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Sunday, Dec. 26 9:00pm ET
Nuggets outscore Griz 29-12 in 3rd quarter | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets shook off a sluggish first half to match their victory total from last season. Antonio McDyess scored 10 of his 22 points in the third quarter as Denver beat the Vancouver Grizzlies 109-86 Sunday night. "I gained confidence on the first play of the third quarter," said McDyess, who also had 10 rebounds and four of his team's 13 blocked shots. "The play we ran worked and they just kept coming to me." Nick Van Exel added 22 points and 13 assists, and Raef LaFrentz had 16 points and eight rebounds for Denver (14-12) which won only 14 of 50 games a year ago. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, losers of 10 of 11 road games. The Nuggets outscored the Grizzlies 29-12 in the third quarter to turn a one-point deficit into an 85-69 lead heading into the fourth. "We made the adjustments to the way the game was played, picked up our intensity and got real physical in the second half," Denver coach Dan Issel said. "We still aren't to the point where we can come in here, put on the uniform and shoes and expect to win." They extended their lead to 91-71 early in the final quarter on two free throws by Bryant Stith and a dunk by Keon Clark. Baskets by Milt Palacio and Dennis Scott got the Grizzlies to within 91-75 with 9:25 left, but Van Exel and Ron Mercer scored four points each during a 14-4 run as Denver regained a 20-point edge. Trailing 57-56 at halftime, Denver took a 61-57 lead early in the third quarter, but Vancouver tied the game four minutes into the period at 64-64 on a free throw by Abdur-Rahim. McDyess heated up with 10 points over the last 8:07 of the quarter while Vancouver managed only Mike Bibby's jumper and three free throws by in a 21-5 run for the Nuggets. "We weren't playing great defense, but were matching buckets with them for a half," Vancouver coach Lionel Hollins said. "But in the second half we quit making shots and allowed them to get too many easy transition baskets." LaFrentz scored 10 points for Denver in the first quarter and broke a 19-19 tie with the second of two 3-pointers in the period. Michael Dickerson had 10 in the quarter, but the Grizzlies trailed 27-23. "I don't think we could have played a worse half than we did in the second half," said Dickerson, who had all 14 of his points in the first half. "I had eight good looks alone and didn't get one of them down."
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Vancouver Clubhouse Denver Clubhouse RECAPS Washington 103 Houston 92
Denver 109
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