Bench comes up big for Denver in win against Minnesota

Regardless of dateline or time zone, his players were reluctant to share the ball and Karl was not shy about voicing his displeasure.

Judging by their performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, the Nuggets got the message.

J.R. Smith, known more for his 3-point prowess than his assist-to-turnover ratio, handed out five assists and rookie point guard Ty Lawson set up three easy hoops in a 56-second span of the second quarter as the Nuggets ran away with an easy 129-100 victory at the Pepsi Center.

Denver had 17 assists on its first 21 field goals and finished with 34 on 47 field goals. Many of those came in transition as the Nuggets had 37 fast-break points.

"When we move the ball like that and everybody’s playing the way they’re supposed to play, can’t nobody beat us," Smith said. "We’re going to score a whole lot of points."

Carmelo Anthony was one of many beneficiaries of the pass-happy offense, scoring 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting in less than 23 minutes. He is averaging a point per minute in the preseason but dismissed talk of competing for a scoring title this season.

"I don’t need to do that for us to win," Anthony said.

Anthony will carry much of the scoring load, but he also has a strong supporting cast. The youngest member of that crew is the 21-year-old Lawson.

The 18th overall pick of the NBA Draft four months ago, Lawson enjoyed his best game as a pro Tuesday night, causing havoc on defense and creating chances for his teammates off the dribble. He finished with a team-leading eight assists, six rebounds and four steals, while committing just two turnovers.

"I just finally realized what coach wanted," Lawson said. "He just wants me to run – get the ball and run."

Anthony called Lawson’s performance "impressive" but not necessarily surprising.

"Being around him every day in practice, we know what he can do," Anthony said. "That’s what he’s capable of giving us."

Even Karl, who historically has been hesitant to give rookies significant minutes, is enjoying watching Lawson work. "Ty gives us something that we don’t have. We don’t have that guy that can kind of go anywhere he wants to go," Karl said.

The Nuggets went anywhere they wanted against a Minnesota team that was without starting big men Al Jefferson (Achilles’ tendon) and Kevin Love (broken hand).

Arron Afflalo scored 20 points off the bench, and fellow reserves Chris Andersen (11 points, eight rebounds) and Renaldo Balkman (14 points) were among seven Nuggets in double figures.

"I don’t want to overreact to a team that’s really decimated," Karl said, noting Denver’s 19 turnovers. "But it was a step forward."

The Nuggets will take their final steps of the preseason with back-to-back games against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and Friday.

If the Nuggets play well in the first of the two meetings, Karl might sit many of his regulars to give them some rest in advance of the Oct. 28 season opener against Northwest Division rival Utah.