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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) – So who needs star players?
With Friday night's 108-92 victory over Golden State, the Denver
Nuggets raised their April record to 4-1, and each of those wins
has come with Antonio McDyess and Nick Van Exel on the bench.
George McCloud scored 24 points and Robert Pack had the first
triple-double by a Denver player in four years.
The Nuggets, who won for the fifth time in seven games,
outscored Golden State 42-20 in the second quarter, building a
26-point halftime lead.
Denver extended the margin to 33 points in the third quarter,
then held on as the Warriors cut the deficit to 12 in the final
period.
Pack finished with 12 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Mark
Jackson had the most recent Denver triple-double on Jan. 28, 1997.
Raef LaFrentz had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Willis had 13
points and 12 rebounds, and James Posey 12 points and 12 rebounds.
"Guys are stepping up to replace Antonio and Nick," Nuggets
coach Dan Issel said. "They are all pros and they're talented, and
it's nice to see them not packing it in.
"We are playing for a .500 record or at least 40 wins. Those
are our two goals for the rest of the season."
Denver is 39-40, but has challenging games remaining against San
Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento.
"We had the game in control but Golden State made a run and got
back in the game," Pack said. "Once we had the game back in hand,
I started thinking about the triple-double. To get it with a win
makes it a lot better."
Pack grabbed his 10th rebound with about three minutes left,
completing the trio.
"Kevin (Willis) must have had some money against me because he
was knocking rebounds out of my hands," Pack said. "The last one
I had to scrap for."
Golden State, absorbing its 10th straight loss and falling to
2-29 since the All-Star break, was led by Antawn Jamison, who had
30 points. Corie Blount came off the bench to score 15 points and
grab 15 rebounds.
Denver hit 13-for-24 from 3-point range, compared to Golden
State's 1-for-6.
"We just had one hellaciously bad quarter," Warriors coach
Dave Cowens said. "They made every shot they took, and we just
played awful. They beat us every which way they could beat us in
that second quarter. The rest of the game we played fairly well.
"We were 1-for-6 on 3's and they were 13-for-24. They beat us
by 36 points just on 3's, and that's the story of the game."
Adonal Foyle scored six points as the Warriors took an early
16-12 lead. But the Nuggets scored eight straight points, including
three by Willis, to take a 20-16 lead they would never relinquish.
Willis had nine points and six rebounds in the opening period,
helping Denver to a 26-22 lead.
The Nuggets hit four 3-pointers in the first six minutes of the
second quarter, using a 21-6 run to forge a 47-28 lead. Voshon
Lenard and Anthony Goldwire had back-to-back 3-pointers during the
surge.
Posey had another 3-pointer -- one of seven by the Nuggets in the
period -- to make it 58-35.
LaFrentz's fastbreak slam dunk gave Denver its biggest lead of
the half, 67-41, with 46 seconds left.
Denver outscored Golden State 42-20 in the second quarter, with
Lenard scoring 11 points in the period.
McCloud had a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter, the last
one putting Denver ahead 87-54 with 5:14 left.
Erick Dampier had five of Golden State's nine straight points
later in the quarter.
Blount and Jamison led a fourth-quarter surge, and Jamison's two
free throws cut the deficit to 100-88 with 3:51. Posey, however,
countered with a 3-pointer and Dan McClintock with a baseline
jumper to pad the margin to 17.
Game notes
It was Pack's second career triple-double. He also did it
with Denver on Nov. 26, 1994, against Dallas. ... McDyess missed
his third straight game and eighth game in the last six weeks with
a dislocated left kneecap. Van Exel is out for the season with a
lower back strain and foot injury. ... In a pregame ceremony,
McDyess was presented with a ring for his role with the gold
medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. ... Jamison, the NBA's
ninth-leading scorer, was coming off a 38-point effort against
Seattle on Wednesday. ... Denver swept the Warriors 4-0 this
season, its first sweep over Golden State since 1984-85.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Golden State Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Washington 113
Orlando 110
Cleveland 97
New Jersey 91
New York 101
Atlanta 65
Indiana 113
Boston 108
Toronto 94
Miami 82
Utah 94
Chicago 83
Dallas 101
Sacramento 97
Denver 108
Golden State 92
Phoenix 109
Seattle 100
Houston 109
Portland 103
LA Clippers 111
Minnesota 105
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