The Denver Nuggets proved themselves to be the antitheses of their series opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers, on Monday. LA may lay claim to one superstar, but the rest of the team seemed little more than a supporting cast in Game 4; Denver, on the other hand, revealed a depth that allowed the team to perform even while its own star was puking in a trash can.

Denver was able to win Game 4 120-101.

And this even with Carmelo Anthony torn and green Monday night; Melo not only sprained his ankle in the first quarter, but was suffering from a stomach flu that left him demanding IVs at half-time.

“Even before I twisted my ankle, with my stomach, I didn’t have my legs early in the game,” Anthony explained. “I felt like I didn’t have any energy. Those IVs were a must. They helped a little bit. I’ll be OK for Wednesday.”

Melo shot a dismal 3-for-15, finishing with only fifteen points. Fortunately, however, Denver’s strong reserve came to the rescue.

Denver’s subs dominated their Los Angeles rivals in the paint and on the glass by 18, beating them by 10 on the fast break and outscoring their bench 42-24. Denver grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to the Lakers’ feeble 9, snagged a majority of the 50-50 balls, and made 42 points on dunks and layups to the Lakers’ 16.

Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith managed 24 points each, with four other players scoring in the double digits. Kenyon Martin added 13 with 15 boards while center Nene maintained the Nuggets’ first-quarter lead by making 6 rebounds and 2 boards. Overall, Nene added 14 points and 13 rebounds. Chris Anderson, the Nuggets’ “Birdman,” made 14 rebounds, bringing the Nuggets’ grand total to 58 against the Lakers’ 40.

In the messianic words of LA’s megastar, Kobe Bryant: “They whooped us, period.”

Bryant managed 34 points in Game 4, with LA Coach Phil Jackson taking care to not to overplay him.

Bryant and Pau Gasol, with 21 points, seemed the only rays of hope for the Lakers on Monday. Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom both suffered injuries that prevented them from making their now-renowned interceptions that ended Games 1 and 3. Quite the opposite, in fact: Odom, enduring a back injury, threw an inbounds pass that was snatched by Denver’s Chauncey Billups at the end of the fourth. Billups made a layup that effectively ended the game.

Similarly, Ariza, with hip and groin injuries, made only 3 points and 1 rebound.

Game 4, played in the Nuggets’ home court, seemed the best opportunity to catch up, and Denver snagged it. The Nuggets entered the game with a sense of desperation that brought out an edge in aggressiveness. They pushed the already-exhausted Lakers, who, perhaps lacking the sense of the urgency that motivated Denver, did not push back.

“When you’re tired, you say, OK, I don’t have to get that ball or I don’t have to get on the floor for this loose ball, as opposed to taking every possession like it’s the last possession,” Bryant said.

“But,” added his coach, Jackson, “that’s not a very good excuse.”

The series is now best-in-three, and the Nuggets – for the first time in franchise history – are showing themselves to be serious challengers in the NBA playoffs. Might it happen? Might the Lakers lose?

The next game is Wednesday.