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Nuggets try to end slide in New Orleans

Dec 27, 2013 - 3:39 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Denver Nuggets will try to stop a season-high four- game losing streak when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night.

The losing ways continued for the Nuggets in Monday's 89-81 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Andre Iguodala's return to the Rocky Mountains. Iguodala spent the 2012-13 campaign with the Nuggets and averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 80 games. He had 12 points and six assists in the win for the Warriors, who scored 21 points off 18 Denver turnovers.

"The ball started sticking, we couldn't swing the ball from side to side," Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw said of the team's offensive struggles in the fourth quarter. "The pace was too slow and when we were able to get clean rebounds we were not getting it out and pushing it."

Ty Lawson paced the Nuggets with 16 points and both Andre Miller and Timofey Mozgov scored 14 points in the loss, Denver's seventh in 10 games. Nate Robinson had 13 points and Wilson Chandler added 10 in defeat. Chandler has scored 10-plus points in eight straight games.

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried missed the Golden State game with a sprained left ankle and is questionable Friday.

The Nuggets are 7-7 away from home and will visit Memphis on Saturday.

New Orleans ended a season-high four-game slide with Monday's 113-100 victory at Sacramento in the finale of a five-game western trek.

Former King Tyreke Evans posted 25 points and 12 assists, while Anthony Davis scored 21 points to go along with 11 rebounds for the Pelicans. Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday each chipped in with 17 points.

"I just wanted to go out there and play hard," said Evans. "We had a long road trip and I wanted to be aggressive and be able to push it up court."

The Pelicans scored 29 points off 22 Sacramento turnovers and shot 49.4 percent for the game. Al-Farouq Aminu netted 13 points in the win.

New Orleans is back home briefly and has a 7-5 mark in the Big Easy. The Pelicans will then play five of six on the road.

In injury news for New Orleans, Gordon (hip) and center Jason Smith (knee) are listed as questionable Friday. Smith hasn't played since Dec. 18 in a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Denver defeated the Pelicans, 102-93, back on Dec. 15 at the Pepsi Center and has won three of the past four meetings between the teams. The Nuggets and Pelicans have split the last six matchups in New Orleans.