"In Oklahoma City, Thunder is a noun. In Denver, Kenyon Martin turned it into a verb.

The veteran thundered his opinions Friday about the Nuggets, who are down two games to Oklahoma City in their first-round playoff series heading into tonight's Game 3.

"We're all right. I'm telling you, we're all right," Martin said in a strong, serious tone. "I'm the captain of this team - we're all right."

A day before, teammate J.R. Smith said the Nuggets "didn't have a pulse" during a team meeting. On Friday, Smith said, "Everybody's on the same page."

It seems a night of rest lifted the mood around the Nuggets for what is all but a must-win scenario. If the Nuggets go down 3-0, they will need to win four consecutive

games against a team that will have defeated Denver five consecutive times this month.

The Nuggets appeared re-energized at Friday's practice after a day of soul searching following a blowout loss at Oklahoma City. Arron Afflalo (hamstring) practiced and will likely start at shooting guard, and Smith, who was benched in the second half of Game 2, had a private conversation with Karl."