DENVER FORCES GAME 6

Adrian Dantley gathered the Nuggets near midcourt at the end of shootaround Wednesday morning and urged them to make George Karl proud. “You know how he likes you to play,” Dantley said. “Win one for George.” Since taking over as acting head coach in mid-March, Dantley has been reluctant to use the ailing-coach angle as a motivational tool out of respect for Karl as he went through a difficult treatment for throat and neck cancer. There was nothing rehearsed or synthetic about Dantley’s decision to mention Karl before Game 5 against the Utah Jazz. It was simply a timely reminder for the Nuggets to play smart, play hard and play together as they tried to avoid elimination in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Sharing the ball and playing with a renewed sense of urgency, the Nuggets extended their season by beating the Jazz 116-102 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Pepsi Center. Denver trails the best-of-seven series 3-2, with Game 6 set for Friday night in Utah. “We just wanted to play good basketball. We know we’re in a fight,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “On our home court, we didn’t want to go out like that. Now we try to go out and get one on their home court.” After three straight losses to the Jazz, Anthony pleaded for more help from his supporting cast. He couldn’t have been happier with the response. While Anthony led Denver with 26 points and 11 rebounds, the Nuggets got a balanced effort that surely put a smile on Karl’s face as he watched the game from home. Chauncey Billups scored 21 points and hit two big 3-pointers during a third-quarter surge. J.R. Smith had as many assists (3) as shot attempts at one point in the second quarter before finishing with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Kenyon Martin (18 points, nine rebounds) and Chris Andersen (10 points, seven rebounds, three blocked shots) came up big on the interior, while Arron Afflalo scored 12 points and didn’t miss a shot. "I think once everybody figured out what I was saying, I think everybody responded to that challenge," Anthony said. "I never pointed nobody out. I never said any names. I said as a team we needed to do it together. I think we responded to that." The win was tempered by the loss of starting center Nene, who sprained his left knee with 5:03 left in the second quarter. He will be re-examined Thursday and his status for Game 6 is uncertain. “We’ve been facing challenges like that the whole season,” Anthony said. “I was out, Chauncey was out, Kenyon was out, coach Karl was out and guys had to step up and face that challenge and succeed. As a whole, we did a great job of doing that this season, and I don’t see why we can’t continue doing that now.” As always, containing Jazz forward Carlos Boozer and point guard Deron Williams will be critical for the Nuggets to steal a win in Salt Lake City and force Game 7 back in Denver on Sunday. Boozer had 25 points and 16 rebounds Wednesday night, while Williams scored 34 points and added 10 assists. Williams became the first player in NBA history with at least 20 points and 10 assists in each of the first five games of a playoff series. Utah, however, got little production from its bench. Reserve forward Paul Millsap accounted for 16 points, but no other Jazz reserve scored. Denver, meanwhile, got major contributions from reserves Andersen, Smith, Ty Lawson and Johan Petro. “They were a lot more alive. They went after the ball a little harder than we did,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “The players off the bench gave them a big lift. Their bench people killed us.” Petro started in place of Nene in the second half and he came up with a big tip-in that gave Denver a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. The Jazz never got closer than seven the rest of the way as the Nuggets hit 16 of 20 free throws in the fourth quarter and limited Utah to 7-of-21 shooting. “We were down 3-1 facing a good basketball team that had a lot of success against us in this series,” Billups said. “Some people would hang their head and say, 'They got us.' We didn't have one guy that did that. Everyone came in very focused trying to extend the series. “Now you have the chance to put the pressure on them. The pressure's on them to win in Game 6. We've got to go in and play the same way. Leave everything on the court and try to steal that game and go back home for Game 7. That's where you want to be.” (Nuggets.com)