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Nuggets end Clippers 17-game win streak

Danilo Gallinari

During an undefeated five-week run by the Los Angeles Clippers, the Denver Nuggets were just another team they beat along the way. The second time around, the Nuggets were the team that ground the Clippers’ streak to a halt.

Danilo Gallinari led six Nuggets players in double figures with 17 points and Denver stopped the Clippers’ franchise- record winning streak at 17 games with a 92-78 victory Tuesday night.

The Clippers’ streak was the longest in the NBA since the Boston Celtics won 19 in a row from Nov. 15-Dec. 23, 2008.

”We were all a step slower today,” said Blake Griffin, who had 12 points for the Clippers. ”We’ve got to be better than that. We’re not going to sit and cry on the plane and get beat down. We’re not going to cause ourselves to lose our confidence, despite what people want us to do. That’s the best thing about the NBA – you’ve got another game.”

Griffin went 4 of 11 from the field – the first time he’s shot below 50 percent in 18 games…

Kenneth Faried added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who won their eighth in a row at home..

Eric Bledsoe also had 12 points, DeAndre Jordan had 11 and Chris Paul 10 for the Clippers…

Andre Miller, starting in place of point guard Ty Lawson, had 12 points and 12 assists for the Nuggets. Lawson, the team said, has been bothered by tightness in his left Achilles’ tendon for the past week, forcing him to miss a game for the first time this season.

— Reported by Dennis Georgatos of the Associated Press

NBA fines Dwight Howard for flagrant foul on Kenneth Faried

Dwight Howard

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard has been fined $35,000 for his Flagrant Foul Two against Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Howard made excessive contact with Faried above the shoulders, occurred with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 126-114 loss to the Nuggets at Pepsi Center on December 26.

Wilson Chandler expected to start practicing in January

Wilson Chandler expected to start practicing in January

Think back. When the Carmelo Anthony trade happened 22 months ago, one could have argued that the two best gets were Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. Sure enough, Gallo is now the Nuggets’ leading scorer, while Chandler, um, is he still even with the Nuggets?

Chandler’s peculiar journey, which has taken him to China and under the knife, will finally take him back to the practice court. Denver expects forward Chandler, as well as backup point guard Julyan Stone, to return to practice in the first week of 2013.

Both players underwent similar hip surgeries during the summer. Chandler, whose surgery happened first, returned to the Nuggets earlier this season but played just four games, averaging 6.5 points. The 6-foot-8 forward, now 25, then sat out every game since Nov. 12 to rest and rehabilitate his hip and groin.

Asked recently about Chandler, coach George Karl said: “I don’t think he’s playing in the near future. He might be playing in practice (come Jan. 1).”

— Reported by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post

Nuggets send Bobcats to 15th straight loss

Kenneth faried

The Denver Nuggets’ inside game was at its best on Saturday night.

Kosta Koufos scored a season-high 16 points, and Kenneth Faried and Andre Iguodala added 15 points apiece as the Nuggets beat Charlotte 110-88 and sent the Bobcats to their 15th consecutive loss.

JaVale McGee added 14 points, and Danilo Gallinari had 12 for Denver, which won its sixth in a row at home behind a fast-paced offense fueled by 36 assists and 78 points in the paint, both season highs…

Koufos (8 of 10), McGee (7 of 8), Faried (6 of 10), and Iguodala (6 of 9) were a combined 27 of 37 from the floor. They took feeds from teammates, finished fastbreaks, and put up high-percentage shots primarily from up close…

Charlotte, playing the second of a back-to-back set on the road, was without injured guards Gerald Henderson and Ben Gordon. Henderson sustained a bruised shin during the second half of a 115-100 loss at Golden State on Friday. Gordon missed a second consecutive game because of soreness in his right knee.

Ramon Sessions had 23 points to lead Charlotte. Byron Mullens added 16 before he went down with a left ankle sprain in the final moments after getting his feet tangled in traffic near the basket…

The Nuggets, who missed an NBA-record 22 3-point attempts in Thursday night’s 101-93 loss at Portland, missed their first six against the Bobcats. Jordan Hamilton finally found the range to give the Nuggets a 40-31 lead with 8:02 left in the second quarter.

— Reported by George Georgatos of the Associated Press

Nuggets hit 0-of-22 three-pointers in loss to Trail Blazers

JJ Hickson

J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 18 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 101-93 on Thursday night.

Nicolas Batum had 22 points to give the Blazers their first four-game winning streak of the season despite missing forward LaMarcus Aldridge because of a sprained left ankle.

