Denver Nuggets Basketball Team

In a season of redemption, where the Lakers decided from day one to finish off what they couldn't a year ago, another authoritative step was taken toward an NBA championship. Those who questioned the Lakers' resolve were quieted. Those who wondered if they were too fatigued now know the answer.

On the bright side for the Lakers, they beat the spread, Denver minus 29 points. Actually, the betting spread was Denver minus 4 1/2 , but after the Lakers' Game 4 no-show in Houston, when they were down by 29 after three quarters, it remained to be seen if they a) had learned this lesson of history, and b) could do anything about it if they had. In the good news in Lakerdom, they tried this time.

Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said Tuesday he was "truly sorry" for his arrest on DUI charges, and police denied giving him special treatment, even though one officer gave him a lift after his arrest and another drove his car to a city lot. "I'm here to man up to my mistake, just to let you know that I'm truly sorry for what happened and everything that's going on," Anthony, 23, said in Denver with teammate Allen Iverson by his side.

They embody the NBA's fusion of hip-hop and pick and roll, oozing of swagger, boasting of athleticism and as the unofficial titleholders of the team with the most body art. These Denver Nuggets are star-studded and expensive, carrying one of the league's highest payrolls. They scratched and clawed their way to the playoffs, finally curling their fingers around the Western Conference's eighth spot and earning a first-round matchup against the Lakers.

Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson did their dynamic duo part. The Denver Nuggets' bench was there, when needed, to prop them with added support. Their defense, for a long while at least, harassed Kobe Bryant into missing shot after shot. The blueprint for a Nuggets' victory was in place. Yet, they still didn't come close in Sunday's 128-114 opening-round loss to the Lakers. Disheartening? Maybe. Mildly depressing? Sure. But the Nuggets were not quite in down-in-the-dumps despair.

Happily, little fazes the Denver Nuggets, whose Smoking Bus incident en route to Staples Center wasn't even their worst roadside mishap in the last week. They're still awaiting test results to see whether Carmelo Anthony was driving while intoxicated when he was stopped in Denver, although Lakers fans skipped that part and started chanting "D-U-I!" at Melo in Game 1. (When Nuggets fans assail Kobe Bryant a lot louder than that in Denver, Lakers fans will think that's low-class.

A review of Lakers playoff game No. 3 -- 13 wins to go. -- DENVER -- Twenty-five years ago to this very Saturday, I'm a reporter here covering the Broncos' draft, standing in the food line because I was told that's what reporters do, when a secretary tells assistant coach Fran Polsfoot, "I've got Jack Elway on the telephone."

DENVER -- OK, boys and girls, what time is it? Baseball season! With the Nuggets trailing the Lakers, 3-0, and the NHL Avalanche trailing Detroit, 2-0, it's getting late in the local winter sports season. Or seeing as how the Rockies, last season's National League champions (I know it sounds wrong but I looked it up), are back where they usually are in the NL West, maybe fans can go right to the NFL Broncos. Actually, Denver fans never leave the Broncos.

DENVER -- The Lakers are pulling together. The Denver Nuggets are ripping apart. It should make for an interesting Game 4. Drama isn't the Lakers' concern for the first time in forever, which is fine with them, seeing as how they're not the ones playing like a group of independent contractors wearing the same uniform to work. Tonight could be the last stand for the Nuggets and a declarative step for the Lakers, who haven't swept a playoff series since 2002.

DENVER -- It summed up Carmelo Anthony's series aptly. One of those shots as he described after Game 3 that "I can make in my sleep," instead, flat-out missed. Anthony Carter lobbed the ball to him for a dunk in the third quarter and Anthony muffed it, the ball careening skyward off the rim to half court. That flanked other times in this Game 4, when Anthony slugged the air in disgust or held his hands at his hips after fouling out.