Nuggets dish out biggest game, sink Cavs

CLEVELAND – LeBron James began the day by missing the morning shootaround because of a cold. A loss to the struggling Denver Nuggets didn’t make him feel any better.

Ty Lawson scored 24 points, Arron Afflalo added 23 and the Nuggets ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak with a 106-97 victory in the NBA Monday night.

James led the Cavaliers with 22 points, but Denver took the lead for good early in the third quarter and was up by as many as 14 midway through the fourth.

“They were the more desperate team and that’s why they walked out with a win,” James said. “I felt OK, good enough to go out and help the team win, and as a group we didn’t have it.”

The Nuggets limped into the game having lost seven of eight and were coming off Sunday’s defeat at New York in which they made one field goal in the second quarter.

Denver looked like a different team Monday, placing five players in double figures. Leading 90-84, the Nuggets scored eight straight points and went ahead 98-84 on Lawson’s layup with 6:01 to play.

Nuggets coach Brian Shaw praised his team’s effort.

“I told the guys before the game, we’re under fire in a lot of different ways, but no matter what, we have to stick together in this room,” he said. “People are attacking us from everywhere. The only way we can shut everybody up is through our actions on the floor. This was our biggest win of the year so far. It might not have been a big game for them, but it was a big game for us.”

In other results, Dallas overwhelmed Charlotte, 107-80; Phoenix outlasted Boston, 118-114; Orlando thumped Detroit, 107-93; Memphis blasted Houston, 119-93; San Antonio routed Philadelphia, 100-75; Portland defeated New Orleans, 102-93; the Chicago Bulls sank the Los Angeles Clippers, 105-89; and the Miami Heat snapped a three-game skid with a 95-83 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Cleveland, which hit its first 11 3-pointers Saturday against Atlanta, failed to reach 100 points for the first time in six games despite having four players score 20 or more.     (AP)

While some observers thought the Cavaliers would breeze through games on a nightly basis, James has said since training camp it would take time for them to come together. Cleveland lost three of four to start the season before its winning streak.

“We’ve got to play with our back against the wall every game,” he said. “I think we felt good about a four-game winning streak. You have a team that hasn’t been playing well this year come into your building and think it’s going to be a cakewalk and that’s what happens.”

James told reporters an hour before the opening tip that “I’ve been better,” but “I’m walking.” He said the cold has been bothering him for a couple of days. He was 8 for 18 from the field with nine rebounds and five assists.

Timofey Mozgov had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Denver. Darrell Arthur scored 14 and Wilson Chandler added 12.

Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters each scored 20 points for the Cavs.

Cleveland’s winning streak began with a 110-101 victory in Denver on Nov. 7, but this matchup was a different story. Afflalo was scoreless in 31 minutes in that game and Lawson didn’t play because of an ankle injury.

“When you play a high-profile team, you focus a little more as a group,” said Afflalo, who set a season high for points. “It wasn’t hard to get up for this one.”

Cavaliers coach David Blatt wasn’t surprised the Nuggets put together a strong performance.

“I knew going into this game that this was a dangerous game,” he said. “I made that point when we walked in the locker room this morning.” (AP)