Donnell Harvey scored six of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and James Posey had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets rallied for their fourth straight win at the Pepsi Center, a 97-89 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
Denver had won just 14 of its first 36 home games this season and although it continues to struggles overall, it has not lost here since March 20 against Washington.
The Nuggets looked like they were on their way to a loss after scoring just 14 points in the third quarter. Chris Mills opened the fourth quarter with a free throw to give Golden State a 73-68 edge, but Denver responded with eight straight points, highlighted by a pair of jumpers from rookie Carlos Arroyo.
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Warriors-Nuggets: 56k | 300k Harvey alley-oop: 1,500k avi | QT James Posey added six steals, and six assists to his 17 points and eight rebounds. William R. Sallaz NBAE/Getty Images |
Golden State's Larry Hughes responded with a layup, but Harvey buried a jumper and Voshon Lenard made a runner to give Denver the lead for good, 84-82, with 4:43 left.
The Nuggets made 10-of-19 shots in the final 12 minutes and finished at 50 percent (39-of-78) overall. They committed 20 turnovers but scored 21 points off 26 turnovers by the Warriors.
"I think it was a great win for us," Arroyo said. "We want to finish the season strong and I think that is what everyone is focusing on doing."
Hamilton finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Lenard added 12 points as Denver's bench outscored Golden State's reserves, 53-28.
The Nuggets needed their bench as Calbert Cheaney played limited minutes due to a concussion, George McCloud was ejected in the third quarter and Juwan Howard suffered a strained groin early in the game.
"I was cheering like a cheerleader in the training room," Howard said. "I'm very proud of these guys overcoming their inexperience."
Antawn Jamison scored 21 points and rookie Gilbert Arenas added 14 for the Warriors, who have lost four straight games.
"They outhustled and outplayed us," Golden State coach Brian Winters said. "You can't win with 26 turnovers. "If you can't make perimeter shots, you're not going to win."
Rookie Troy Murphy scored 12 points off the bench and Danny Fortson had 11 and eight rebounds as Golden State shot 45 percent (35-of-78) and had a 42-33 rebounding advantage.
"We've got to find a way to win close games," Fortson said. "We should have figured it out by now. They outhustled us and deserved to win the game."







