Denver Nuggets Struggle With The Cleveland Cavaliers, fall 117-109

Jan 17, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets shooting guard Wilson Chandler (21) defends Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Luol Deng (9) in the first quarter at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets (20-19) came off of an impressive win over one of the top teams in the west in the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, but fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers who were previously 4-17 on the road entering the game. Cleveland came away with the win by the final score of 117-109 as Denver’s home struggles continue.

In their last meeting, Cleveland was strong on the glass and this time it would be no different. Power forward Tristan Thompson dominated the Nuggets, recording a double-double on 8-of-9 shooting, scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds. Point guard Kyrie Irving was too much for the Nuggets as well, shooting 9-of-16 for the game, scoring 23 points while adding 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Newly acquired forward Luol Deng impressed in his fifth game as a Cavalier as he would score 18 points on 6-of-17 shooting. The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Nuggets 49-to-41 in the game and outscored them in the post, 50-to-44.

Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson struggled from the field but made up for it at the line making all seven of his free-throws. Ty would finish with 19 points on 5-of-16 shooting, recording his third-straight double-double with 11 assists. A resurgent Randy Foye was hot in the first quarter but cooled off since then. The guard would finish the game with 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-9 from behind-the-arc. Wilson Chandler kept the Nuggets in the game late with his three-pointers as the forward recorded 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-12 from deep.

In just 21 minutes of action, back-up point guard Nate Robinson didn’t miss a beat from the Nuggets most recent game against the Warriors. Nate finished with 19 points off of the bench on 8-of-11 shooting, 3-of-5 from downtown. Timofey Mozgov would come off of the bench as well and recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points with 11 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. The Denver Nuggets were without Darrell Arthur yet again as the power forward has been dealing with a groin injury that has sidelined him for the past three games and  is listed as day-to-day.

The Denver Nuggets (20-19) hit the road again as they are set to take on the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center on Sunday night. Tip-Off is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM MT.