Nuggets, Pacers square off in Taipei


http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_conten...s_Sports_TAIWAN

At Taipei Arena:




At Taipei Arena:



At Taipei Arena:




By Joseph Yeh
Taiwan News, Staff Reporter

The players and coaches of the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers jointly expressed their anticipation yesterday over the first-ever NBA game in Taipei, a contest to take place today, while pledging that they will be well-prepared and ready for this historic game in Taiwan.

"I always look forward to meeting new fans and we will to try to take this win," said Chauncey Billups, point guard for the Nuggets yesterday.

This is the 6ft3in guard's second visit to Taiwan. Billups said his previous visit seven years ago was too brief for him to look around. He hopes to take this opportunity to visit some places in the city of Taipei during this trip.

Looking forward to the upcoming season, Billups said his team had a tremendous season last year and he hopes the Nuggets can start off another great season this year. The Nuggets made it to the Western Conference finals last season under the leadership of Billups, the 2004 NBA Finals MVP.

Another key for the team is two-time NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony. The talented, young 6-8 forward expressed his wish to meet Taiwan's fans. "I'm pretty sure the fans here are all as loud and crazy as fans in Denver," said Anthony.

Anthony added that he believes his team is older and wiser and has more experience this year compared with last season, and this will help the team to move upward.

"It's always fun to pass the game of basketball around the world, and hopefully we can entertain the fans here," said Denver's head coach George Karl. Karl added that his team had not done very well in its first two warm-up games, with a lot of turnovers. "We will start to work on it and see how we do in tomorrow's game."

Billups, Anthony and Karl made the comments before an open practice one day before their game in Taipei Arena.

Prior to the Nuggets practice, the other visiting team, the Indiana Pacers, also held a one-hour practice session in preparation for the upcoming game.

"We will also have practice tomorrow morning and we will study a lot of films (of Denver), to be ready for the Nuggets as best as we can," said Jim O'Brien, head coach of the Pacers.

He said his team is fortunate to play a preseason game with Denver, a great team last season, which will be a true test for his team and allow it a chance to grow.

O'Brien pointed out efforts by team President Larry Bird, an NBA legend, to upgrade the team and added that hopefully the team will make it to the playoffs this year.

Pacers NBA All-Star Danny Granger, winner of the NBA 2008-09 Most Improved Player award, said although he was still suffering from jet lag, he is looking forward to the game. With his improvement both defensively and offensively over the last season, he hopes to help lift the team to the playoffs.

After both teams' open practices, the NBA stars in Taiwan held a coaching session for 82 children sponsored by World Vision who were affected by Typhoon Morakot, a part of the NBA Care program.

NBA Commissioner David Stern will arrive in Taiwan today to hold a pre-game press conference with Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin at 3:00 before the game officially tips off at 7:30 in Taipei Arena.

The two teams arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday evening. In addition to playing in the game, both teams are also scheduled to visit Taipei's National Palace Museum and Taiwan's landmark Taipei 101 during their brief visit.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/arch...0/09/2003455530

Potent Pacers top Denver Nuggets in first NBA game

BIG HIT: Those who were lucky enough to get a seat in the sold-out crowd at Taipei Arena were treated to shows by the Nuggets cheer squad and stunt crew
By Paul Huang
CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
Friday, Oct 09, 2009, Page 1

The National Basketball League (NBA) left its mark in Taiwan last night with the Indiana Pacers topping the Denver Nuggets 126-104 at the Taipei Arena in the first-ever exhibition game played in the nation.

The highly anticipated showdown saw more than its share of local celebrities, as well as having league commissioner David Stern and NBA legend Larry Bird (serving as the Pacers’ president of Basketball Operations) in attendance. It lived up to its hype as the sellout crowd was treated to some action from top stars that included a two-handed slam dunk by Nuggets’ Chris Andersen in the second quarter and three straight three-pointers by Pacers standout Danny Granger to jumpstart the Indiana offense in the first quarter.

Even though the outcome of the contest was not close by NBA standards, the authentic game experience was fully absorbed and enjoyed by those who were fortunate enough to make it, whether it was the Nuggets Dancers that kept the house entertained with their impressive moves, or the Pacers’ acrobatic courtside slam-dunking stunt crew named the Power Pack that showed there is more to ­basketball than the game itself.

The Pacers needed little time to find its range by scoring the game’s first 10 points, before the Nuggets fought back with 11 first-quarter points by Carmelo Anthony to end the quarter trailing 24-32.

The Pacers continued their dominance with above-50 percent shooting from the field (compared with the Nuggets’ 36 percent through the third quarter) to lead by as many as 24 before running away with the win in the end.

Leading a balanced attack for the victorious Pacers was a trio of 20-point scorers in Troy Murphy, Brandon Rush and Roy Hibbert, while the Nuggets looked to Anthony’s team-high 17 points with four rebounds in the 20 minutes he played.