10 Quick Nuggetz from Denver vs. LA Lakers 4/9/09

• It's frustrating watching Johan Petro get big minutes in a game like this. At least he showed some signs of life with a nice dunk.

• Despite the lack of acknowledgement from the TNT broadcasters, the Nugz showed that they can hang with the Lakers in LA even in the second game of a back-to-back.

• Both sides of Linas the Menace came out tonight, though fortunately he gave up on shooting the 3 other than a shot clock buzzer beater in the 4th quarter. A quick glance at his shot chart shows that he didn't make a single shot from outside of the paint, including his two missed free throws.

• The officiating was very frustrating, it seems like every time these teams play, the officials call the game extremely tight.

• On that note, Steve Javie is either fluent in Portuguese or Nene has learned some powerful words in English in order to get T'd up that quick.

• Good to see Dahntay Jones getting up in Kobe's grill a bit. Could have gone without the 3 quick fouls in a row though.

• Solid game from Kobe tonight; his shot was on. The Nugz had done a pretty good job on Kobe this season up until tonight.

• Andrew Bynum looked pretty good in his first game back, but keep in mind that the Lakers are the worst match-up in the league for the Nugz when Kenyon, Birdman or Nene are out. Just too much size on the low post and that showed tonight.

• Carmelo showed some signs of getting that killer instinct back driving to the hoop. It's got to be frustrating for him when the officials are calling a tight game and he can't get a call with three Lakers slapping at his arms as he's looking to lay the ball in.

• Best sign of the night: When JR "Don't Call Me Junior" Smith knocked down that huge three at the end of the first half, there were no theatrics. It seems like something might have clicked for him and he's a little more focused on winning than looking good.