Rapid Reaction: Denver Nuggets 107, New Orleans Pelicans 111 ift.tt/1dGpo5u ift.tt/1h69dC5 The Denver Nuggets blew a double-digit lead and lost to the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime after Anthony Morrow made the game-tying basket over Ty Lawson at the end of regulation. Game grades can be found below. Denver Nuggets 107 FinalRecap | Box Score 111 New Orleans Pelicans Kenneth Faried, PF 39 MIN | 9-12 FG | 4-6 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 22 PTS | +9 Faried has been a beast lately, and he continued to play very well against the Pelicans. An efficient double-double, drawn charges and aggressive play in general was on the agenda for the Manimal. His defense is shaky as always, but if he plays like this on the other end, you can give him a pass. He did blow an open layup and committed a silly foul in overtime, which hurts his grade. Wilson Chandler, SF 46 MIN | 6-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 7 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 14 PTS | +1 Chandler’s offense, as per usual, came and went throughout the game, but he had an acceptable performance nonetheless. His defense was very solid all night long, and he did a good job on Davis late in the fourth quarter, stopping the ball handlers in pick-and-rolls and recovering to Davis in time to hinder him Timofey Mozgov, C 20 MIN | 4-8 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | +5 A pretty dismal performance by Mozgov and he didn’t play that much. To his credit he did stay in front of his man with his hands up, but Anthony Davis was just too tough of a matchup. Ty Lawson, PG 44 MIN | 3-12 FG | 9-11 FT | 0 REB | 12 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 15 PTS | -10 With Ty Lawson in the lineup, the Nuggets are actually a fun team to watch. The offense is clicking and Ty’s playmaking has gotten so much better. Unfortunately, after a solid first quarter, Lawson couldn’t get his drive-and-kick game going, running into the Pelicans’ towers in the paint. Randy Foye, SG 45 MIN | 3-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 7 PTS | -6 Foye was ice cold all night. The Nuggets’ offense really depends a lot on Foye making his shots, and shooting 1-9 from deep just doesn’t cut it. Jan Vesely, PF 8 MIN | 2-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | +4 Vesely is athletic. He dunked twice. He drew a charge on Anthony Davis. That’s about it. Darrell Arthur, PF 9 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -8 When Arthur isn’t making his mid-range jumper, it can be hard to justify playing him, even considering his defense. J.J. Hickson, C 19 MIN | 6-9 FG | 0-2 FT | 9 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 7 TO | 12 PTS | -13 A mixed bag for Hickson in this one, which is nothing new at this point. For all the hustle plays and buckets on offense, he made up with blown rotations, soft fouls leading to and-one plays and silly goal tending on defense. He also turned the ball over a bunch. Aaron Brooks, PG 22 MIN | 4-9 FG | 5-5 FT | 3 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 15 PTS | +2 Brooks threw up a nice lob in the first half to Hickson, but waited until the fourth quarter to do most of his damage. He essentially filled the role of Nate Robinson, providing some nice hustle with an offensive rebound, drawing a foul on a three-point attempt and knocking down some big shots. He had huge impact in the fourth quarter, but went cold in overtime. Evan Fournier, SG 13 MIN | 2-3 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 6 PTS | -2 Fournier didn’t get a whole lot of playing time, and wasn’t really involved that much when he was on the floor. Brian Shaw Shaw probably deserves some credit for the Nuggets actually playing hard, but some of his lineup choices were questionable. Playing Hickson and Faried together is a proven disaster, yet Shaw opted to do just that for a little while. He also left Lawson in the game on the Pelicans’ final possession in regulation, and Anthony Morrow could simply pull-up and shoot over Ty. In overtime, the Nuggets looked like headless chickens on offense coming out of timeouts. Two Things We Saw The Nuggets committed 27 turnovers. They turned the ball over in various ways, sometimes by being sloppy, other times by driving into traps and throwing the ball away with nowhere to go. Those turnovers contributed a lot to the Pelicans’ comeback, as they scored easy baskets in transition. Anthony Davis is a beast. He tore the Nuggets apart on both ends of the floor. That is all. Next up: Monday, Mar. 10, 5 p.m. (MST) at Charlotte. Going to the game? Save money and get cheap Denver Nuggets tickets here.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 01:34:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015