Raptors-Nuggets Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Jan 26 2012 12:50PM

The Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors both have leading scorers from Italy, but only one of those countrymen will be available Friday night.

Danilo Gallinari and the surging Nuggets look for a sixth straight victory when they host a Raptors team that expects to be without Andrea Bargnani.

Denver (13-5) is one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, with Gallinari averaging a career-high 17.7 points. He signed a four-year, $42 million contract extension Wednesday before scoring 21 of his 23 points in the first half of a 122-93 rout at Sacramento later that night.

"The contract means a lot. It means this team, this franchise really believes in me," said Gallinari, who's averaged 27.0 points in his last three games. "I feel great about this team. It was easy for me to say yes to this contract."

Bargnani, meanwhile, is averaging 23.5 points for Toronto (6-13). The sixth-year forward, however, reinjured his strained left calf late in Wednesday's 111-106 double-overtime win at Utah and wasn't optimistic about when he will be back on the court.

"This time it's bad," Bargnani said. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to be out for a while."

The Raptors ended a 12-game losing streak against the Jazz. Now they will try to end an eight-game slide against the Nuggets, as well as a run of seven straight defeats in Denver.

"It's great to win after all those years for the franchise," point guard Jose Calderon said. "Hopefully I think Denver, we've kind of got to be in the same situation. I don't know if I won there, neither. That's the next one."

Denver will return home in a confident mood after the first 5-0 road trip in franchise history. Six other Nuggets besides Gallinari also scored in double figures Wednesday, when Denver posted 92 points in the paint - the most since the NBA began keeping track of the statistic in 2000-01.

"I like doing things that have never been done before," coach George Karl said. "Right now we have good energy, good focus, and guys are playing together."

The Nuggets lead the league in scoring (106.4 points per game) and assists (24.7 per game). Andre Miller had 10 of Denver's 29 assists against the Kings.

"The ball was moving tonight and the ball was going in the net," guard Ty Lawson said. "Everyone was touching the ball, everyone was sharing, and everyone was scoring. It was a fun game for us."

Lawson wasn't around to see all of it, however. He left in the second quarter after spraining his left ankle and is expected to miss Friday's game. He hopes to return Sunday against the Clippers.

Lawson's absence should help Toronto - the NBA's second-worst scoring team at 87.5 points per game - slow the pace a bit. They took advantage of Wednesday's extra sessions to top 100 for the first time in 18 games.

Former Nuggets swingman Linas Kleiza scored a season-high 25 points.

"Linas did a heckuva job," coach Dwane Casey said. "He really shot the ball well, he was aggressive offensively."

Kleiza, who could replace Bargnani in the starting lineup, spent his first four seasons with Denver before signing with Toronto as a free agent before last season. This is his first game at Pepsi Center as a visitor after he missed last season's trip with a knee injury.

The Raptors are seeking their first three-game win streak this season as well as their first three-game run on the road since Dec. 11-18, 2007.

Nuggets win 6th straight, 96-81 over Toronto

By ARNIE STAPLETON
Posted Jan 28 2012 12:57AM

DENVER (AP) Rudy Fernandez provided both the spark and the cushion for the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

Fernandez scored a season-high 23 points in his return from a sore right Achilles as the Nuggets routed the short-handed Toronto Raptors 96-81 for their sixth straight win.

He also served as a barrier between Nuggets forward Al Harrington and Raptors swingman Linas Kleiza in their short skirmish in the final minute as Harrington shoved Fernandez into Kleiza.

Harrington took offense when Kleiza put his hand on his face moments earlier, and they jawed at each other coming back upcourt. As they went face-to-face, Kleiza shoved Harrington, who shoved back - only with Fernandez in the middle of it all playing peacemaker.

During the timeout for the officials to look at the tape and sort out what had happened - they ended up calling technical fouls on both Harrington and Kleiza, along with Nene - Harrington continued to stare down Kleiza, who smiled back at him.

"Some NBA guys think it's funny because you can do all that and the referees are out there to save them," Harrington said, "and I don't play games like that."

He said he was sorry for shoving Fernandez to get to Kleiza, too.

"Yeah, I apologized. Rudy was the only way I could get to him, so I picked Rudy up and kind of tossed him," Harrington said. "But it is what it is. It's over. We won. Great win. We've got a six-game winning streak. We're just going to keep pushing."

Kleiza didn't have much to say about his part in the scuffle.

"For me, what happens on the court stays on the court," he said after his first game at the Pepsi Center since leaving the Nuggets two years ago to play in Greece.

Kleiza started in place of leading scorer Andrea Bargnani, who's out indefinitely after aggravating a strained left calf this week, and finished with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting as the Raptors shot just 39 percent and never led.

"I had some good shots," Kleiza said. "Didn't fall for anybody. What can you do? You've got to work tomorrow and try to win the next day. I got some good looks, they just didn't fall."

The Raptors took a while to adjust to Bargnani's absence, and by the time they did, it was too late as they fell to 0-7 in games he's been sidelined.

They missed 14 of their first 15 shots, fell behind 16-2, scored just a dozen points in the first quarter and trudged off the court at halftime trailing 54-32.

"The first half, every shot they threw up it seems like it went in," Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said. "It kills your spirit a little bit and we dug ourselves a hole."

Fernandez, the first Denver player off the bench, made his first five shots, including three from behind the arc in his first action since missing two games, wins at New York and Sacramento.

"I'm feeling good with my shots and I'm happy my Achilles is feeling better, which is more important," Fernandez said.

Danilo Gallinari added 21 points and Nene had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who also got 13 points, 12 assists and six rebounds from Andre Miller, starting in place of Ty Lawson (ankle).

Miller swished a 60-foot running jump shot at the buzzer to cap an impressive first quarter in which the Nuggets outscored Toronto 28-12.

Leandro Barbosa led Toronto with 19 points, and his 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter trimmed Denver's lead to 80-74, forcing coach George Karl, who drew a third-quarter technical, to call a timeout.

The Nuggets staunched the bleeding with back-to-back buckets from Gallinari and Fernandez to make it 85-74.

Jerryd Bayless added 18 points and James Johnson 16 for Toronto.

The Raptors have lost every game in which Bargnani, who averages 23.5 points, has been sidelined. He scored 36 points in a win over Phoenix on Tuesday night in his return from the six-game absence and had 25 points Wednesday night at Utah when he reinjured himself in overtime as he battled for a rebound.

Bargnani said this time it's more serious, leading to concerns he could miss a significant amount of games.

"Our guys have to believe," Raptors coach Dwayne Casey said. "We can't sit back and wait for Andrea to come back. As it was said famously before, he's not walking through that door. It's us against the world for a while, we don't know how long it's going to be, and we've got to play like it. I don't think we had the same approach walking into the gym."

Notes: Arron Afflalo also returned to the Nuggets lineup after missing those two games, but he missed all three of his shots and was shut out. ... Fernandez's career high is 26 points for Portland at Minnesota on Dec. 17, 2010.

Notebook: Nuggets 96, Raptors 81

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday January 28, 2012 12:51AM

THE FACTS: Rudy Fernandez scored a season-high 23 points, Nene had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 96-81 on Friday night.

Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and Andre Miller had 13 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets, who have won six straight.

Bench players Leandro Barbosa and Jerryd Bayless had 19 and 18 points, respectively, for the Raptors, who were without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani.

QUOTABLE: "Our guys have to believe. We can't sit back and wait for Andrea to come back. As it was said famously before, he's not walking through that door. It's us against the world for a while, we don't know how long it's going to be, and we've got to play like it."
-- Toronto coach Dwayne Casey

THE STAT: Toronto's starting guards DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon combined to shoot 6-for-25 with five assists combined.

TURNING POINT: After trailing by as many as 23, Toronto used a 10-2 run to start the fourth to pull within 80-74 and forced Denver to call a timeout with 9:37 left. Gallinari hit an off-balance jumper to get it to eight and after a Raptors miss Fernandez followed with his fifth 3-pointer to push the lead to 85-74.

HOT: Fernandez in the first half. He showed no rust after missing four of the last five games with a sore right Achilles tendon. He hit his first five shots, including three 3-pointers. His 3-pointer started a 15-4 Nuggets run early in the second and he also had a give-and-go with Corey Brewer that drew a foul and a pair of free throws. Later, he saved a ball from going out of bounds, twirled and buried another 3 to give Denver a 48-27 lead.

NOT: The Raptors in the first quarter. They started out 1-for-15 from the field and at one point missed 12 shots in a row. The streak was broken when James Johnson hit a running jumper with 3:08 left in the period. Toronto trailed 16-2 before Johnson's basket.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm feeling good with my shots and I'm happy my Achilles is feeling better, which is more important."
-- Fernandez.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Gallinari has been on fire since scoring just three points against Philadelphia on Jan. 18. In his past four games he is averaging 25.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.

GOOD MOVE: With the Nuggets' lead trimmed to six points Miller and Al Harrington came back into the game. Denver settled down and built the lead back to 11.

BAD MOVE: Former Nugget Linas Kleiza and Harrington got into a shoving match with 30 seconds left in the game. Harrington took exception to Kleiza putting his hand in his face under the Toronto basket and the two exchanged words upcourt. They went face-to-face and Kleiza shoved Harrington. Fernandez tried to play peacemaker and instead was shoved into Kleiza by Harrington. Cooler heads prevailed but Harrington and Kleiza were assessed technicals.

QUOTABLE III: "Some NBA guys think it's funny because you can do all that and the referees are out there to save them, and I don't play games like that. Rudy was the only way I could get to him, so I picked Rudy up and kind of tossed him."
-- Harrington.

NOTABLE: Nene has scored at least 20 points and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 22 career games. ... The Nuggets allowed a season-low 32 points in the first half. ... Denver is 4-0 when holding an opponent to under 90 points.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Sunday @ New Jersey, Tuesday vs. Atlanta, Wednesday @ Boston. For the Nuggets, Sunday vs. L.A. Clippers, Tuesday @ Memphis, Thursday @ L.A. Clippers.

• Raptors: Bargnani, Carter
• Nuggets: Carroll, Lawson

• Raptors: Kleiza
• Nuggets: Harrington, Karl, Nene

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #72 J.T. Orr, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 18855
• Duration: 2:14