Warriors-Nuggets Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Apr 08 2012 1:51PM

A loss to the Golden State Warriors this past weekend was the tipping point for Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson's frustrations.

Lawson and his teammates, though, don't have to wait too long for their chance at redemption.

With Danilo Gallinari expected to return from injury, the Nuggets will seek their longest home win streak in three months when they face the Warriors again Monday night.

Denver (30-26) appeared to have a couple of prime opportunities to bolster their position in the Western Conference's top eight this past week with two road games against struggling clubs. The Nuggets, though, fell 94-92 to New Orleans on Wednesday and lost 112-97 to Golden State on Saturday after topping Phoenix the night before.

The most recent defeat gnawed at Lawson, who had a team-best 21 points and six assists. The Warriors (22-33) had lost 12 of 15 before that game and have been playing without starting point guard Stephen Curry, who is dealing with a sprained right ankle.

"It's getting ridiculous at this point," Lawson said. "We're losing to teams we should never ... that we shouldn't lose to, especially with the magnitude of what's going on in the season with the playoff run and where we're at. We can't be losing these games."

Brandon Rush had 20 points off the bench to lead seven Golden State players in double figures.

"It's very satisfying knowing that a team came in with something to play for, with payback on their mind, and we found a way to put together 48 minutes of basketball," coach Mark Jackson said.

The Nuggets will try to bounce back while earning a third straight win at the Pepsi Center for the first time since starting 4-0 there this season. Golden State has lost five of six on the road but prevailed 109-101 behind a season-high 36 points from Curry in its most recent visit to Denver on Feb. 9.

That win, just the second in 15 games there for the Warriors, ended a six-game skid at the Pepsi Center.

While Golden State is not expected to have Curry available, Denver might get back one of its top scorers for this game. Gallinari, averaging 15.2 points, has missed the past 10 contests because of a fractured left thumb.

The status of guard Wilson Chandler, meanwhile, remains unknown because of a strained groin that's sidelined him four games. Chandler, averaging 10.7 points, is expected to meet with doctors Monday.

The Nuggets will try to overcome his absence while avoiding a season sweep to Golden State for the first time since 2002-03, which was also the last time they had lost a season series to the Warriors prior to 2011-12.

Arron Afflalo will try to help his team salvage the series finale by duplicating his most recent performance at the Pepsi Center against the Warriors. He had a team-leading 26 points in the February defeat and is averaging 20.0 over the last 10 overall games.

Golden State's David Lee had topped 20 points in career-high seven consecutive games before scoring 17 in Saturday's victory. He's averaging 25.1 points over the last eight contests.

Faried scores 27 points, Nuggets rout Warriors

Posted Apr 10 2012 12:52AM

DENVER (AP) Two days after one of the worst performances of his young career, rookie Kenneth Faried put together his best one yet - and both came against the same team.

Faried had season highs of 27 points and 17 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets never trailed in their most lopsided win of the season, a 123-84 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

He rebounded from a one-point, four-rebound showing in Denver's 112-97 loss at Golden State on Saturday in which his ragged defense also was factor in a 17-point, nine-rebound night by the Warriors' David Lee. Forty-eight hours later, Lee was limited to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting with three rebounds, shut down largely by Faried.

"I had one (point) and four (rebounds) last game, and that's not my game at all," Faried said. "I'm a very energetic guy. I rebound the ball. I'm athletic and I can pretty much do things for this team to help them win. Last time I played them, I didn't do any of that, so tonight I just wanted to make it my mission to stop David Lee and help my team win."

Consider the mission accomplished.

"I thought it was probably his best defensive game against a really good player," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Forty-eight hours ago we were miserable. I had no idea a game could be that much different, but Kenneth had a tremendous game."

The 39-point margin exceeded Denver's previous high of 29 points against Sacramento on Jan. 25, and coincided with the return of Danilo Gallinari. He helped pick up the offense by scoring 15 points in his first game since breaking his left thumb against Dallas on March 19.

"We got some confidence with Gallo back on the court and our playmaking seemed to have more of a flow to it," Karl said.

The Nuggets matched their season high in points and beat the Warriors for the first time in three tries this season. They remained in eighth place in the Western Conference with nine games remaining. Denver is in a tight race with seventh-place Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, and Houston for the last two postseason spots in the conference.

"It was a good game for us because we lost to them two times pretty badly, so coming back tonight was very important for us," Gallinari said.

Not so good for the Warriors, though.

"Got off to a bad start, had a bad middle, and finished the game poorly," Lee said. "They predicted they would bounce back after losing twice to us and have a good game. Unfortunately, they were correct."

Arron Afflalo also had 15 points, and JaVale McGee and Corey Brewer each added 13 for Denver. Golden State was led by Klay Thompson and Nate Robinson with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Faried, a quick, powerful forward, put on a dazzling show. He scored on an array of moves, driving to the hoop for layups, putting in a couple of spectacular dunks off alley-oop passes and soaring through traffic to hit jumpers from up close.

He had a rim-rattling, two-handed dunk that brought a roar from the crowd and put the Nuggets up 80-50 with 5:05 left in the third period. When he went to the bench a minute later for a rest, the crowd showed its appreciation with a rousing ovation.

