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Nuggets-Nets Preview

Nov 4, 2009 - 7:11 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Denver (4-0) at New Jersey (0-4), 7:30 p.m. EDT

The Denver Nuggets believe the momentum from their run to the Western Conference finals last spring has carried over into their best start in 24 years. The New Jersey Nets, meanwhile, are trying to avoid their worst start since 1996.

The Nuggets look to remain undefeated Wednesday night when they visit the winless Nets.

Denver (4-0) made a run in the highly-competitive West before falling in six games in the conference finals to the eventual NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets have carried that momentum into this season, and are off to their best start since going 6-0 to start 1985-86. They continued to impress surge Tuesday, winning 111-93 at Indiana.

"We should feel good, we shouldn't feel no other way," Denver star Carmelo Anthony said after scoring 25 points against the Pacers. "It seems like we're picking up where we left off from last year."

The Nets (0-4) missed out on the playoffs for a second consecutive season last April, finishing 34-48. They haven't shown any improvement in 2009-10, and are in danger of matching their 0-5 start from 1996-97 - a franchise worst since joining the NBA in 1976.

New Jersey pulled within one loss of that dubious mark with Monday's 79-68 defeat at Charlotte. The Nets shot a season-low 37.3 percent against the Bobcats, who were even worse at 32.4.

"It was embarrassing," guard Rafer Alston said. "Offensively, we have to do it together."

While the Nets are at the bottom of the East, the Nuggets are flourishing with one of the most potent offenses in the league, averaging 113.8 points after finishing sixth in 2008-09 with 104.3.

Anthony has led Denver's season-opening surge. The forward leads the NBA with an average of 34.5 points, while shooting 50 percent from the field. The two-time All-Star averaged a team-high 22.8 points last season, and increased that to 27.2 in 16 playoff games.

Chauncey Billups, who put up 24 points against the Pacers, is again playing a key supporting role. The guard is second on the Nuggets with 23.3 points per game after averaging 20.6 in the playoffs.

"We have a real good aura, a real good feel about what we can be as a team this year," Billups said.

The Nuggets split two meetings with the Nets last season, as each team won at home. Denver has dropped 16 of its last 20 visits to New Jersey.

If the Nets are going to snap their season-opening slide, they'll need to show some offensive improvement. They're averaging 87.5 points while allowing 98.0 through four games. New Jersey scored 98.1 points per game in 2008-09.

Chris Douglas-Roberts has been one of the Nets' few bright spots. The swingman, who was drafted in the second round out of Memphis last year, has totaled 45 points over the last two games after scoring 12 during the previous two.

He's started all four contests this season, after filling a limited role off the bench and averaging 4.9 points as a rookie.