Pelicans-Nuggets Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Apr 01 2014 5:10PM

The New Orleans Pelicans weren't able to take the next step in their rebuilding process, missing the playoffs for a third straight year.

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets' franchise-record streak of postseason appearances has come to an end.

But both teams, sputtering after improved recent play, would like to finish up playing better basketball. New Orleans looks to claim the season series Wednesday night when it visits Denver in a matchup of clubs with identical records.

While the Nuggets (32-42) will post their first sub-.500 season since 2002-03, the Pelicans will improve their winning percentage for the third consecutive year.

New Orleans (32-42), though, has dropped two in a row after winning nine of 12 and a season-best five straight, falling 102-97 at home to Sacramento on Monday. Anthony Davis scored 22 points after sitting out Saturday's 96-80 defeat at San Antonio due to a left ankle injury, but the Pelicans were still dominated inside. The Kings claimed a 47-30 rebounding advantage and outscored New Orleans 22-4 on second-chance opportunities.

The Pelicans were outscored 14-5 in that category Saturday. They had averaged 13.6 second-chance points and a plus-7.4 rebounding margin during their five-game winning streak.

Davis blocked four shots against Sacramento, but the team still surrendered 35 points to DeMarcus Cousins, who was 7 for 7 in the third quarter.

"A number of times we had double-teams down there and he just bulled through the double team and got to the basket," coach Monty Williams said.

Denver's run of 10 straight playoff appearances - the second-longest in the NBA - has been snapped with the Nuggets 12 games out of eighth place in the Western Conference with eight remaining.

They were 7-4 from March 5-23, scoring 110.5 per game and hitting 38.2 percent of their 3-point attempts, but have since lost four straight while averaging 98.3 points and 31.1 percent from 3-point range.

Wilson Chandler, second on the club with 120 3-pointers, has missed five straight games with a strained left groin and is listed as out for Wednesday's contest. Ty Lawson has shot 22.2 percent on 3-point attempts during Chandler's absence after previously hitting 36.6 percent.

Timofey Mozgov tied a career best with 23 points in Monday's 94-92 home loss to Memphis, but was at the forefront of a questionably played final possession. With seven seconds left and the Grizzles up 93-90, the Nuggets ran an out-of-bounds play to get Mozgov a look from 3-point range. Mozgov rebounded his own miss and dunked with 1.9 seconds left instead of passing the ball for another 3-point attempt, something Memphis' Zach Randolph said even surprised him.

Denver fouled Courtney Lee on the ensuing possession and he hit one free throw before intentionally missing the second, ending the game.

"We know that I can make 3s," Mozgov said despite being 1 for 13 from beyond the arc in his career. "We tried. I just missed it. It wasn't good."

The Nuggets have won seven of nine at home against New Orleans, but the Pelicans have taken two of the first three meetings this season. Most recently, Davis led them to a 111-107 overtime win in New Orleans on March 9 with 32 points and 17 rebounds.

Kenneth Faried, averaging 19.2 points on 55.2 percent shooting over his last 17 contests, had 22 points and 14 boards.

Faried leads Nuggets' 137-107 rout of Pelicans

By RICHARD J. MARCUS
Posted Apr 03 2014 1:14AM

DENVER (AP) Kenneth Faried was all smiles in Denver's locker room. And with good reason.

The Nuggets' forward scored a career-high 34 points and added 13 rebounds to lead Denver to a 137-107 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

"When I got my second foul, I sat down and looked up said, `Wow, I have nine (points) already. I haven't really played that much. This might be a career game,"' Faried said. "That's what I love to do - have fun and play basketball. When it's that exciting and that much fun you have no worries, really. You just think about winning.

"Coach (Brian Shaw) wanted me to impose my will on (the Pelicans') Anthony Davis ... not shy away or back down."

That wasn't an issue in the second half, when Davis sat out with back spasms. He finished with six points and three rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored 27 points to lead New Orleans.

The Nuggets raced to a 40-26 lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back, making 15 of 27 3-pointers compared to 2 of 9 for New Orleans, a 39-point difference. The 137 points tied the Nuggets' season scoring high.

"They (Nuggets) just ran up and down the court and did what they wanted to do. They did make some unbelievable 3s, they were on fire tonight," Evans said. "We knew that at the beginning of the game Faried was going to come out aggressive and we didn't do a good job of stopping him."

The Pelicans had no answers inside for Faried, who went unchecked numerous times for backdoor dunks and easy short jumpers.

"I think that is how Faried should be playing," teammate Ty Lawson said. "I compare him to a little bit like Charles Barkley the way he can get the ball to the rim, make good decisions and pass it."

Faried's previous career best was 32 points against the Lakers on March 7.

"He is succeeding in areas he has struggled in before and so that is just making him supremely confident," Shaw said. "When you have that (confidence) then the game starts to slow down for you."

The Pelicans trailed 71-53 at halftime. The 71 points were the most they allowed in the first half this season. The previous high was 64 points twice.

"We didn't play well to start the game. In the month of March we set a high bar for how we can play, regardless of who's on the floor," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "Since I've been here we've never given up these type of numbers with our defense."

Denver led 105-81 after three quarters and cruised to the victory from there.

