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Denver crushes Kings

Dec 17, 2012 - 5:06 AM Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) - JaVale McGee led six Denver players in double figures with 19 points as the Nuggets stomped the Sacramento Kings, 122-97, on Sunday.

Danilo Gallinari had 18 points and Jordan Hamilton added 15 for the Nuggets, winners in three of their last four.

Andre Iguodala had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Ty Lawson dropped in 11 points to go with seven assists. Kosta Koufus posted 12 points and seven rebounds in the win.

Isaiah Thomas finished with 20 points while DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson each registered a double-double for the Kings, who have dropped four straight. Cousins had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Thompson finished with 16 points and 10 boards in the setback.

The teams traded blows over the first few minutes of the first quarter, but a 20-7 burst put Denver up 28-15 with 1:38 left in the frame. Sacramento, though, outscored the Nuggets 8-4 the rest of the way and trailed 32-23 after the first 12 minutes.

Denver opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to go up 42-25 just three minutes into the stanza. Francisco Garcia's 3-pointer pulled the Kings within 45-32, but the Nuggets outscored Sacramento 19-14 over the final seven minutes of the first half and led 64-46 at the break.

The Nuggets led 97-67 after three quarters and cruised to the easy win despite being outscored 30-25 in the fourth.

Denver shot 54.1 percent from the floor and held the Kings to just 34.1 percent shooting.

"I think the energy was good, but the defense I think motivated us to play the right way the whole game," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

Game Notes

Denver outscored Sacramento 64-38 in points in the paint ... Thomas Robinson had 10 points for the Kings ... Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans left the game after the second quarter with a sore left knee.