A Statement Win for Denver

The NBA season is very long, but this one will sting a while. No one should need to be reminded how much games against division rivals mean, even if it is October. For the Denver Nuggets, it's a very impressive start to the NBA season. They've started with two victories over the two teams that came into the season poised to steal their division crown- Utah, and Portland. And, they've done it without sharpshooter J.R. Smith, who is serving a seven-game suspension to start the year.This was the very definition of a grind-it-out win for Denver, who was playing in the second of a back to back. It was ugly. Both teams struggled to find any flow. Denver hung around, stayed in the game by shooting 49 free throws, and won it when Portland opened the door by missing free throws late in the game. They outscored the Blazers 35-27 in the fourth quarter and won the game 97-94.The Trail Blazers held a seven-point lead with just over seven minutes left, but the Nuggets never faded. Beh...