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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- When it comes to double-doubles, Antonio McDyess
is becoming almost automatic.
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| McDyess |
McDyess scored 33 points, including four straight Denver baskets
down the stretch, and had 16 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the
Charlotte Hornets 94-87 Sunday night.
McDyess recorded a double-double for the eighth straight game,
for the 14th time in the last 15 games and the 24th time in 33
games this season.
"Mac had a couple of big plays for us down the stretch,"
Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "With his work ethic, I liken him to
Karl Malone. He's going to be as good as Karl and as consistent as
Karl is at some point in time.
"Charlotte did a good job in the third quarter of
double-teaming Mac and taking the ball out of his hands. When he's
going good, teams are going to have to double-team him."
McDyess insisted he is "playing the same way I've been playing
all year, aside from the first five games when my back was hurt. I
came in in better shape this year. Playing in the Olympics helped
me a lot."
Raef LaFrentz added 20 points for Denver and Voshon Lenard had
14.
Central Division-leading Charlotte, falling to 1-5 on its
just-completed road trip, was led by Eddie Robinson with 18 points.
Baron Davis scored 15 and Derrick Coleman came off the bench to
score 14.
The Nuggets, winning their fourth straight game and ninth in
their last 11, outscored the Hornets 14-7 over the final four
minutes.
Robinson's jumper gave Charlotte its biggest lead, 79-76, with
8:43 remaining, but baskets by LaFrentz and Robert Pack made it
80-80 with 6:24 remaining.
After a flurry of missed shots by both teams, McDyess hit a
14-foot turnaround jumper for an 82-80 lead with 3:50 left. He
followed with a rebound layup, a tip-in of a missed shot by Nick
Van Exel and an alley-oop basket on a pass from George McCloud,
making it 88-81 with 1:43 to go.
Lenard's 3-pointer put Denver ahead 91-83 with 1:06 left.
"McDyess played well," Hornets coach Paul Silas said. "Coming
down the stretch, we were going to double-team him and, hopefully,
everybody else would be out of sync.
"I thought that worked well. I think he made one turnaround
jumper in the fourth quarter. The problem was we had some letdowns,
let him come over our backs and got tip-ins. Then he had some spin
lobs. Those were the things we had to shut down."
With center Elden Campbell in foul trouble, the Hornets "lost
our presence in the paint," guard David Wesley said. "We needed
that, especially with McDyess getting hot like he did."
McDyess had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the second half.
The Nuggets (19-15) moved four games above .500 for the first
time since 1994-95, when they were 10-6. It is the latest they have
been four games over .500 since the end of the 1989-90 season
(43-39).
Jamal Mashburn, Charlotte's leading scorer, missed his second
straight game because of inflammation and tendinitis in his left
knee.
Denver led 10-2 as Charlotte shot 1-for-8 to start the game. The
Nuggets, shooting 52 percent in the first quarter compared to
Charlotte's 30 percent, led 29-21 at the end of the period.
Three straight baskets by Robinson gave the Hornets their only
lead of the first half, 39-38, with 6:50 left in the half.
Charlotte was 7-of-12 compared to Denver's 4-of-13 to that point.
The Nuggets then countered with an 8-0 run, capped by McDyess'
alley-oop basket on a lob from Van Exel. The Nuggets led 50-46 at
halftime.
Charlotte took a 55-54 lead early in the third quarter on David
Wesley's driving layup, but McDyess, who hit the first five Denver
baskets of the period, helped the Nuggets regain the lead. McDyess'
16-footer made it 74-67, but Jamaal Magloire's two free throws and
P.J. Brown's basket drew the Hornets within 74-71 entering the
final quarter.
Game notes
Charlotte had won eight straight games against Denver until
the Nuggets prevailed in the last meeting, Jan. 4, 2000. ... Brown
finished with eight rebounds, snapping his string of nine straight
games with at least 10 rebounds, which tied Larry Johnson's team
record. ... Denver shot 44 percent compared to the Hornets' 37
percent. ... Van Exel went 0-for-10, the worst shooting night of
his career. He previously had gone 0-for-9 on two occasions. It was
the first time since last March 11 that he failed to make a field
goal.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Charlotte Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Toronto 94
Seattle 92
Vancouver 120
Milwaukee 117
New York 103
Washington 87
Minnesota 108
Phoenix 88
Denver 94
Charlotte 87
LA Clippers 118
LA Lakers 95
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Baron Davis Official Site
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