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Gallinari, Nuggets cut down Nets

Jan 12, 2012 - 6:07 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Danilo Gallinari led six teammates in double- figures with 22 points as the Denver Nuggets cut down the New Jersey Nets, 123-115 at Pepsi Center.

Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer netted 19 points and Rudy Fernandez finished with 15 points to go with eight assists and four steals for the Nuggets, who bounced back nicely after dropping a 94-81 decision against the New Orleans Hornets on Monday. Al Harrington contributed 13 and Andre Miller had 12 points and 12 assists for Denver.

"You'd rather see your team be unselfish to a fault, to a problem, than the other way," Nuggets head coach George Karl said of his team's unselfish play. "Most NBA teams have the other problem on their team. I can live with that."

Jordan Farmar scored a game-high 26 points off the bench, and Anthony Morrow had 23 points for the Nets, who have lost three straight and fell to 2-9 on the season. Deron Williams went for a double-double with 16 points and 13 assists and Kris Humphries donated 12 points and nine rebounds for New Jersey.

New Jersey opened the game with a 16-9 sprint, capped by a three-pointer by Morrow, but the Nuggets answered with a 9-2 run of their own to tie the game at 18 with just over five minutes left.

The Nuggets closed out the first quarter on a 14-5 run to lead 35-28 after 12 minutes of play.

The Nuggets began to put some serious distance between themselves and the Nets midway through the second stanza.

Leading 42-38 with under nine minutes left, the Nuggets used an 18-4 burst to take an 18-point advantage -- their largest of the half -- and led 68-52 at the break.

Denver shot 60 percent from the floor in the third quarter and led by double- digits for the duration of the 12 minutes, with the lead crossing the 20-point threshold with under a minute to go in the frame. The Nuggets led 100-80 after three quarters.

New Jersey opened the final quarter with a 12-0 run to cut the lead to eight, but that's as close as the Nets would get.

"It was pretty good offense for our team," Nets head coach Avery Johnson said. "Any time you score 115 points, you would think that it's going to be a win. We shot the ball well, we just couldn't get any stops defensively."

Game Notes

Denver leads the all-time series between the teams, 44-32...Denver shot 60 percent from the floor and 61 percent (11-of-18) from three-point range, while New Jersey shot 52 percent from the floor and 58 percent from beyond the arc...Denver point guard Ty Lawson did not play...Williams was ejected after he received his second technical foul with 3:02 left in regulation...Nuggets center Nene finished with nine points and nine rebounds...Nets guard DeShawn Stevenson did not play due to a sore right knee...Denver outrebounded New Jersey, 37-29...The Nets hit 20 three-pointers in the game, which is only three shy of the NBA record for most three-pointers in a game by one team, currently held by the Orlando Magic, who made 23 treys against the Sacramento Kings on January 13, 2009.