"That's the toughest part for me, allowing teams to score like that," Williams said. "Thought they had way too many easy points in the paint."

Reserve Aaron Brooks scored 24 points for Denver, going 6 of 8 from beyond the arc.

"I just wanted to be more aggressive. Talked to coach before the game and he said he wanted at least three, so I got that quota," Brooks said. "The big guy (Davis) wasn't in there (in the second half), and once he's out it's time to attack the rim. We shared the ball and had a lot of assists."

The victory moved the Nuggets ahead of the Pelicans for 11th place in the Western Conference and gave them a split of the four-game season series.

The Nuggets led in assists (34-21) and blocks (12-7) and committed fewer turnovers (11-16).

The Pelicans held a 42-40 rebounding edge.

NOTES: Nuggets F Wilson Chandler missed his sixth straight game with a left groin strain. ... Pelicans G Eric Gordon missed his seventh consecutive game with tendinitis in his left knee. ... The Nuggets tied their season high with 12 blocks. . The Nuggets' 15 3-pointers tied their season high.

Notebook: Nuggets 137, Pelicans 107

Michael Kelly, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:24 AM - Updated Thu Apr 03, 2014 1:30 AM

THE FACT: The Denver Nuggets outscored the New Orleans Pelicans 45-6 from 3-point range. The 15 made 3-pointers by the Nuggets tied their season high.

THE LEAD: Kenneth Faried scored a career-high 34 points and also had 13 rebounds and three blocks to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 137-107 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

Aaron Brooks came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers, which accounted for all of his 24 points. Ty Lawson had 14 points and 12 of the Nuggets' 34 assists, two short of the team high for the season.

Tyreke Evans had 27 points to lead the Pelicans, who have lost three straight after winning five in a row. Anthony Morrow scored 17 points off the bench for New Orleans.

QUOTABLE: "We didn't let up. That's what we've been trying to learn from this season. This season we've had games in control and in the second half we let up. This game we didn't let up. We kept it in control, put our foot down and finally broke somebody's neck."
-- Kenneth Faried

THE STAT: The Pelicans held a 28-11 lead in free-throw attempts in the first half and scored 19 of their first 39 points from the foul line. New Orleans hit 35 free throws in the game, 10 more than Denver attempted.

TURNING POINT: The Nuggets' defense was the difference. They had 10 blocked shots in the first half, including a career-high two from Brooks. In one sequence Timofey Mozgov blocked Evans' shot, and on the Pelicans' next possession Brooks blocked a fast-break layup attempt by7-foot-2 center Alexis Ajinca. Denver tied a season high with 12 blocks.

QUOTABLE II: "It's been a while since I got up there. It felt good."
-- Aaron Brooks, on his block on Ajinca

HOT: Faried was dominating from the start and didn't let up. He nearly had a double-double at halftime (18 points, nine rebounds) and continued his high-energy game in the second half. He had 28 points by the end of the third and drew an offensive foul on Jeff Withey.

QUOTABLE III: "He's giving us that energy that we need, so it's great to see. He's a young player and for him to finish the season strong the way he is right now will definitely carry over into his summer when he goes to play with the U.S. team."
-- Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, on Faried.

NOT: The loss of Anthony Davis hurt any comeback attempt for New Orleans. Davis left the game in the first half with back spasms and didn't return. His absence took away the team's best low-post defender on a night when Denver's big men were playing well.

QUOTABLE IV: "He was great to start but when he sat down it locked up on him and he couldn't recover. I was close to pulling him to start the game but he was like, 'Coach, I'm good, I can go.' When he played he looked good, but when I took him out everything locked up on him. When I put him back in he couldn't do it so I pulled the plug."
-- Pelicans coach Monty Williams, on Davis

GOOD MOVE: Shaw had a heart-to-heart talk with Faried and Lawson about showing leadership in the final eight games of the season. Both players appeared to take the conversation to heart with strong performances.

BAD MOVE: The New Orleans defense was passive and slow to react all game. Denver had 71 points at intermission, the most the Pelicans have allowed in the first half this season. They nearly gave up that many in the second half.

QUOTABLE V: "They just ran up and down the court and did what they wanted to do. They did make some unbelievable 3s. They were on fire tonight."
-- Tyreke Evans

ROOKIE WATCH: Withey had 13 points, five rebounds and four blocks in nearly 30 minutes. He saw more playing time in the second half with Davis sidelined.

NOTABLE: Faried needed just 26 minutes, 46 seconds to reach his totals. He is the first NBA player since 1985-86 to have 34 points and 13 rebounds in less than 27 minutes. ... Denver outscored the Pelicans 21-6 on points off turnovers. ... The Pelicans have lost 19 straight road games to Northwest Division opponents. ... Evans also had eight rebounds. It was the 10th time in his career he has had at least 27 points and eight rebounds. ... Denver scored 30 or more points in every quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Pelicans, Friday @ Utah, Sunday @ Portland, Wednesday vs. Phoenix. For the Nuggets, Friday @ Memphis, Sunday @ Houston, Wednesday vs. Houston.

• Pelicans: Anderson, Holiday
• Nuggets: Gallinari, McGee

• Pelicans: --
• Nuggets: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #12 Violet Palmer, #31 Scott Wall
• Attendance: 14783
• Duration: 2:15