Kings-Nuggets Preview

By KATE HEDLIN

STATS Writer

(AP) — 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.

Updated January 4, 2012

Wing Jordan Hamilton and guard Julyan Stone are expected to join Idaho for this weekend’s road games at Bakersfield. T

he rookies hadn’t appeared in any games for Denver, which is one of the Stampede’s NBA affiliates.

Hamilton played college basketball at Texas, while Stone came from UTEP.

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.

 

DENVER (AP)

Even short-handed, the Denver Nuggets finished their first back-to-back-to-back set of the lockout-compressed season on a high note.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

DENVER — Even short-handed, the Denver Nuggets finished their first back-to-back-to-back set of the lockout-compressed season on a high note.

Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 21 points, including a pair of free throws in the final seconds, and the Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-86 on Monday night to go 2-1 over the last three nights.

“The Bucks having two days off and us playing three in a row, we knew they had a little bit of an advantage, and they like to run like us,” said Al Harrington, who had 17 points for the Nuggets. “But we always feel playing in Denver with the altitude, if we keep running in the fourth quarter we’ll be in a good position. At the end of the day they got tired.”

Ty Lawson chipped in with 16 points for the Nuggets, who were without Nene because of a bruised left heel. The Brazilian big man’s status is day-to-day.

Stephen Jackson had 17 points and Carlos Delfino added 14 for the Bucks, who were denied in a bid for a third consecutive win — which would have matched their best streak from last season.

The Bucks also were without Mike Dunleavy, who did not make the trip because of an undisclosed illness.

“When you play three games in three nights, the third one is very tough, especially when you play back-to-back (to start the set) with the Lakers,” Gallinari said.

Gallinari said when the going got tough, the Nuggets fed off the crowd.

“In the fourth quarter it’s very easy to find extra energy,” he said. “You have a tight game, you want to win, especially at home.”

Jackson said the Nuggets didn’t appear fazed by the string of games.

“They didn’t look like they had three games in three nights,” 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.”

Delfino’s 3-pointer gave the Bucks a 74-68 lead heading into the fourth quarter and Andrew Bogut’s 10-foot hook shot put Milwaukee in front 81-76 with 8:31 left to play.

Gallinari, who also had 10 rebounds, then got the Nuggets going. He drove in for a layup and tipped in a shot as part of a 10-0 run that Harrington finished with successive dunks as Denver went in front 86-81 with 4:01 remaining.

Jackson made a 20-foot jumper to pull Milwaukee to 87-86 with 1:55 remaining. Both sides missed jump shots before Lawson shook loose on a fast break and put in a layup with 10.9 seconds left for a three-point Nuggets’ lead.

Brandon Jennings, who had 12 points, missed a 3-point attempt from the top of the key with about 7 seconds to go. The rebound went to Gallinari, who was immediately fouled. He made both free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining to secure the win.

“We didn’t play very well. We kind of threw the ball all over the place,” said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. “We gave ourselves a chance but we missed layups and we missed open shots.”

Milwaukee took a 44-37 lead after a basket by Luc Mbah a Moute. Denver came back to score 11 of the next 15 points, including tip-in by Gallinari as time expired to even the score at 48-all at halftime.

Notable

The Bucks failed to score at least 50 points in the first half for the first time in four games this season. … The Nuggets second back-to-back-to-back set is in the first week of February. … Gallinari’s previous season high was 20 points, scored the night before in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. … Jennings scored 20 or more points in each of his first three games before ending the streak with his 12-point outing against the Nuggets. … Denver has won eight of its last 10 meetings with the Bucks at the Pepsi Center.

Nuggets 91, Bucks 86

MILWAUKEE (86)

Jackson 7-18 2-2 17, Ilyasova 3-7 0-0 6, Bogut 5-12 2-4 12, Jennings 5-16 2-2 12, Delfino 5-11 1-3 14, Gooden 1-3 0-0 2, Leuer 4-5 0-0 8, Udrih 3-6 0-0 7, Livingston 1-4 0-0 2, Mbah a Moute 3-6 0-0 6, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-88 7-11 86.

DENVER (91)

Gallinari 5-12 10-12 21, Koufos 3-4 2-2 8, Mozgov 2-9 0-0 4, Lawson 7-13 2-2 16, Afflalo 2-8 0-0 4, Andersen 0-3 0-2 0, Harrington 7-12 2-3 17, Miller 3-12 0-0 6, Fernandez 1-3 2-2 5, Brewer 3-7 3-4 10. Totals 33-83 21-27 91.

Milwaukee 30 18 26 12 — 86

Denver 24 24 20 23 — 91

3-Point Goals — Milwaukee 5-19 (Delfino 3-6, Udrih 1-2, Jackson 1-5, Ilyasova 0-2, Jennings 0-4), Denver 4-19 (Brewer 1-2, Fernandez 1-3, Harrington 1-5, Gallinari 1-5, Miller 0-1, Lawson 0-1, Afflalo 0-2). Fouled Out — None. Rebounds — Milwaukee 48 (Delfino 9), Denver 63 (Gallinari 10). Assists — Milwaukee 19 (Jackson, Bogut, Udrih 4), Denver 22 (Lawson 6). Total Fouls — Milwaukee 20, Denver 15. A — 14,142 (19,155).