Cavaliers 100 - 99 Nuggets
Final
  for this game

Cavs, Nuggets clash in Colorado

Mar 7, 2012 - 3:53 PM (Sports Network) - Two teams headed in opposite directions meet in the Rockies when the streaking Denver Nuggets entertain the skidding Cleveland Cavaliers.

Since losing 12 of 16 thanks in large part to a host of injuries the Nuggets have rebounded to win four straight, including the opener of a season-long nine-game homestand against Sacramento on Monday.

It wasn't pretty but Denver outlasted the Kings in overtime, 119-116, when Ty Lawson made a three-pointer with four seconds left in the extra frame to lift the Nuggets.

Lawson ended with 16 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds for Denver, which improved to 11-8 at Pepsi Center and is now seventh in the tightly contested Western Conference playoff hunt. Arron Afflalo donated a career-high 32 points.

Rookie Kenneth Faried tallied a career-best 20 points and 12 boards for Denver, while Al Harrington had 14 points and nine rebounds. The Nuggets also got a big boost with the return of leading scorer Danilo Gallinari and top rebounder Nene, who combined for 10 points in limited roles off the bench.

Gallinari had missed the previous 13 games with a chip fracture in his left foot while Nene returned from a 10-game stint on the sidelines (strained calf).

"This game meant a lot for us," Lawson said. "To come back home on a back-to- back and (against) Sacramento - everybody is thinking, 'Oh, we just will beat them.' I think at one point we had no business winning."

The Cavs, meanwhile, continue to struggle without the heart and soul of their defense, big man Anderson Varejao, losing a season-high six straight to Utah, 109-100, in the Forest City on Monday.

Kyrie Irving and Antawn Jamison each had 22 points for the Cavaliers, while Alonzo Gee and Ramon Sessions tallied 15 and 14 points, respectively.

"I think we all came out lackadaisical in the beginning and I'm not surprised that we lost the game," Irving said. "We came out lackadaisical and in the last five minutes we started to fight, but that's not going to get it done."

Denver has won nine of its past 11 meetings with the Cavs. Cleveland hasn't played well in the Rocky Mountains lately, dropping 11 of 15 games there.






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