Denver Rallies After Strong 4th

Dec 7, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Randy Foye (4) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers center Spencer Hawes (00) during the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets came away with the win Saturday night as the Nuggets controlled the fourth quarter, defeating the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-92. The Nuggets would pull away from the Sixers late in the game, as they outscored them 26-15 in the fourth quarter. Denver breaks a two-game skid as they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics. The Nuggets will continue their road-trip tomorrow night in Washington, as it will be their fourth game in five-days.

The Nuggets looked lost to begin the game as they couldn’t find a rhythm offensively. They received word before tonight’s game that point guard Ty Lawson would not play tonight due to a tight hamstring and was listed as day-to-day. He might not play tomorrow in Washington, but it’s not official. Andre Miller would start at point in Ty’s absence, tallying 29 minutes going 3-for-9 from the field, with 8 points and 7 assists.

Denver was giving Philadelphia easy baskets early on as Tony Wroten would slice to the lane and have his way. Wroten would lead the Sixers in scoring, shooting 10-of-20 from the field with 20 points. Spencer Hawes would chip in 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. Kenneth Faried has not played well on the road-trip and only played in 14 minutes as he was benched later on in the game.

Brian Shaw‘s bench continues to a be a strong point of this team, while the starters only accumulated for 49 points. The bench would score 54 points led by guard Nate Robinson, who scored 20 points, 6-of-14 from the field with 7 rebounds. Jordan Hamilton was strong in the fourth as he caught fire, finishing the game with 13 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from long distance.

J.J. Hickson posted a double-double for Denver, shooting 5-for-9 from the field with 12 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and a block. As a Nuggets fan, you would like to see Wilson Chandler shoot more. He only took eight shots tonight, connecting with four of them scoring 10 points and adding 4 rebounds.

Although the Nuggets looked sluggish without point guard Ty Lawson, tonight was an important game for them to win. It’s tough playing four games in five nights on the road, but it shows what kind of team you are. The Nuggets are currently 3-2 on the road-trip, with wins over Toronto, Brooklyn, and now Philadelphia. They will have a chance to go 4-2 with a win over Washington tomorrow night, but it will be a tough game.

With the win tonight, Denver finds themselves at 12-8 on the season, and will face a Washington Wizards (9-10) club tomorrow that just came off of an overtime loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, 109-105.