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Lawson, Felton power Nuggets over Hornets

Mar 15, 2011 - 5:06 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Ty Lawson scored 23 points with 10 assists and Raymond Felton added 22 points and 12 assists, as Denver rode the former North Carolina standouts to a 114-103 victory over New Orleans.

Wilson Chandler, another piece along with Felton in the Carmelo Anthony trade, added 21 points and seven rebounds, while Kenyon Martin chipped in with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. J.R. Smith was instant offense off the bench with 18 points for the Nuggets, winners in three straight games.

"For the most we played great team defense when we needed to," said Chandler.

Chris Paul scored a game-high 27 points with 10 assists and five rebounds, while Willie Green added 18 points off the bench. David West was held to six points on 2-of-9 shooting to go along with six assists and four rebounds for the Hornets, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.

"Raymond Felton, those guys, just played outstanding basketball," said Paul.

An evenly-played first period ended with the visitors holding a two-point edge, 23-21, and they grabbed momentum in the second period while taking control.

The Nuggets slowly grabbed control, pushing their margin out to 39-30 on Nene's slam with just under seven minutes to play. The first double-digit lead came at 44-33 on Martin's slam as Denver continued to dominate the interior. Paul's trey brought the Hornets back within 46-40, but the Nuggets reeled off the next nine points capped by Lawson's three-point play with 52.5 ticks to go.

Lawson's trey at the buzzer put a stamp on a 58-45 halftime margin. The former Tar Heel was at it again, racing to the hoop for a quick score and a 71-53 advantage with just less than 7 1/2 minutes to go in the third quarter. Felton, another former North Carolina point guard, connected from long distance for an 80-60 game, and Denver took a 94-75 lead into the final period.

New Orleans didn't threaten the lead in the fourth quarter, as Denver rolled to a road win.

Game Notes

Denver made 53.3 percent of its shots and a game-altering 58.6 of its attempts from long distance...New Orleans connected on 47.1 of its attempts and made 10-of-22 three-pointers...Denver scored 16 points in transition to just seven for the Hornets...The game featured just one lead change and three ties...New Orleans had won two straight in the series before Monday's game.