Gallinari soon added a 3-pointer and the Nuggets took an 83-50 lead into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets substituted freely the rest of the way but still wound up stretching their lead during the final period.

The Nuggets led by as many as 31 points in the first half and were in front 65-38 at the break after Faried grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in for a basket with 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

They gained command early by leaning on their transition game, running the floor relentlessly en route to a 37-13 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Faried was at the center of the flurry, scoring 11 points in the period, including a three-point play after throwing down a dunk around a pair of three-point plays by Afflalo.

"They came out like a team that was embarrassed last game on national TV, and we came out going through the motions," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Good old-fashioned beat down."

NOTES: Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler missed a fifth consecutive game because of a lingering groin strain. ... The Warriors remain without Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle) and Stephen Curry (sprained right ankle). ... The Warriors' 13 points in the first quarter was one over their season low for the period. ... Faried's previous career highs were 20 points March 5 against Sacramento and 16 rebounds against Boston on March 17. .. Denver had a 60-27 rebounding edge over Golden State. ... The Nuggets also scored 123 points against New Jersey on Jan. 11.

Notebook: Nuggets 123, Warriors 84

Posted Tuesday April 10, 2012 1:16AM

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Kenneth Faried had 27 points and 17 rebounds -- both career highs -- and Danilo Gallinari returned to the lineup to score 15 as the Denver Nuggets routed the Golden State Warriors 123-84 on Monday night.

Seven players scored double figures and Andre Miller had a game-high 12 assists for the Nuggets, who bounced back from a 15-point loss at Golden State on Saturday.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 17 points and Nate Robinson had 16 off the bench.

QUOTABLE: "I don't usually show negative video, but if I had to watch that Sunday they had to watch it today."
-- Nuggets coach George Karl, on making his players watch the tape of Saturday's loss to Golden State.

THE STAT: The Nuggets outrebounded the Warriors 60-27 and had the first nine of the game. Golden State didn't grab their first board until rookie Jeremy Tyler got it with 8:08 left in the first quarter. The Nuggets also had 35 assists, two short of their season high.

TURNING POINT: The opening tip. Denver came out like a team looking for revenge for Saturday's loss at Golden State. The Nuggets scored the first 10 points, led by 15 just 4:06 into the game and were up by as many as 24 in the first quarter. The Warriors never made it a game.

HOT: Faried had a memorable night. He had a double-double with 2:28 left in the second quarter -- after logging just 14 minutes -- and went into intermission with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Through the first 35 minutes he single-handedly outrebounded the Warriors 17-16. He also had as many offensive rebounds (seven) as Golden State overall. He also became the first player to have at least 27 points and 17 rebounds while playing 25 minutes or less.

QUOTABLE II: "I had one (point) and four (rebounds) Saturday and that's not my game at all. I'm a very energetic guy. I love to rebound it, it's fun to me. I'm athletic and last time we played them I didn't do any of that."
-- Faried, on the difference between Saturday and Monday.

NOT: The Warriors looked lifeless and uninterested from the beginning, which was a big change from Saturday's win. They were aggressive two nights ago, scoring 58 points in the paint. Monday they managed to get outscored 70-18 in that category. They also finished with just nine fast-break points.

QUOTABLE III: "If you look at any statistic in the game -- rebounding, blocked shots, fast-break points, points in the paint -- we showed no signs of life throughout the game."
-- Warriors forward David Lee

GOOD MOVE: Karl didn't worry about rust when he put Gallinari back in the starting lineup. The forward missed 10 games with a fractured left thumb and Karl wanted to throw him out there to get ready for the playoff push. With just 10 games left, including Monday, Karl is trying to solidify his possible postseason rotation and there's no time to ease somebody back into the lineup.

BAD MOVE: No matter what coach Mark Jackson tried, he couldn't find the right combination to slow down the Nuggets. His team likes to run but didn't recognize when Denver would release downcourt for an easy layup. Overall, it looked like the Warriors were on their way to Portland before this game even started.

QUOTABLE IV: "They came out like a team that was embarrassed last game on national TV and we came out going through the motions. It was a good ol' fashion beatdown. By the time we realized what hit us the game was out of reach."
-- Jackson

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Warriors great Rick Barry, who led Golden State to the 1975 NBA title, was in the arena.

ROOKIE WATCH: Thompson had another solid game against the Nuggets. In the three games he's played against them he averaged 17 points.

NOTABLE: The 39-point margin of victory was the largest of the season and was the sixth-largest in Denver franchise history. ... The Nuggets' 33-plus rebounding advantage matches the largest in the NBA since Philadelphia did it to the Warriors on Dec. 14, 2009.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Wednesday @ Portland, Thursday vs. Dallas, Saturday @ L.A. Clippers. For the Nuggets, Wednesday vs. Minnesota, Friday @ L.A. Lakers, Sunday vs. Houston.

• Warriors: Bogut, Curry
• Nuggets: Chandler, Fernandez

• Warriors: --
• Nuggets: Koufos

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #42 Eric Lewis, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 15530
• Duration: 2:02