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Nuggets look to snap skid vs. lowly Kings

Jan 20, 2009 - 1:55 PM Sacramento (10-31) at Denver (27-15) 9:00 p.m. EST

DENVER (Ticker) -- The Denver Nuggets thought they had avoided back-to-back losses on Monday. Instead, they'll have to stop a two-game slid on Tuesday.

The Nuggets will be looking to bounce back from a controversial defeat when they host the lowly Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

Denver forward Linas Kleiza was called for a charge with 18 seconds left and Kenyon Martin missed a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining in Monday's 115-113 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Talk after the game centered on the call against Kleiza, which the Nuggets felt was unnecessary.

"I thought it was a flop," Kleiza said. "I didn't feel like I hit him."

The controversial call and Martin's missed free throws obscured a strong game from Denver, which shot 55 percent from the floor and had three players collected at least 22 points.

The Kings likely will not put up as much of a fight a the Rockets.

Off since Friday after a 129-122 loss at Milwaukee, Sacramento will have to focus on defense if they have any chance against the Nuggets. The Kings have allowed an average of 133.7 points over their last three games and are the second-worst team in the NBA overall at 107.4.