Pelicans 101, Nuggets 95
NEW ORLEANS -- Forward Luke Babbitt scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and guard Toney Douglas added 20 points and 10 assists to lead the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans to a 101-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday at the Smoothie King Center.
Backup guard Tim Frazier nailed a 3-pointer from the right wing with 45 seconds left to give New Orleans its biggest lead 99-91.
The Pelicans (28-47) won for only the fifth time in 18 games. Frazier finished with 17 points and eight assists.
The Nuggets (32-45) were led by Darrell Arthur with 24 points and nine rebounds.
New Orleans used a 12-4 run -- with five points coming from Jordan Hamilton on a layup and a 3-pointer from the left baseline -- to take an 89-82 lead with 6:43 left.
The final three points in the surge came after Hamilton blocked a layup attempt by Arthur and Frazier took the ball the length of the court for a layup and foul shot.
Denver closed the gap with five straight, including a dunk by guard Gary Harris, to cut their deficit to 92-89 with 3:02 left.
Babbitt hit a driving layup over Kenneth Faried and added a pair of free throws with 1:15 left to put the Pelicans up 96-91.
After New Orleans used a 10-2 run to take a 77-72 lead, the Nuggets scored the final six points of the third quarter to take a 78-77 lead into the final period.
Babbitt scored all 12 of his first-half points in the first quarter, connecting on two 3-pointers as New Orleans took a 31-26 lead.
The Pelicans led 56-54 at the half, with 17 assists on 23 made field goals. Douglas led New Orleans with 14 points and seven assists in the half.
The Nuggets trailed by five points but used an 11-3 run in the second quarter to take a 50-44 lead. Arthur led the way by scoring 13 of Denver's first 19 points on the second quarter. New Orleans closed the quarter with a 12-2 run to take the lead at halftime.
NOTES: Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he was proud of his team's first winning month of the season. "We had a very good homestand where we played very well, won five in a row," he said. "Went on the road and faced tough teams in the East. Struggled a little bit but found our way to have our first winning month of the season, so that is progress being made as we end year one." ... Malone said PG D.J. Augustin, a New Orleans native, has given the Nuggets good scoring off the bench. "He plays under control and has a great assist-turnover ratio," Malone said. "I close a lot of games with him on the floor. He's somebody that you trust." ... Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has watched a lot of college hoops in the past two weeks, looking in on potential draftees. "Everybody keep your fingers crossed, OK?" he said. "Let's move up a few spots."