Monday was a cold night in Denver. Once I get off of work and go home, it's pretty hard to get me to venture back out into a dark and frigid wasteland like that. Tickets to a Nuggets game is one of the proven methods to get me back out the door.

1. My buddy and I arrived early enough to receive a couple of pairs of thundersticks. I've seen other fans with these at some games recently, so I'm guessing this has been a fairly common giveaway for the early birds. Anything to get people to make more noise during the opposing team's free throws, I guess.
2. As most of you know, Paul Millsap's daughter took the opening shot of the night and sunk the free throw. She ended the night with a better percentage than some of the guys on the team (some of whom didn't attempt many more than she did). I'm glad that Paul got to share that moment with his daughter though and it sure was nice to see him back on the court.
3. I was expecting a tough game against the Spurs and that's exactly what the Nuggets got. It reminded me a little bit of the playoff series from last season, minus Derrick White absolutely going off.
4. Not helping matters was a fairly large contingent of Spurs fans by the visitor's bench. They were loud and exuberant when things were going well for their team.
5. I have not been following the Spurs that well though, because I had no idea that they had Trey Lyles. He actually had a pretty good night from the field (prompting a nearby fan to yell, "Where was that last year, Trey?!" every time he sank a shot) and the Nuggets were kind enough to put him up on the jumbotron during a break and ask the fans to welcome him back. There was a smattering of applause, but nothing more.
6. One thing I've learned about this team is that you just can't count them out, no matter how bleak things might look in the early going. They've made several comebacks at home this season to overcome first half deficits. That's the kind of resiliency that bodes well for a team come playoff time.
7. Team USA's boxing team was in attendance and they brought one of the guys down to the court for a sketch with Rocky. Essentially, they hyped it up like there was going to be a quick boxing match (complete with fake muscles for Rocky), but then it just turned out to be a staring contest. Rocky won, of course, which prompted the "angry" boxer to deck the mascot with a punch. It was one of the more unique and bizarre segments I've seen Rocky do.
8. Attendance was a bit scattered as fans fought through the snow to be there, but it seemed pretty packed in the second half. The Can was rocking as Jamal Murray and co. caught fire, with the exclamation point coming as Monte sank that three at the end of the third quarter.
9. Nuggets fans still have some kinks to iron out in their "M-V-P" chants. They tried to shower Jokic with those at the end of the game, but it was disjointed and different sections were out of sync with each other. Denver is still getting acclimated to having a really good basketball team with a star player.
10. My buddy who was there with me is a diehard Suns fan and absolutely relished watching the Spurs choke away their lead. We also spotted a guy wearing a Steve Nash jersey, whom my buddy high-fived and embraced as a friend. I love the bonds that this sport creates.