Nuggets Beat Bulls After Refs Overturn Brad Miller Buzzer Beater (VIDEO, POLL)

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(AP)

CHICAGO -- Chauncey Billups hit the go-ahead free throw with six-tenths of a second left and the Denver Nuggets beat the Chicago Bulls 90-89 on Tuesday night after a potential winning jumper by Brad Miller was overturned following a replay review.

Billups was fouled by Kirk Hinrich on a drive and then intentionally missed the second free throw after making the first to break the tie. Joakim Noah grabbed the rebound, and the Bulls nearly pulled it off.

After a timeout, Miller caught the inbounds pass from Hinrich and, in one motion, buried a jumper from the top of the key. The crowd went wild. So did the Bulls, but it didn't last.

After a lengthy review, the officials ruled time had expired, and the Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak.

The win was the 939th for coach George Karl, who passed Red Auberbach and is eighth on the NBA's all-time list.

Carmelo Anthony scored a season-low 20 points for Denver, while Billups added 17, and Kenyon Martin had 15 points and 10 rebounds after missing a game with a bruised left fibula.

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Derrick Rose led Chicago with 22 points, while Luol Deng scored 21, and Joakim Noah had a career-high 21 rebounds for the Bulls, who had won three straight.

Both teams struggled from the outside, with the Bulls hitting 4 of 18 3-pointers and the Nuggets 5 of 16.

There was never really a big run in the game.

It was at 87-83 after Anthony tracked down a loose ball following a broken play by the Bulls and Martin dunked with 1:56 left.

Hinrich buried a jumper to make it a two-point game and then picked up a loose ball after a missed 3 by John Salmons, keeping the possession alive. After Noah missed a layup, Rose converted to tie it at 87 with 33 seconds left, and he answered Anthony's jumper with two free throws with 10.4 seconds left, setting up the wild finish.

NOTES: Denver's J.R. Smith scored five points in his first game after serving a seven-game suspension. He said he wants to go by his given name, Earl III, although the Nuggets plan to keep calling him J.R. ... Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said there are no plans to bring in outside help even though the Bulls are down to 10 healthy players. ... Del Negro said "everything has gone well" with F Tyrus Thomas, who is out for at least a month with a broken left forearm. "It's just a matter of getting him on some cardio program so he can stay in the best condition as you can in this situation," Del Negro said. "But it's going to be awhile."

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Did Brad Miller get his shot off in time?

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Comments

[PAsteelers]

The ball had not left his fingertips before the light abovet the rim came on.

The shot was a hair late. GOOD CALL.

[PAsteelers]

Palemon, it is a good strategy to miss on purpose if you are out of time and 1 point just
won't do., You don't watch or play a lot of basketball, do you?

[Palemoon]

Bad call, plus there should be punishment for intentionally not trying to score. In basketball, the whole point of the game is to score points. To intentionally miss at any point of the game is to try and throw the game. That's why cheating in basketball is so prevalent I guess.

[GreshamGuy]

Nah, it's not throwing the game.

It's a legitimate gamble that you can get the ball on the miss and score at least two points to force a three to tie and deny a win in regulation. If you're REALLY lucky, you can convert a three, and put it totally out of reach, as long as you don't foul on their three attempt.

Games are won and lost this way. It's a perfectly normal part of the game.

[Gover]

I get the impression you don't watch a lot of basketball.

First, it wasn't a bad call. You can clearly see the guy's hand still on the ball with the shot clock light on. It's obvious even in grainy youtube video, much less nice ultra HD video that several trained referees reviewed.

Second, the whole game is not about scoring points. It's about more points than the opposing team. And sometimes missing a shot puts you in a better position to eventually score more points.

[SimonSezz]

Gover, this is not a true statement.......

"And sometimes missing a shot puts you in a better position to eventually score more points".....

I believe this is what you meant to say.

And sometimes missing a shot puts you in a better position to let the clock expire so your opponent does not have enough time to get the ball to their end of the court to score

[SimonSezz]

Wow, it was not cheating just almost a miscalcula­tion......­.....But hey the Nuggets won

[k6007]

Heartbreaker. But, not in time.

[steveinohio]

I managed to pause the youtube video on a frame that shows the ball touching fingers and the scoreboard lit up...good call by the officials.

[jackiekahane]

The overhead shot clearly shows the ball in the player's hand. The crowd and the Bulls would have gone nuts if it was not the correcxt call.

[WowJones]

I saw the game, the refs called it good then went to the replay. The replay was inconclusive which means they should have let their original call stand.

[balancedsolution]

Too difficult to tell, but i'd say no he didn't. the lights appeared on before it was out of his hand.

they should do a side/by/side viewing next time. .

they pay these guys millions to play this game.....they can afford a few hundred bucks to be able to view this play side / by / side with a few extra cables.