Nuggets Win Streak Snapped

Dec 4, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Alonzo Gee (33) drives against Denver Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler (21) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night 98-88, snapping their seven-game win streak. It was a terrible game for Ty Lawson to say the least as he couldn’t get anything going. The guard would shoot 1-for-13 from the field, 0-for-3 from three only accounting for four points. He did have eleven assists in the game, but was not aggressive at driving to the basket as he usually is, mainly in large part due to the presence of Andrew Bynum and Anderson Varejao.

Bynum was dominant in the post as he gave J.J. Hickson and Timofey Mozgov fits all night long. The center who sat out all of last year due to surgery on both of his knees, would provide a spark for this struggling Cavalier team. He would play in just 20 minutes but went 6-for-15 from the field, adding 14 points, 7 rebounds and a block. Varejao on the other hand was all over the place, getting rebound after rebound. Playing in 28 minutes, he has thrived off of the bench, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, adding 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Tristan Thompson was a beast on the glass for the Cavaliers as well. He would have 9 offensive rebounds, pulling down a career-high 21 rebounds. He also was efficient from the field, knocking down 6-of-13 with 17 points.

The Nuggets seemed lost tonight, after playing in a back-to-back Tuesday night against the Brooklyn Nets. J.J. Hickson and Randy Foye were the only starters that played with energy tonight, while Lawson, Chandler, and Faried combined for 9-for-32 from the field, 28.1% percent and 24 points, while Foye and Hickson tallied for 31 points.

The bench has been a big reason for the Nuggets success of late, but like the starters, they couldn’t find any rhythm. Nate Robinson keep the team in the game tonight shooting 7-for-15 from the field, with 14 points. Timofey Mozgov had a monster night in Brooklyn last night, but failed to bring it with him to Cleveland. He would play in just 17 minutes, as he went 4-for-6 from the field, adding 8 points and 3 rebounds.

The Nuggets hung around in the game with Cleveland despite playing terribly. They were simply too small for the big front-court of the Cavs led by Bynum, Varajeo, and Thompson. The Cavaliers would out-rebound the Denver Nuggets 58-to-43, and had 13 blocks.

Kyrie Irving came out of the gates hot for Cleveland but would cool off in the second half. He would shoot 7-for-11 from the field in the first half adding 17 points, but went 2-for-9 from that point on, finishing with 23 points.

Most fans would say that the Nuggets are playing better without JaVale McGee, but they need him in games like these for size as J.J. Hickson was forced to guard Bynum for most of the night. Hickson is 6’9″ playing the center position, while Andrew Bynum stands at 7’0″. That is not the match-up you want to have in a ball-game.

Denver will continue their six-game road-trip Friday night as they will play the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, the game will be aired on ESPN. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm ET, 5:30 pm MT.