The Nuggets were 0 for 22 from 3-point range, breaking the NBA record of 20 misses set by the Trail Blazers in a game against Toronto last week. Seventy-four of Denver’s point came in the paint.

The Blazers led by as many as 18 in the first half and while the Nuggets were able to close the gap, they were never able to pull even…

Portland saw the return of Matthews, who missed two games with a sore hip, then tried to return against the Hornets but played only about four minutes. The injury had put Matthews on the bench in street clothes for the first time in his four-year NBA career. He had played in 250 straight games, second-most among active players behind Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook…

Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer had 13 points each for the Nuggets.

— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

Nuggets score 122 on Kings

javale mcgee

Although it’s been a challenging first two months of the season with a long stretch of road games, the Denver Nuggets appeared pretty fresh Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.

Reserve JaVale McGee scored 19 points, Danilo Gallinari had 18 and the Nuggets built a big lead in the first half to cruise past the Kings 122-97.

It was a lopsided victory for the road-tested Nuggets, who have opened the season with 18 of their first 25 games coming away from home. Already ahead by 18 at the half, Denver outscored the Kings 33-21 in the third quarter to take a 97-67 lead heading into the fourth…

”I’m enjoying what we are going through,” said Andre Iguodala, who had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. ”We have a tough schedule and it’s a chance for us to build something. We’re trying to play at a high level and be mentally tough.” ..

Sacramento’s Aaron Brooks committed a hard foul against Andre Miller late in the first quarter and a mild altercation ensued involving DeMarcus Cousins of the Kings and Kenneth Faried of the Nuggets. All four players were given technical fouls.

Reserve Jordan Hamilton had a season-high 15 points and Kosta Koufos had 12 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 7-11 on the road this season. Ty Lawson added 11 points and seven assists. Denver’s reserves had 64 points.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Ty Lawson steps up in Nuggets win over Pistons

Ty Lawson

The Denver Nuggets have watched this scenario play out a few times already this season – just from the opposite viewpoint.

Ty Lawson had 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead Denver to a 101-94 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Corey Brewer added 15 points and Andre Iguodala had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who rallied from a slow start in which they trailed by as many as 17 in the first quarter. JaVale McGee also had 12 points for Denver.

”We’ve had about four or five close games and didn’t win,” Lawson said. ”We’ve lost a bunch of times when teams came back on us when we were up 17 or 18 points.” …

Brandon Knight had 20 points and five assists for the Pistons. Jason Maxiell added 18 points, six blocks and six rebounds, and Rodney Stuckey scored 17 points.

”We got off to a great start. You’re not going to win a game 150-14,” Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said. ”I think the key is, when they made their run, even the last four minutes of the first quarter, the key is this: a team’s going to make a run. It’s the mistakes we made and how they got them. With that, the mistakes, they multiplied, they came in succession so they become a little bit deflating.”

— Reported by Paul Harris of the Associated Press

Melo returns with 34, Knicks beat Nuggets

Melo returns with 34, Knicks beat Nuggets

Carmelo Anthony insists there is no grudge against the Denver Nuggets. He just didn’t want his old team – or anyone else – walking into his current home and leaving with a victory.

Anthony returned from a two-game absence with 34 points against his former team, and the New York Knicks beat the Nuggets 112-106 on Sunday night to remain the NBA’s lone unbeaten team at home.

Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a cut on the middle finger of his left hand that required stitches, Anthony twice made baskets in the final 2:08 after Denver had pulled within four points…

Jason Kidd scored 17 points for the Knicks, who bounced back from their worst offensive performance of the season a night earlier in Chicago and improved to 8-0 at Madison Square Garden. Tyson Chandler and J.R. Smith each had 15 points.

It’s the Knicks’ best start at home since beginning 9-0 in 1992-93.

Ty Lawson had 23 points and Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and nine rebounds against the team that drafted him and later dealt him in the package for Anthony in February 2011…

Knicks F Rasheed Wallace missed the game with a sore left foot. … Corey Brewer finished with 15 points after scoring 19 or more in three straight games, tying a career best.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Denver Nuggets recall rookie Quincy Miller from D-League

The Denver Nuggets have recalled rookie forward Quincy Miller from the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri announced today.

Miller, 6-9, 210, joined the Energy on Nov. 13. He started two of three games and averaged 14.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.0 minutes.

Selected by the Nuggets with the 38th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Miller joined the Nuggets after being named the 2011-12 Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year in his only season at Baylor University.

He averaged 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for Denver at the 2012 NBA Summer League but has not appeared in an NBA game.