NBA Game Summary - Denver at New Orleans
New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson were both instrumental down the stretch to help the Denver Nuggets snap their seven-game losing streak.
Afflalo had a team-high 20 points and Lawson distributed 13 assists in the Nuggets' 93-85 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
Lawson had just five points on 2-of-12 shooting, but his basket late in the fourth along with a pair of assists to Afflalo aided to the win.
"I thought defensively that we were active," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. "We didn't turn the ball over a great deal."
Tyreke Evans scored 15 of his 25 points in the third quarter to pace the Pelicans, who had their four-game winning streak halted.
Anthony Davis, who temporarily left the game in the third after suffering a leg injury, supplied 24 points and 12 rebounds in the setback.
New Orleans trailed by six with under four minutes left in the fourth when Davis converted a runner through the lane before Eric Gordon, who went 4-of-15 shooting for 11 points, knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one.
The Nuggets countered as Lawson found Afflalo for a trey, then Lawson made a layup after a nifty drive on forwards Dante Cunningham and Omer Asik, increasing the advantage to 91-85 with 1:34 remaining.
"We had a few defensive miscues. We gave up some timely (3-pointers). That one from Afflalo was a tough one to come back from," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said.
Ryan Anderson was off the mark for the Pelicans and Denver gained an extended possession at the other end after a missed jumper from Lawson went off Davis out of bounds. Afflalo made it count, hitting a jumper on a feed from Lawson to make it an eight-point game, and the Nuggets got back in the win column.
Evans' 3-pointer gave the Pelicans a 55-54 lead, then he capped an 18-5 surge to open the second half with a jumper the next trip down the floor. Lawson and Afflalo each connected on 3s, however, to move Denver back in front.
Late in the third, New Orleans got a scare when Evans went up top to Davis for an alley-oop, but Kenneth Faried was there to intercept the pass and Davis landed awkwardly. Davis gingerly walked off the floor and was helped into the locker room by the Pelicans staff. After receiving medical attention, he came out of the locker room early in the fourth after what was diagnosed as a groin injury and was immediately inserted back into the game.
Both teams went into the fourth tied at 70-70.
The Nuggets made five straight shots during a 13-2 run in the first quarter, with Faried and Afflalo each alternating a pair of baskets to help the visitors grab a 24-13 lead. Denver preserved its 11-point margin after the first, then Danilo Gallinari dropped in a 3-pointer over four minutes into the second, extending the lead to 39-23.
New Orleans responded with an 8-0 run that Davis capped with six straight points. Gallinari missed a 3 in the closing seconds of the half prior to Faried scrambling for an offensive rebound over Cunningham and making a mid- range jumper for a 49-39 Nuggets lead at the break.