okay, so the Nuggets put that aside and realized they had the ball with 10 seconds left and in control - either make a shot to win the game or head to a second OT, right? Instead, Kenyon Martin makes a bone-heading play and inbounds the ball in an attempt to get it to Andre, but it is stolen easily by Ricky Davis. Ricky nails a jumper with 6 seconds left, putting the T-Wolves up by 2 now.

"I tried to put that out of my mind as much as possible, but I couldn't," Martin said of his mistake. "Melo bailed me out and I said thanks after the game."

Ugh. Hold on though. Kenyon again struggles to find an open Nugget player to inbound the ball to, settling on Melo, who is pinned into the far corner by Trenton Hassell immediately. The T-Wolves have a foul to give, but Hassell missed his chance. Melo pumps once, then jumps straight up and launches a huge rainbow three-pointer over Hasell... which drops straight in. Nuggets lead by one.

KG's final shot is blocked and the Nuggets get out of Minnesota with a huge road and conference win.

Game Summary written by: aswitzer

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