It was the kind of heroic comeback for a band of underachievers that seems to only come from Hollywood. Not Hoosiers, not Major League, no, not any script can match the improbability of the Denver Nuggets' performance last night in defeating the Seattle SuperSonics at the Pepsi Center, 96-90.

Without star forward Antonio McDyess, sidelined by knee surgery, the Nuggets have been a poor team all season. Since head coach Dan Issel was dimissed following a scandal when Issel used a racial slur in an argument with a fan, the Nuggets have been just plain awful, winning only two of 11 games under interim head man Mike Evans. In addition to McDyess, they entered the game without key contributors Tariq Abdul-Wahad, George McCloud, and Scott Williams.

In the first half, the Sonics dominated as might have been expected. Despite some shooting woes of their own, the Sonics held Denver to 30% shooting and forced 11 turnovers to create an 11-0 differential in points off of turnovers. A late run to end the half gave Seattle a 13 point lead at halftime, with Denver's remaining stars, Raef LaFrentz (0) and Nick Van Exel (3) having contributed to give Denver almost no scoring.

Neither LaFrentz or Van Exel picked up their performance come the second half, but their respective exits from the game with four personal fouls allowed for an unlikely band of heroes to emerge. Van Exel's third foul came at the 3:09 mark of the quarter. After Seattle guard Brent Barry hit the ensuing two free throws, the Sonics held a six point lead. The Nuggets had narrowed the gap, but it appeared the Sonics would maintain the lead going into the final period, especially considering the Denver lineup: Avery Johnson, Voshon Lenard, James Posey, Ryan Bowen, and Zendon Hamilton. Only Posey was a starter prior to the season, and neither Hamilton nor Bowen would even have been playing at all were it not for the injuries to McDyess and Williams.

Despite the uninspring NBA pedigree of all but Johnson, a starter for several years with San Antonio who was considered washed up when he hit the free agent market this summer, the Nuggets finished the quarter with a stunning 14-0 run that erased the Seattle advantage and provided the Nuggets a six-point one of their own heading to the final period of play.

Though the clock may have read 12:00 to start the fourth quarter, the clock did not strike Midnight on Denver's Cinderella fantasies. Instead, the Nuggets maintained their run through the first four minutes of the quarter, outscoring the Sonics 10-2 to give them a total 24-2 run and a lead of 16 points with only eight minutes to play.

For a fan of the underdog, it was a thing of beauty. Here is Zendon Hamilton, not good enough to be drafted out of St. John's University, hammering former All-Star Vin Baker on the boards. Here is Ryan Bowen, a second round pick of Denver's three years back, hustling to retrieve a loose ball and crashing into the Sonic bench with reckless abandon. Here Bowen is losing Rashard Lewis, whose proclamations about receiving a max deal looked more ridiculous with each passing minutes, with a precise backcut for a layup. Here Voshon Lenard, a second round pick and NBA survivor, is drilling a three-pointer. Overseeing it all is Avery Johnson, traded by the Sonics to Denver more than a decade ago for a conditional second round pick to be received in seven years.

The nearly insurmountable deficit finally provided the Sonics some measure of urgency as they began a furious attempt to match the Nuggets' intensity and, more importantly, their score. The Sonics went on a 17-7 run of their own, drawing as near as six points on a Barry basket with 1:20 left, but though they could defeat the Nuggets, their true opponent was the clock, which refused to yield.

The Sonics were unable to collect a Johnson miss, and Lenard's buzzer-beating three pointer to extend the lead to nine was a backbreaker. The Sonics would never get any closer than six, and fall to the Nuggets, 96-90.

After removing the team's best rebounder, Art Long, from the starting lineup in favor of Desmond Mason, Coach Nate McMillan saw his team hammered on the boards by a 55-33 margin. The Nuggets had 20 offensive rebounds to the Sonics' 8. However, Mason did respond with 16 points, breaking out of a slump that has plagued him almost a month.

In addition to the stories, the numbers on the Denver side of the ball are remarkable. Lenard led the way with 27 points, making five of six from beyond the arc. Bowen notched a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, as did Hamilton, with 12 points and 16 rebounds, 11 on the offensive glass. Johnson finished with 18 points.

Unfortunately for these fairy-tale heroes, an NBA game is just one chapter of the longer book of the season, not a "Happily Ever After," and the Nuggets will have no time to bask in the glow of their accomplishments, with a return engagement with the Sonics looming just under 24 hours away in Seattle.