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Nets vs. Nuggets Preview

Associated Press

Thaddeus Young made his presence felt in his first game with the Brooklyn Nets, who are hoping to make a playoff run behind their new acquisition.

The Nets look to post back-to-back road wins for the first time in over a month Monday night against the sputtering Nuggets, who return to Denver looking to snap their longest home skid in nearly 12 years.

At 22-31, Brooklyn is clinging to the Eastern Conference's eighth playoff spot. The Nets are just one-half game ahead of Detroit, Indiana and Charlotte, but they appear to have bolstered their postseason hopes by sending Kevin Garnett back to Minnesota in exchange for Young on Thursday.

Young had eight points in 12 minutes off the bench the following night as Brooklyn snapped a three-game skid with a 114-105 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Joe Johnson led the way with 23 points, Brook Lopez added 22 and 14 rebounds and Deron Williams scored 12 to go with a season-high 15 assists while starting in place of the injured Jarrett Jack, who will likely be sidelined again.

"We have a lot of good players," Young told the Nets' official website. "We can go out there and make a run. ... I hope I can help this team get back (to the playoffs)."

Young, who was averaging 14.3 points with the Timberwolves, gives Brooklyn yet another scoring option.
"I think he's going to be great," Johnson said of Young. "He just has to get familiar with the system, but he's definitely the kind of player that fits our mode. So he's definitely going to help us."

The Nets haven't won consecutive road games since Jan. 16 and 21, going 2-6 in their last eight such contests while averaging 92.8 points. However, they could have an edge over a Nuggets team that's dropped 15 of 17, including six in a row on its own court for the first time since a seven-game skid Feb. 6-March 2, 2003.

The Nuggets (20-35) return home after getting blown out 119-94 at Oklahoma City on Sunday. Denver was outrebounded 60-42 and limited to 36.1 percent from the field after shooting 35.7 percent two nights earlier in an 89-81 loss at Milwaukee.

"That's the best thing about this is that we get to turn around and try it again (Monday) night," said coach Brian Shaw, whose team plays its next five at home.

Ty Lawson, who was a healthy scratch Friday after missing practice earlier in the week, returned to score 17 points against the Thunder. He had averaged 24.3 points on 59.3 percent shooting over his previous four games.

Lawson scored 29 to go with nine assists in a 102-96 loss at Brooklyn on Dec. 23, Denver's second consecutive defeat in the series. The Nuggets had taken six straight home meetings from the Nets before falling 112-89 last Feb. 27.

Johnson scored 27 in the Dec. 23 victory, and he's averaging 23.8 in five games against Denver since the start of the 2011-12 season. He's averaging 16.4 points against everyone else in that span.

Lopez is averaging 19.0 points over an eight-game stretch, up from his season mark of 15.5. However, he's averaging just 9.7 points on 34.5 percent shooting in his last three matchups against the Nuggets, who reportedly tried to trade for him earlier this month.