Kings-Nuggets Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 04 2012 1:33AM

The Denver Nuggets played well in their back-to-back-to-back stretch. The Sacramento Kings are hoping things start looking up after a rough start to theirs.

The Nuggets will try to keep their perfect home record intact when they face the Kings on Wednesday night.

Denver (4-2) opened a stretch of three games in three nights with a 92-89 road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, but bounced back with a 99-90 win over the Lakers the following night before recording a 91-86 victory over Milwaukee on Monday.

The Nuggets, playing without starting forward Nene (bruised heel), showed signs of fatigue, shooting 39.8 percent while committing 16 turnovers, but outscored the Bucks 23-12 in the fourth quarter.

Danilo Gallinari finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Ty Lawson had 16 points and six assists.

"They didn't look like they had three games in three nights," Milwaukee's Stephen Jackson said. "That says a lot about how good of shape they're in, and they didn't have Nene, so you've got to credit them for that."

The win was Denver's third in as many home games this season. They shut down the Bucks in the fourth quarter after holding the Lakers to 19 points in the final period on Sunday. Those teams shot a combined 40.9 percent and were 9 of 42 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.

"In the fourth quarter it's very easy to find extra energy," Gallinari said of feeding off the crowd. "You have a tight game, you want to win, especially at home."

Gallinari has elevated his play of late, collecting 41 points, 14 rebounds and five steals in the last two games. He had 34 points and 14 boards in his three previous contests.

The Nuggets may need another big game from him if Nene is sidelined again Wednesday, although Al Harrington has been playing effectively off the bench. He had 17 points and eight boards Monday and is averaging 15.7 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Like Denver, Sacramento (2-4) began its back-to-back-to-back series with a 113-96 loss to Memphis on Tuesday, but it could have a tougher time bouncing back.

The Kings were outscored 31-17 in the first quarter, shooting 5 of 20. Rookie Jimmer Fredette scored a season-high 17 points, shooting 4 of 6 from 3-point range, while J.J. Hickson contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins came off the bench and had four points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Cousins was told on Sunday to stay away from the team by coach Paul Westphal after demanding a trade.

"I wouldn't say it's resolved," Westphal said before the game. "We will see how it plays out. I think DeMarcus has to continue to show maturity and a desire to go the same direction as his teammates. We're all hoping that happens."

Cousins is third on the team with 11.2 points per game and adds 10.6 rebounds.

Sacramento will close this three-game stretch Thursday against Milwaukee. The Kings starters should be rested after Westphal pulled most of them early Tuesday. No starter played more than 27 minutes.

The Kings have lost four of five overall against the Nuggets and five straight in Denver since a 118-115 win on April 5, 2008.

Harrington, Fernandez lead Nuggets' rout of Kings

Posted Jan 05 2012 12:59AM

DENVER (AP) Leave it to the Denver Nuggets' reserves to steal the show.

Al Harrington came off the bench to score 15 points, and reserve guard Rudy Fernandez had 12 points and eight assists in Denver's 110-83 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Each of Denver's 12 players scored at least six points, including 11 apiece by Timofey Mozgov and Arron Afflalo as the Nuggets won their third in a row and improved to 4-0 at home. They beat the Kings in Denver for the sixth straight time.

"It's unique," said Kosta Koufos, who had his first career double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) while helping to fill in for the injured Nene. "In every position, we're deep. One person gets tired and another person comes in and plays just as well, and having that is a luxury for us. At the same time, we have the mentality to win as many games as possible and keep working hard and getting better as a team."

While the Nuggets may lack superstars - the team traded away Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups, its best known players - coach George Karl said Denver is fortunate to have a very deep roster. It has allowed him to shuffle his players in and out in waves and run the floor, often wearing down the opposition, as was the case against the Kings.

"We're going to go after teams with our intensity and, hopefully, the flow of flooding good players on to the court," Karl said. "I'm still kind of learning this team, too. It's fun to see them evolve and see where we go."

Added Afflalo: "It's still early. We've been fortunate enough to gut-out some wins. We still have a lot of improving to do as a team and individually. Hopefully, we continue to stay on an upward pace and win at the same time."

The Nuggets took the lead almost right away against a Kings team that was playing the second of three games in three days. Midway through the game, the Kings also lost guard Tyreke Evans after he became ill.

"That was a kick in our teeth. You can't hide from it," Kings coach Paul Westphal of his team's ragged performance. "I still think we have the makings of a good basketball team and I believe we will bounce back.

"They got on us early. I thought we were pressing. Our shooting, it's undescribable. The avalanche just fell on us."

The Kings, who remained winless in three road games this season, got 26 points from DeMarcus Cousins and 23 from Marcus Thornton. Cousins was playing his second game since returning from a one-game ban for demanding a trade, according to the team. Cousins denies making any such demand.

