Round Deux, Game 5 Recap

Wow, what a night to be in the Pepsi Center.

Getting past the first round was fun, but there was an unbelievable amount of energy flowing through the Can all through the 4th quarter and well past the final buzzer.

With a record attendance that nearly topped the 20,000 mark, every shot attempt, every defensive stop by Melo or KMart on Dirk, every time somebody entered or left the game, the crowd was ready to erupt and every time it seemed like it couldn't get any better, with it all culminating on Junior Smith's alley-oop pass to KMart for a dunk that gives new meaning to the word "emphatic."

It was an epic journey.

When I say that, I'm not speaking about the game, series or playoff run. I'm not talking about the evolution of the Carmelo-era Nuggets. I'm talking about how I got to the game.

Having purchased the tickets on ticketmaster, I selected the "pick-up at a retail location" option since will-call didn't seem to be an option anymore. Before braving the 2.5 hour drive to Denver, I made sure to look up a few Ticketmaster retail outlets around Denver to give me some options. With traffic the way it was, I managed to get into my usualy parking lot next to Old Chicago at 14th and Market. From there I figured it was a short jaunt over to 16th and California where I thought I'd be able to snag my ticket before heading back to the Can. Much to my surprise, the Denver Visitor's Bureau was all locked up for the evening. This was disappointing as I believed the next closest outlet was at a record store up around Colfax and Ogden. I make the walk up that direction and come to the realization that the record store I walked to was in fact not the record store that was a Ticketmaster outlet. After checking out some street signs, I realize I have a good 15 blocks yet to go. I finally reach Twist & Shout up next to the Tattered Cover bookstore, make my way back to the back cashier and he tells me that since the game has started, my ticket will be at Will Call.

Oh.

I was lucky enough to catch a cab back with a cabby that was a fan, so I got to listen to the first half of the second quarter on the radio anyway and made it into my seat for the last 5 minutes of the half.

Anyway, now that I've rehashed the highs and lows of my evening, I'll try to throw together some thoughts on the series' past and future:

• Denver has now taken two teams that played strong in the powerful Western Conference and made them look like fringe playoff teams.


• At some point, maybe it's time to give some credit to the Nuggets instead of bashing the other team.


• I like the idea of Mark Cuban crashing into a Maverick's halftime huddle giving Will Farrell's "We've got to keep our composure!" speech from Old School.


• Speaking of Cuban, it's very convenient that he had a previously scheduled event to attend this evening. I wonder where he'd have been if this game had been played in Dallas.


• Regardless of who the Nuggets play next, I would love to see them keep working on consistent defensive intensity. There have been times this series where Dallas has had absolutely no options on offense and times where the Nuggets seem fine with allowing open jumpers. Maybe facing Kobe will be enough to motivate the team throughout the next round.

I'm going to leave it at this for now as it's late and I'll be getting up early to make the 2.5 hour drive back tomorrow, but I'll also leave you with a picture I got from my seat shortly after the final seconds ticked away on the Maverick's 2009 season: