Hornets-Nuggets Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Nov 25 2012 1:16AM

The Denver Nuggets haven't put together full 48-minute efforts lately, but they keep finding ways to come out on top. A visit by the lowly New Orleans Hornets could help them continue their winning ways.

Denver will try to match a season high with a fourth consecutive victory Sunday night when the Hornets look to snap their six-game losing streak.

After rallying from 14 down at halftime for a 101-94 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday, the Nuggets (7-6) outscored Golden State by 17 in the final 24 minutes of Friday's 102-91 win.

"We've been doing good adjusting out of halftime. The only negative is we can't let ourselves get down," said Andre Iguodala, who finished with a season-best 29 points and six rebounds. "We've got to be ready to start off well, take leads in the first half and try to put them away with those big runs in the third quarter."

The Hornets (3-8) had one of those on Friday - a 16-6 stretch to open the season half behind four 3-pointers from Ryan Anderson - but they let a 19-point third-quarter lead slip away in a 111-108 overtime loss at Phoenix. New Orleans, which opened its four-game trip Wednesday with a 115-107 double-overtime defeat to Indiana, have lost by eight or fewer four times during its skid.

"We have a lot of games like this," Anderson said after setting a career high with 34 points and matching one with eight 3s. "We've just had a lot of games come down to the stretch."

Anderson is expected to make a fourth consecutive start in place of No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, who has been out with a ankle injury.

Anderson had 11 rebounds on Friday, but without Davis and forward Jason Smith, who is questionable after suffering a corneal abrasion on Friday, the Hornets could have major problems on the glass.

Led by Kenneth Faried (149 rebounds) and Iguodala (86), the Nuggets are grabbing a league-best 48.5 rebounds per game. Denver is also first with 16.2 per game on the offensive end, contributing to its NBA-high average of 19.7 second-chance points.

The Hornets can't afford to give the Nuggets any more chances, as their defense has been awful during their skid, giving up 109.2 points per game and 77 3s in 171 attempts (45.0 percent).

Denver's perimeter defense hasn't been overly impressive this season, and the team has allowed 23 3s during its winning streak. However, the Nuggets are giving up just 92.3 points per game during this stretch.

Coach George Karl gives point guard Ty Lawson plenty of credit for that. Lawson had 18 points and nine assists on Friday while holding Warriors leading scorer Stephen Curry to a season-low six points.

"Ty's pressure in the last couple of games has been getting better," said Karl, whose team plays eight of nine on the road following Sunday's game. "He's understanding he can be a pest on that end of the court."

That could be helpful against Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez, who set career highs with 25 points and 14 assists on Friday. Vasquez averaged 8.5 points and 6.5 assists as these teams split four games in 2011-12.

Denver's 110-97 victory March 9 helped it avoid a third straight home loss to New Orleans.

The Hornets' last 0-7 stretch was an eight-game slide from Jan. 29-Feb. 10.

Nuggets beat New Orleans 102-84

Posted Nov 25 2012 11:53PM

DENVER (AP) The Denver Nuggets went into halftime knowing they had an opportunity to put the New Orleans Hornets away with a quick start to the third quarter.

A dominant effort did the trick.

Iguodala scored 23 points, Kenneth Faried had his eighth double-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets beat the struggling New Orleans Hornets 102-84 on Sunday night.

"That's a point we wanted to ... make sure they didn't have a chance to make a late-game run," Denver guard Ty Lawson said of his team's third quarter strategy.

Denver made 11 of 18 shots and outscored New Orleans 32-20 in the third quarter - using a simple principle.

"Pay attention to detail," Lawson said. "We came in here at halftime and the coaches gave us adjustments we needed to make."

It was the second straight game the Nuggets used a third quarter surge. They had outscored Golden State 31-17 Friday to put away the Warriors.

During the first half Sunday, we were pretty good except for about a four-minute stretch where we had a nine-, 10-point lead and gave it right back," Denver coach George Karl said. "After that we built it back up (in the third quarter) where I felt the flow of the game was more like we like it and where we got a lot of guys involved."

Iguodala was coming off a 29-point effort against Golden State. Faried had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Denver, winners of four straight.

Lawson had 17 points and six assists for the Nuggets who are 4-1 at home.

Reserve Brian Roberts led New Orleans with 17 points. Ryan Anderson added 16, but was held scoreless in the second half.

The Hornets have lost seven straight.

"Not any good thing to take from a game like this," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said.

The Hornets avoided their most lopsided loss of the year. New Orleans had lost by 22 to the New York Knicks.

"We are having problems right now," Hornets point guard Greivis Vasquez said. "We are just embarrassed."

"We didn't play well in the third quarter," Vasquez said. "We had a lot of deflections and I turned the ball over and they turned them into dunks."

Lawson had 11 points in the quarter, and made three consecutive shots, the last a 19-footer off a pass from Kosta Koufos with 3:50 left to boost the Nuggets lead to 78-50.

Roberts scored six points in the last 3:47 to get the Hornets to 83-61 at the end of the quarter.

Denver turned the game over to its substitutes early in the fourth quarter. Only Koufos was on the floor at the finish.

New Orleans made the most of it. Roberts hit a wide open shot from the wing, closing the gap to 94-75 with 4:43 left. Corey Brewer and Evan Fournier hit jumpers to get the lead back to 98-76.

New Orleans' Jason Smith's basket tied the game at 26 early in the second quarter, the last time the Hornets trailed or led. It was a quarter of 10-0 runs. Andre Miller put the Nuggets up 38-28 with a pair of free throws, but Robin Lopez's dunk ended a ten-point rally to cut the deficit 40-38.

The Nuggets started to pulling away and held a 51-41 edge at the break. They continued to roll into the third quarter when Faried started the second half with a jam off a steal.

"The NBA is a cruel league," said Williams. "They try to embarrass you every night and that's what you saw tonight."

NOTES: Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin was awarded the game ball before the tip. .. There was no update on the progress of Hornets center/forward Anthony Davis (left ankle). ... Colorado State alum Smith played after being poked in the eye in the team's loss to Phoenix. ... Smith a Kersey, Colo., native was relieved to have only a dozen requests for tickets from the town of 2,229. "Much different from the first time through when the whole town seemed to be here." ... Denver was without forward Wilson Chandler (left hip) for the sixth straight game. ... Iguodala used both hands to drop a dunk a minute after clanging a one-handed slam.

Notebook: Nuggets 102, Hornets 84

Michael Kelly, For NBA.com
Posted Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:08 AM - Updated Mon Nov 26, 2012 12:08 AM

THE FACTS: Andre Iguodala scored 23 points, Ty Lawson had 17 and the Denver Nuggets used a strong start to the third quarter to beat the New Orleans Hornets 102-84 on Sunday night.

Kenneth Faried notched his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets (8-6), who have won four straight.

Brian Roberts had 17 off the bench to lead New Orleans (3-9) and Ryan Anderson had 16 for the Hornets, who have lost seven straight. New Orleans played without star rookie Anthony Davis, who missed his fourth straight game with a stress reaction in his left ankle.

QUOTABLE: "I'm not even all the way there yet. I'd say I'm about 70 percent understanding what [Denver coach George Karl] wants. I'm starting to get a better feel for my teammates and where they're going to be at and we're not even 15 games in yet. I didn't think I was going to hit my stride until January, so hopefully I can stay consistent throughout the rest of the feeling-out stage and then be ready, boom, once January comes around."

-- Andre Iguodala on his comfort level a month into his first season with the Nuggets

THE STAT: The Nuggets have been doing a lot of damage at the start of the second half. In the last three games, Denver has outscored its opponents 45-16 in the first five minutes of the third quarter. They went on a 15-7 run out of the locker room against New Orleans.

TURNING POINT: The Nuggets used that run to go up 18 midway through the third, and then they put this one away. Iguodala hit a 3-pointer and Lawson intercepted the inbounds pass for an easy layup to but Denver ahead 71-48. The lead quickly grew to 28 before New Orleans called a timeout.

QUOTABLE II: "That's a point we wanted to step on their neck, make sure they didn't have a chance to make a late-game run."

-- Ty Lawson

HOT: Denver's coaching staff has wanted Lawson to take control all year, and he showed he can in the third quarter. He had a modest six points and five assists at half but got rolling in the third quarter. His steal and layup was just one part of a string of nine straight points that gave the Nuggets a comfortable lead heading into the fourth.

QUOTABLE III: "Not any good thing to take from a game like this. The NBA is a cruel league. They try to embarrass you every night and that's what you saw tonight."

-- New Orleans coach Monty Williams

NOT: Anderson matched Iguodala with 16 points in the first half but couldn't find traction in the second half. He missed both of his shots in the second half and had only one assist after intermission.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Iguodala has been putting up some big games for the Nuggets. He is averaging 23.3 points in the last three games while he's still trying to get used to Denver's system.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Swimmer Missy Franklin, who won four gold medals and a bronze at the 2012 Olympics, presented the game ball before the opening tip. Franklin is a senior at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Col., and just committed to swim at Cal next year.

GOOD MOVE: Jordan Hamilton gave the fans who stuck around a treat with his dunk in the final minute. He went high to grab Corey Brewer's alley-oop and jammed it home with one hand for Denver's final points of the night.

BAD MOVE: After two straight overtime games, the Hornets looked tired in the second half. They never adjusted to the Nuggets' pressure and, save for a seven-point burst when they fell behind by 28, they didn't show any life.

ROOKIE WATCH: Roberts doesn't get the notoriety of Davis, but he was the best rookie on the floor Sunday. He hit 7 of his 12 shots and had five assists. Teammate and fellow rookie Austin Rivers missed 8 of his 10 shots and had five points.

NOTABLE: Denver tied its season high with 12 blocks. Kosta Koufas tied a career high with five blocks, the third time he's accomplished it and the second time this month. ... This was fifth time the Hornets have been held to less than 90 points. ... New Orleans shot 38.8 percent from the field. The Nuggets are 5-1 when holding their opponent below 40-percent.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Monday @ L.A. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Utah, Saturday vs. Oklahoma City. For the Nuggets, Monday @ Utah, Thursday @ Golden State, Friday @ L.A. Lakers

• Hornets: Gordon
• Nuggets: Chandler, Miller

• Hornets: --
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #17 Joe Crawford, #11 Derrick Collins, #46 Ben Taylor
• Attendance: 15402
• Duration: 2:03