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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets' two best players, Antonio
McDyess and Nick Van Exel, never left the bench in the fourth
quarter.
They weren't in foul trouble. They just weren't needed as the
streaking Nuggets overwhelmed the Vancouver Grizzlies 121-97
Wednesday night.
In just 29 minutes of playing time apiece, McDyess had 20 points
and 20 rebounds and Van Exel scored 21.
Denver, which has won eight of its last nine games and 13 of 16,
also got 13 points from Raef LaFrentz. LaFrentz scored 11 of his
points in the first quarter, when he also set the defensive tone
with three blocked shots in the first 6 1/2 minutes.
"This reminded me of the old Nuggets teams," coach Dan Issel
said. "The game was decided early, and the starters don't have to
play in the fourth quarter. That was a nice respite for them."
The Nuggets built a 21-point lead in the first quarter and
stretched it to 27 points early in the second period. Vancouver got
no closer than 12 points after that, and Denver carried an 18-point
lead into the final quarter.
"Finally, we were able to jump on a team and finish them,"
said Van Exel, referring to Monday night's game against Seattle
when Denver built a 25-point lead and saw the Sonics cut it to
three before the Nuggets held on to win 122-111.
Sitting out the final period "feels great," Van Exel said.
"McDyess was talking about that on the bench. We hadn't done that
in a long time, and it felt pretty good."
The Nuggets (23-16) are seven games over .500 for the first time
since 1989-90, and it is their best record after 39 games since
1985-86, when they also were 23-16.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver with 24 points and eight
rebounds. Michael Dickerson added 18 points and Stromile Swift had
15.
"We got our butts kicked," Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe said.
"I was concerned in our shootaround (Wednesday morning) because we
had no focus and had to do things over and over. I told the guys if
we came out and played like that, we'd be down 10 points before we
knew it.
"Denver is really good. They have it all. I would pick them to
go deep into the playoffs. They have great -- not good -- great
perimeter shooters. Van Exel is one of the top point guards in the
league. He controls the game. And McDyess is a true All-Star."
Denver shot 46 percent, including 63 percent (12 of 19) from
3-point range, compared to Vancouver's 40 percent.
The Nuggets shot 51 percent in the first half compared to
Vancouver's 38 percent, forging a 65-44 halftime lead.
While Vancouver went 0-for-8 to start the game, Denver built a
10-0 lead. LaFrentz's 18-footer gave the Nuggets a 28-10 lead late
in the period.
George McCloud's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left gave the Nuggets
their biggest lead of the period, 33-12.
The Grizzlies shot only 19 percent (5-for-26) in the quarter,
compared to Denver's 50 percent.
"We played almost perfectly in the first quarter," Issel said.
"We were up by 21 points and Vancouver scored only 14."
Back-to-back 3-pointers by McCloud and James Posey pushed
Denver's lead to 27 points, 45-18, early in the second quarter.
Sparked by Abdur-Rahim, Vancouver, which shot 59 percent in the
quarter, had modest runs of 5-0 and 6-0 to cut the deficit to 16
points. But Van Exel scored 10 points in the last 2:16 of the half,
restoring Denver's lead to 24 points before Bryant Reeves hit a
long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Abdur-Rahim's short jumper cut the deficit to 71-59 midway
through the third period, but Van Exel hit a 3-pointer a minute
later and the Nuggets padded the lead back to 89-71 by the end of
the period.
McCloud and Mark Strickland helped the Nuggets expand their
margin to 28 points in the final minute.
Game notes
Denver has won six in a row at home. ... Vancouver has lost
nine straight road games. ... Vancouver lost twice at home to
Denver this season, including 112-105 on Jan. 9. ... The Grizzlies
have gone 3-13 on the road this season and 4-22 against Western
Conference teams. ... Denver has beaten Vancouver in five straight
meetings and six straight in Denver. ... McDyess posted his second
20/20 game this season. He and the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal are the
only NBA players with two 20/20 games this season. It was McDyess'
league-leading 28th double-double this season.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Vancouver Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 99
Chicago 88
Dallas 91
Charlotte 90
New Jersey 108
Washington 89
Minnesota 89
Utah 81
Toronto 98
San Antonio 91
Denver 121
Vancouver 97
Sacramento 111
Boston 106
Phoenix 89
Seattle 80
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Bibby Official Site
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