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Denver Spoils Karl’s Homecoming: Nuggets 122, Kings 111

By Nicholas LeTourneau

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84. 122. 73. Final. 111

In the final home game of the season, we see the Denver Nuggets welcome in fellow Western Conference cellar-dweller, the Sacramento Kings. This is the first game since the Kings recently announced that star forward Rudy Gay and superstar center DeMarcus Cousin would be shut down for the remainder of the season for rest and to prevent injury. This was also former coach George Karl first time back to the Pepsi Center since being let go in 2013.

Kenneth Faried came out on fire, scoring the first six points for the Nuggets on two driving layups and a put-back layup. After that, Randy Foye went on a similar run, scoring the next five points with a three-pointer and two free-throws made. However, the Kings kept it close thanks to solid play from former lottery picks Ben McLemore and Derrick Williams. Faried had arguably the best quarter of basketball in his career, netting eight of his nine shots, good for 19 points. Denver led 37-28 after one.

The second quarter saw fan-favorite (and future star of the team) Jusuf Nurkic check in for the first time and he did not disappoint. On his first defensive possession, he blocked a last-second shot from Ryan Hollins, and then he picked Andre Miller pocket before getting fouled going for a dunk in transition.

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Overall, the reserves struggled as a unit and let the Kings gain some ground back before halftime. Sacramento fought their way back to take a three-point lead with one minute left in the half, thanks to a scoring outburst from Omari Caspi and Ray McCallum. After two quarters, Denver led 60-59.

Foye and Danilo Gallinari came out firing after the break, making it rain from three and hitting all of their foul shots. Combined, they scored twelve of Denver’s first sixteen points to start the quarter. Thanks to Wilson Chandler and Faried, the hot streak continued and the Nuggets jumped out to another big lead. The Nuggets starters absolutely dominated the game the first three quarter, with everyone scoring in double figures.

The Nuggets took a ten-point lead into the fourth quarter, 94-84. Through three quarters, Faried led all scorers, and he was four points away from his career-high in scoring, with 30 points and seven rebounds.

Turnovers were the story in the first few possessions of the fourth quarter (both teams had two). Chandler quietly scored 21 points halfway through the quarter. Six minutes into the quarter, all of the starters were pulled for the rest of the game. Interim head coach Melvin Hunt was concerned about playing with a big lead, and playing tomorrow night.

This one was over after the starters left the game and the Nuggets went on to win 122-111. Faried played a huge role — he had a career-night, with 30 points, which was his season-high and four off from his career-high. The rest of the starters also performed well, combining for 91 points. This must have felt good for the Nuggets — they beat their former coach, who coached a lot of the starters on this Denver team. The Nuggets have two games left and they both happen to be against Playoff teams, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

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