Nuggets' Hustle Uproot Laker 'Bigs'!

Before Game Four, Carmelo Anthony suffered a stomach flu. During the contest, he twisted his ankle and shot 3-16 from the floor. The superstar was down and out. Did his team follow suit?

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HELL NAW!!

Chris Andersen, the suddenly offensively "gifted" duo of Nene Hilario and Kenyon Martin, along with "I Found My Shot" J.R. Smith and Linas "Big Games (Against the Lakers)" Kleiza came up huge as Denver whooped the Los Angeles 120-101!

From the first quarter on, the Nuggets assaulted the backboards for second chance shots and pressured guards into errant shots. They won the rebounding battle 58-40 and collected 20 offensive boards which led to 23 points. They shot 49 free throws and made about 80% of them. They attacked "The Black Mamba" with hard fouls and different defenders. They took away his venom and made him into a garden snake.

However, Kobe Bryant wasn't the blame for his team's ass-whooping. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom have accumulated points and rebounds throughout the series. But, they have also given up unnecessary fouls, offensive and defensive boards and repeatedly been beaten by penetrating guards. Denver "worked" the Laker front line. They intimidated their bench of Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton and Shannon Brown. All of these players with effeminate names played like "girls" in all four games.

L.A. wanted a series where their Triangle offense would befuddle and bedazzle the so-called "thugs" from Colorado. Nevertheless, George Karl finally played to his strength of penetrating, rebounding and using his bench. Kleiza only played four ten minutes. But, he scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. He spelled Anthony as he limped and upchucked his way to a much-needed victory. The Birdman flew high by grabbing rebounds and allowing Denver multiple opportunities to score. He also delivered two rim-rocking blocks that sparked fast-break baskets.

After the game, Coach Phil Jackson sounded terse and pissed. He complained about Dantay Jones's "unsportsmanlike play" on Bryant with the Game 3 push in his back and the Game 4 tripping. He also complained that his team "didn't know what a foul was" throughout the contest. He reacted angrily to a reporter's question about his team's inconsistent effort. Jackson did his job as a Laker coach by blaming the opponent for rough play, blaming the refs for calling inconsistent, foul calls, and blaming the Mile High crowd for berating his superstar.

Everything aside, his team got their butts kicked. They were outworked, outmatched and humiliated. The better team played their best game so far.

Game 5 at the Staples Center on Wednesday.