2009 NBA Playoffs: Game 3 - New Orleans Hornets 95 Denver Nuggets 93 (Highlights)

Game 3: New Orleans Hornets 95 Denver Nuggets 93

Analysis: At the beginning of this game, the Hornets came out with no energy and looked like a team that was ready to go down 0-3 to the Nuggets. I thought for sure the Nuggets were going to blow them out again, but the James Posey came in off the bench to finish the first quarter with 10 points, which really ignited the Hornets and their fans. If the Hornets do come back to win this series, they can thank James Posey for saving their season. Without his 10 points in the first quarter, I think they would have lost again, because they looked really flat at first. Game 4 should be interesting as the Hornets will look to even things up at home.

Key Players of The Game

Chris Paul: CP3 finally had a big scoring game in this series and the Hornets needed every last point that Paul scored to beat the Hornets. He finished with 32 points, 12 assists, and 5 rebounds. The Hornets need 25+ points from Paul every game to beat the Nuggets.

James Posey: Like I said above, Posey helped turn this game around in the 1st quarter by scoring 10 points off the bench to keep the Hornets from getting blown out. He finished with just 13 points and added 9 rebounds, but he definitely had a huge impact on this game.

Rasual Butler: Butler was crazy efficient in this game scoring 17 points on just 8 shot attempts. He drilled 3 treys and was a perfect 4 of 4 from the line.

Chauncey Billups: Mr. Big Shot finally had a bad game shooting just 3 of 10 from the field. He still managed to score 16 points to go along with his 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The Nuggets have to feel good about themselves, since they only lost by 2 on the road even with Billups having an off night.

Carmelo Anthony: Yeah, 'Melo had a decent game with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, but he did shoot only 10 of 25 from the floor. I'm still waiting for 'Melo to bust out with one of those 40+ point playoff games, where he wills his team to victory, and with Billups struggling this was the perfect night for him to do so. It didn't happen and you have to wonder if it ever will at this point.

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