NBA Recap: Denver Nuggets pull off road win over Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-97.
By Andrew Dill
Nov 17, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) is fouled by Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) and guard Arron Afflalo (10) during the first quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
In an unexpected change of events, the Denver Nuggets came away with a big road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night, 106-97. After a disappointing loss to the New York Knicks on the front-end of a back-to-back Sunday afternoon, Denver responded with a dominating defensive performance against LeBron James and the Cavaliers Monday night.
Ty Lawson easily had his best game of the 2014-15′ campaign, recording his second double-double of the season. Ty scored 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, dishing out 12 times while coming away with two steals. Lawson scored 14 second half points to help lift his Nuggets team to a much-needed win.
Speaking of good, Arron Afflalo has played some excellent basketball of late. Denver’s shooting guard scored 20 points Monday night on 8-of-17 shooting, knocking down 50.0% of his three-point attempts (4-of-8). Over Afflalo’s last three games, he’s averaging 19.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
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Denver held a Cleveland Cavaliers team that has been red-hot from the floor of late. Cleveland had four players score 20+ points, led by LeBron James with 22 points. LeBron was missing frequent jumpers early on as he finished the game shooting 8-of-18 from the field with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. Dion Waiters, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irvings each chipped in 20 points of their own.
Darrell Arthur is a streaky role player but tonight was a solid effort from the stretch forward. Arthur shot 5-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point land as he collected 13 points. Arthur was active on the glass as well, collecting his first double-double this season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
With J.J. Hickson out, Brian Shaw reduced the rotation to a 10-man unit. Not only did he do that, he limited the number of minutes for bench players such as Danilo Gallinari, Nate Robinson, Randy Foye, and JaVale McGee) Gallo and McGee played just 8 minutes apiece while Foye and Robinson finished with 10 minutes.
Timofey Mozgov was active on the glass and on the scoring sheet, helping Denver dominate the points in the paint category by +8. Like Arthur, Mozgov collected his first double-double of the season as well, ending the night with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 11 rebounds.
Notes:
- Denver didn’t fall into a huge deficit early on which was nice to see. Denver battled with Cleveland throughout the entire game.
- Denver had four of their starting five score in double-figures; Kenneth Faried tallied just 8 points in the victory.
- Denver had three players record double-doubles; Ty Lawson (24 points, 12 assists), Timofey Mozgov (14 points, 11 rebounds), and Darrell Arthur (13 points, 11 rebounds).
- Nuggets came out on top in terms of points in the paint, outscoring Cleveland 44-36; +8 margin.
- Wilson Chandler was close to a double-double, coming up one rebound shy. Chandler finished the night with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
The Denver Nuggets (3-7) return to action Wednesday night as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST, 7:00 PM MST.