Nuggets 103 - 92 76ers
Final
  for this game

Nuggets try to get back on track in Philly

Dec 7, 2013 - 3:27 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Denver Nuggets will try to get back on track during their current road trip Saturday night when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.

After wins in their first two stops at Toronto and Brooklyn, the Nuggets have fallen at Cleveland and in Boston on Friday night. Denver lost to the Celtics, 106-98, but showed a lot of heart in defeat.

The Nuggets were down 27 points and cut it all the way to three before the C's pulled out the victory.

"No excuse tonight. We can't continue to put ourselves at a deficit and spot a team a 24-point lead in the first half and expect to be able to win the game," said Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw. "We have to expend so much energy to get back into the game and we do that, and then we just turn around and just give it away. But it just takes too much energy to expend and try to get back into it."

Ty Lawson led six Nuggets in double figures with 20. J.J. Hickson added 17, followed by 12 from Randy Foye and 11 from Nate Robinson. Andre Miller and Timofey Mozgov both scored 10 off the bench.

Denver allowed Boston a season-high 39 points in the first quarter and the Celtics shot 51.8 percent from the field, while only committing 10 turnovers.

The Nuggets will close out their road trip in Washington on Monday.

The Sixers lost for the fifth time in six tries Friday night in Charlotte. The Bobcats pummeled the Sixers, 105-88 as Philly, the worst defensive team in the league, allowed 100 or more points for the eighth consecutive game.

It was troubling to allow Charlotte so many points considering the Bobcats rank dead last in the NBA in scoring at 89.6 ppg. The Sixers surrendered 62 points in the first half.

"We know our sickness, we know what our weakness is," said Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown of his team's defense. "Some of it is the way we play, some of it is individual attention to defense. It's a concern no matter who we play when they roll out those types of numbers in the first half."

Star rookie Michael Carter-Williams stayed in Philadelphia with a sore knee and is expected to miss Saturday's contest as well. Carter-Williams had a triple-double his last time out in a double-overtime victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Tony Wroten, who started in place of Carter-Williams against the Bobcats, led the Sixers with 21 points and nine assists. Evan Turner scored 16 points and Hollis Thompson netted 12. Spencer Hawes had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds and Lavoy Allen came off the bench and grabbed 10 boards.

The teams split last season's two meetings, but Denver has won three of its last five in the City of Brotherly Love.






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