Up by 17 at the half, the Nuggets stretched the lead to 66-41 on a basket by Danilo Gallinari with 6:33 left in the third quarter. Sacramento scored 14 of the next 18 points, pulling to 70-55 on Thornton's 3-pointer, but wound up lagging behind Denver 85-64 going into the fourth quarter.

Denver made it a runaway with a 9-0 burst to start the fourth. The run was punctuated by dunks from Chris Andersen, and rookie Kenneth Faried off a no-look alley oop pass from Fernandez.

The Nuggets led 27-17 after the first quarter and began the second with a 14-2 run, pulling out to a 41-19 lead on a fast-break dunk by Corey Brewer with 7:14 remaining in the period. The Kings cut the deficit to 13 on a layup by Thornton but Gallinari pulled off a reverse layup and then got a steal to start a fast break that Harrington finished with a layup for a 56-39 lead at halftime.

NOTES: The Kings conclude their only back-to-back-to-back set of the season at home on Thursday, when they host Milwaukee. ... Nuggets forward Nene missed a second straight game with a bruised left heel. ... Kings haven't won in Denver since April 5, 2008, a 118-115 decision. ... Thornton had his 44th career 20-plus point game. ... It was only the second time in franchise history that the Nuggets had 12 players score at least six points in a game.

Notebook: Nuggets 110, Kings 83

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 5, 2012 12:32AM

THE FACTS: Al Harrington scored 15 points to lead five players in double figures as the Denver Nuggets routed the Sacramento Kings 110-83 on Wednesday night. The Nuggets led by as many as 31 and cruised to the easy win.

DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 26 points and Marcus Thornton had 23 for the Kings, who were playing the second of back-to-back-to-back games.

QUOTABLE: "We're going to go after teams with our intensity and our flow of flooding good players on the court. On this court, we're trying to create the action and we're not going to be strategizing the game as much as we're going to try to play the way we play."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl.

THE STAT: The only reason Denver didn't score more than 110 points was due to slippery hands. The Nuggets were careless with the ball, committing 26 turnovers. The Nuggets made up for it by outrebounding the Kings 48-37 and piling up a season-high 31 assists.

TURNING POINT: The Kings missed their first seven shots of the second quarter and took nearly five minutes to score in the period. That came in the midst of a 22-3 run by the Nuggets that gave them a 39-17 lead. Sacramento made some runs but never got the lead under double digits.

QUOTABLE II: "I believe we can have a good team. We just got blown out a couple of times in a row and looked bad doing it, but we have what we need in that locker room to have a good team."
-- Kings coach Paul Westphal.

HOT: The Nuggets all game. They shot 61 percent in the first half, were shooting 64 percent at one point in the third quarter and finished at 60 percent. Everyone got into the action. Eleven players logged minutes, and all of them scored at least six points.

NOT: The Kings' defense and offense. Cousins and Thornton, no one did much for Sacramento. The Kings were 2-for-21 from 3-point range and shot 32 percent from the field

GOOD MOVE: After struggling from 3-point range in the first six games, the Nuggets went to the bucket more. They scored 68 points in the paint, many on the fast break. The crowd erupted when Rudy Fernandez threw a no-look alley-oop to rookie Kenneth Faried, who slammed it home to give the Nuggets a 94-64 lead.

QUOTABLE III: "There's a joke going around; he might be bigger than [Tim] Tebow in this town now."
-- Al Harrington on Kenneth Faried.

BAD MOVE: For the Kings, it might have been getting off the bus. They looked tired, and they could not stop Denver's running game. The Nuggets had 31 points on the break, countless dunks and easy layups. Sacramento never adjusted to the pace.

ROOKIE WATCH: Jimmer Fredette had a forgettable night on the same court where his college career came to an end in a loss to Florida last spring. One night after scoring a career-high 17 points in a loss at Memphis, he suffered through a 3-for-13 shooting night and scored seven points.

QUOTABLE IV: "We were talking on the sidelines that these free throws are bigger than a championship game because they want them tacos."
-- Nuggets guard Ty Lawson on Faried's two foul shots at the end of the game that gave Denver 110 points. When the Nuggets reach 110 in a game, fans get free tacos at a local fast-food chain the following day.

NOTABLE: Kings guard Tyreke Evans didn't start in the second half due to an undisclosed illness. Westphal said Evans was vomiting at halftime but returned to the bench and played 3:14... Kosta Koufas, starting his second straight game for the injured Nene, had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. ... The Kings had more free-throw attempts (24) than the Nuggets (22).

UP NEXT: For the Kings, Thursday vs. Milwaukee, Sunday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Philadelphia. For the Nuggets, Friday @ New Orleans, Saturday @ San Antonio, Tuesday vs. New Orleans.

• Kings: Honeycutt, Whiteside
• Nuggets: Hamilton, Stone

• Kings: --
• Nuggets: Fernandez

• Lead Changes: 6
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #26 Pat Fraher, #58 Josh Tiven
• Attendance: 14562
• Duration: 2:04