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On the Road Again: Denver visits Sacramento

Dec 16, 2012 - 3:39 PM (Sports Network) - The Denver Nuggets are back on the road, a place they sadly must have grown accustomed to, Sunday night when they visit the Sacramento Kings.

This will be the 18th road game already for a Denver team that is 6-11 away from home and 6-1 in the Pepsi Center. Denver has played by far the most road games so far this season and it's a testament to head coach George Karl and the roster to be .500.

They got their record squared with a 99-94 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. Andre Miller scored 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter to lead the Nuggets to victory.

"We don't win this game without Andre Miller, without a question," said Karl. "It was a slow-down, drag, pull teeth, punch, grab, hold, kind of an old- school basketball game. I think it is a really classy win for us. It is a tough-minded win against a team that I think is going to be very, very successful this year."

Andre Iguodala had a great all-around game with 20 points, seven assists and five steals and four boards. Danilo Gallinari had 14 points and Ty Lawson 13.

The formula is pretty simple for Denver -- play good defense and win. The Nuggets are 10-2 when the opponent scores fewer than 100 points, although Denver ranks 25th in the NBA in opponents scoring.

Luckily, perhaps, for the Nuggets, on Sunday they won't face one of the league's elite offenses.

The Kings rank 22nd in scoring at 94.46 ppg and have gone over the century mark in points just twice in their last nine.

Sacramento has lost three straight, although all of those setbacks came on the road where the Kings are 1-9. They are a more-than-respectable 6-6 in Sleep Train Arena, where they've won their last two.

On Friday, the Kings fell to the scolding-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, 113-103. Isaiah Thomas began the season as the starting point guard, but lost his job, and didn't even play a few games. He led the way for the Kings on Friday with 26 points in not quite 16 minutes.

The 5-foot-9 second-year guard had 23 of his 26 in the fourth quarter and that was two shy of Mitch Richmond's Sacramento-era record for points in a period.

"My mindset every time I come in is (to) make a difference. My job is to bring energy, make an impact on offense and defense, and I tried to do that last night," Thomas said after practice on Saturday.

Four other Kings scored in double-figures on Friday, highlighted by 21 from Tyreke Evans.

The Nuggets have won five straight against the Kings, but are 5-24 in their last 29 in California's capital.