Johan Petro has taken full advantage of his opportunity to start for the Denver Nuggets over the past two weeks.

Starting for the fifth straight game, Johan recorded his second double double in his last three games in the Nuggets 125-123 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday. It was Denver's first loss in the five games started by Johan and snapped an overall winning streak of six games.

Johan told the Denver Post finally getting his chance is showing him that hard work does pay off.

"I had some ups and downs. Sometimes I didn't feel like coming (to practice). I felt like quitting, a little bit. But I always found a way to keep myself going. The league is about opportunities, and you never know when your number will be called. So you want to be ready for it, and I think that's what I've been trying to do here. "I'm probably going to be more focused because I definitely have a lot to prove."

Johan pulled down 10 boards and scored 11 points on 4-6 shooting in the Tuesday night loss, his second double-double of the season.

His first came just when he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards in a 102-95 Denver victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

He's just played smart," guard Arron Afflalo said after a 10 rebound, six-point performance by Johan in his first start of the season against Portland. "He actually made a couple of elbow jump shots at a point in the game when we needed them. So he played well. And as long as he continues to be a good defensive presence, he'll be good for us."

Since taking over for the injured Kenyon Martin, Johan is averaging 6.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game. He's also been shooting efficiently, knocking down 13 of 20 shot attempts.

NEXT UP
Johan and the Nuggets turn around for the second half of a back-to-back tonight when they host the Washington Wizards at 7 p.m. Mountain Time. The game can be seen on Altitude.

RELATED STORIES
Melo's final 12 push Nuggets past Hornets (Denver Post, March 13, 2010)
http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_14667551
Opportunity fuels Nuggets' Petro (Denver Post, March 10, 2010)
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci_14644157
Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets (ESPN, March 15, 2010)
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=300315010

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