Denver Nuggets respond to urgency in home playoff game victory

DENVER (AP) -- After two lackluster games in Minnesota, the Nuggets figured to get a lift from the crowd in their first NBA home playoff game in nearly a decade.
Did they ever.
Energized by more than 19,000 screaming, thunder stick-clapping fans, Denver jumped out to a big lead early and barely slowed down Saturday night to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-86. The emotional and convincing win cut Minnesota's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series and gave the Nuggets a head of steam going into Game 4 Tuesday night.
"We just wanted to send a message that we could play too," Nuggets rookie Carmelo Anthony said Sunday. "We made it to the playoffs and it wasn't no fluke. We're here, we put our stuff on just like they put their stuff on and we're going to bring it like they bring it."
No standing around
In the two games in Minnesota, the Nuggets acted as if they were just happy to be in the playoffs after a nine-year absence, with lots of standing around on offense and a lack of aggression on both ends.
That wasn't the case in Game 3.
Inspired by a crowd that included former Nuggets Alex English, David Thompson and Fat Lever, Denver was much more physical inside and got back to its push-the-pace style of the regular season to win in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
The fans certainly ate it up, screaming almost nonstop from the time the doors opened until the Nuggets triumphantly trotted off the court. NBA rookie of the year LeBron James even got into the act, donning Anthony's No. 15 jersey between the first and second quarters during a skit with the Nuggets' mascot.
"We knew the crowd was going to bring the energy, so we had to bring our energy on the court and just have fun out there and go back to playing basketball," Anthony said.
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