The availability of Nuggets backup guard J.R. Smith is less certain. He tried to follow his missed free throw at the end of Tuesday's 105-103 loss to the Lakers , was knocked to the ground, and was writhing in pain, clutching his lower right leg as the clock expired.

The Nuggets were relieved to learn that Smith's injury was just a calf strain and not something more severe. While his teammates had a casual shoot-around at the Clippers' practice facility Wednesday, Smith was running in the therapeutic pool.

Asked if Smith would play tonight, Denver Coach George Karl said, "That's the rumor. But I don't like how he walked into the building today."

Troubles at the line

The basket wasn't a moving target for the Nuggets in Game 1. From the look of their numbers at the foul line, though, you might swear it was. Denver made only 23 of 35 free throws, a feeble 65.7%, compared to the Lakers' 20-for-24 performance.

So how does a coach fix that?

"My personal philosophy is I don't like talking about it," Karl said. "It's not our strength. Unfortunately, seven of the free throws were by guys that we thought were going to make them. Chauncey [Billups] missing three, it's like, when's that going to happen again? And then J.R., whose percentage is not good but missing three in a row?

"There's a momentum to that. We were playing at a high level when all of that went down."

Getting even

Karl, who has never coached the Nuggets to victory in a playoff game at Staples Center, said a Denver victory tonight could go a long way toward building momentum back home.

"If we go home 1-1 and give our home crowd that opportunity, it will be a good day in Denver," he said, calling the Pepsi Center among the NBA's tougher arenas on visiting teams.

"Our fans are into how we play right now," he said. "They get into Chris Andersen making blocks. They get into J.R. making threes. They get into good defensive play. They get into a double-team and a good rotation. . . . We like it, and we get a good energy from it."

The energy of Lakers fans is different, Karl said. Not better or worse, but different. "L.A. is laid back," he said. "Now in the fourth quarter, they're there. But sometimes they don't get there until the third quarter."

There is one L.A. fan, however, who is always into the game: Jack Nicholson. "Jack's a good guy," Karl said. "Jack's really been kind to me and generous to me. He's said nice things in interviews about me."

His favorite Nicholson movie?

" 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' " Karl said, quickly adding with a smile, "Sometimes I feel like Jack."

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sam.farmer@latimes.com