A pair of first-place teams who figure to be upwardly mobile in the next edition of Mark Heisler’s power rankings meet Saturday night in San Antonio when the Spurs host the Denver Nuggets. Neither team has a top 20 scorer, a top 20 rebounder or a top 10 assist man. However, both have established themselves as one of the league’s better teams in the early going. The Spurs are fourth in Heisler’s rankings. They have won two in a row, including Thursday’s demolition
// Happy New Year, all. There was much rejoicing in Los Angeles, where Andrew Bynum made his return. But should there have been? After sitting out the first four games of the season for his sore-loser bodyblock on J.J. Barea in last year’s playoffs, Bynum had a huge debut with 29 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers edged the Denver Nuggets, 92-89. The Lakers had muddled their way to a 2-2 start and were sorely awaiting the return of Bynum. But even with
By Chris Sheridan VILNIUS, Lithuania — Once upon a time in mid-February of this year, Timofey Mozgov was the only thing holding up the blockbuster trade that sent Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks. Once the Knicks relented and agreed to give up the 7-footer, the deal went forward. But Mozgov went backward, spending most of the rest of the season on the end of Denver’s bench. “It was hard. What I take from last season was the waiting game, how to keep