FrontRowSportsReport.com: Sports Blog

168 points. I didn’t believe it when I first saw it or I thought that it was a 4 overtime game. Nope, the Denver Nuggets scored 168 points last night, in regulation, in beating the Seattle Supersonics 168-116.

The 168 points in regulation is not a NBA record but it is a franchise record. The Nuggets had 8 players who scored in double digits, Carmelo Anthony lead the way with 26 points,  Allen Iverson had 24, Kenyon Martin had 23 and Marcus Camby put in a triple-double  with 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

After the game the Nuggets were still in shock at how many points they scored. “I’ve never been a part of a game like this where we won by so many points and scored so many points,” Marcus Camby said. “This is definitely a game I’m going to keep in my archives.”  Kenyon Martin added. “A lot of people are going to think it’s a misprint, a lot of people will think there’s no way they scored that many points. It’s unbelievable. There are no words for it.”

Unfortunately someone had to lose this game and it was the SuperSonics by 52 points.  The SuperSonics, who are 16-51 on the season, once again showed that their main weakness is on defense. In this years NBA Draft they will hopefully go after so big talent who can play D.

Last night saw the return, finally, of Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett to the lineup. Garnett who has been out since January 25th with a strained stomach muscle played only 21 minutes in the Celtics loss to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets beat the Celtics, in Denver, 124-118 - this was the Celtics first loss to a Western Conference team this season.

The Nuggets were led by Carmelo Anthony who scored a game high 29 points and Allen Iverson who scored 28 points. However, Iverson did not bask in the big win for long, he felt that beat the top team puts added pressure on the Nuggets. “Winning this game puts a lot of pressure on us, because if you can beat a team like this, then you can beat all the other teams,” Iverson said after the game. “We have enough talent to scare some people, but we just have to bring it night in and night out.” Settle down A.I. you did beat the Celtics but they were not at 100%.

The Celtics were led my Paul Pierce who put up 24 points and Rajon Rondo who added 22 points. Garnett finished last nights game with 4 points and 8 rebounds - not typical Garnett numbers but I am sure he was happy with it. “It was good to get back,” Garnett said after the game.? “It felt good.” Celtics coach Doc Rivers was a little harder on the Garnett saying his return was “Not very Good. But you have to expect that when he sits out that long. He was rusty.”

Garnett has averaged 19.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game this season.

USC Trojans freshman guard OJ Mayo may have violated an NCAA rule this week when he accepted tickets to an NBA game. Denver Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony gave the soon to be high NBA Draft pick tickets to Monday night’s game between the Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. The news came out Tuesday when Mayo told reporters about the gift and that the tickets were located behind courtside seats near mid-court. The face value of the tickets is $230 each.

It does not seem like that big of a deal except that NCAA rules specifically say that student-athletes may not receive “free or reduced-cost admission to professional athletics contests from professional sports organizations, unless such services also are available to the student body in general.” Not sure but I don’t think the entire USC student body was asked to go.

Mayo, who is averaging a team-high 19.7 points per game, could face disciplinary action if the NCAA finds he broke the rules. However, since Mayo was at a party the night before that Anthony hosted he could be labeled as a friend and not have broken the rules. Either way Mayo is heading to the NBA next year and can go to all the games and parties he wants.

Who would have thought that after losing top NBA draft pick Greg Oden for the year the Portland Trail Blazers would be 15-12, second place in the Northwest division and winners of 10 straight games. With a young squad, the youngest in the NBA, that was built around Oden this was suppose to be a rebuilding year not a possible playoff year (but lets not get ahead of ourselves).For their 10th win in a row, last night the Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 99-96 with Martell Webster scoring 19 while Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge put in 18 each. 10 wins in a row is the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and the longest for Portland since the 2001-2002 season.

The Trail Blazers are playing over their heads but dont underestimate them, they have last seasons Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy and a few veterans who can help the younger player transition into the NBA. Portland does have an outside shot of making the playoffs and that should be their goal, getting some playoff experience for next year with Oden would benefit them greatly. However, they should keep their head level and enjoy winning now because there will be rough roads ahead.