Denver Nuggets cruise past New Orleans Hornets for 102-84 victory – NBA Recap
The Denver Nuggets cruised past the New Orleans Hornets here on Sunday night at the Pepsi Center to secure their fourth consecutive victory. The Nuggets dominated the Hornets in the second and third period to pick up a comfortable 102-84 victory in the end. Andre Iguodala scored 23 points for the Nuggets, going 8 of 13 from the field and 3 of 4 from the distance. Ty Lawson finished with 17 points and 6 assists, going 8 of 10 from the field as the Nuggets raced past the travelling team. The Hornets had an off night, with Brian Roberts coming off the bench to scored a team high 17 points and 5 assists. Ryan Anderson finished with 16 points.
The Nuggets came out firing in the first period, with back to back slam dunks by Iguodala and Kenneth Faried followed by a layup by Lawson giving them a 10-6 lead over the Hornets. Lawson’s layup followed by a three pointer by Iguodala later put the home team up 21-12, but the Hornets came back and Roberts jump shot made it 21-24. Faried scored a layup in the final seconds of the period to have the Nuggets up 26-23 going into the second quarter.
The Hornets tied the game at 26 through a jumper by Jason Smith in the early going of the second period, but the Nuggets exploded with a 10-0 run that saw them take a 36-26 lead. The Hornets replied with a 10-0 run of their own on the back of back to back three pointers by Anderson, but the Nuggets scored the next seven points and finished the period on a 4-2 run to lead 51-41 at halftime, having outscored the Hornets 25-18 in the second period.
The part kept going for the Nuggets in the third period, where they started on an 11-4 run and extended their lead to 62-45. Lawson then scored 9 consecutive points for the Nuggets as they raced to a 78-50 advantage. The Nuggets outscored the Hornets 32-20 in the third period and took a 83-61 lead into the final period.
The final period was more of the same from the part of the Nuggets, with the Hornets attempting to come back into the game but being unable to do so due to the huge lead the Nuggets held and the Hornets inability to stop their fast break and transition game. The Nuggets won 102-84 in the end.
Denver shot 53.3 percent from the field and were 5 of 13 from the distance where as the Hornets shot 38.8 percent from the field and were 6 of 13 from the distance. The Hornets were also only 12 of 20 from the free throw line. Kenneth Faried finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while JaVale McGee and Corey Brewer both added 8 points for the team.
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