"For the better part of this young season, home hasn't just been where the heart is for the Nuggets, but where nearly all the games were played. Now comes a five-game road trip starting tonight at Milwaukee — as many road games in one trip as the Nuggets have played so far this season.

The split is odd: four in a row (in five days) against the Eastern Conference this week, then a three-day break and the last game Jan. 25 at Sacramento.

The highlight of the trip is Saturday's game at New York, the first time the teams have met since the Carmelo Anthony? trade nearly a calendar year ago. Woeful Washington and surprisingly good Philadelphia are the other two opponents on the Eastern swing.

"It's going to be one of the most important weeks of the entire season," Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari? said. "