Nets at Nuggets
THE STORY: The Denver Nuggets will look to rebound from their worst performance of the young season when they host the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. Denver kicked off a four-game homestand in dismal fashion Monday night, scoring a season low in points (81) and falling to a New Orleans Hornets team that was reeling from six consecutive defeats. Rather than try to explain what went wrong, the Nuggets chalked it up as one of those nights. "Coach said there's going to be three to five games a year that you're not going to be clicking," Denver point guard Ty Lawson said. "This is one of the games." That's been a familiar theme for the Nets, who are kicking off a four-game road trip. New Jersey has lost two straight and eight of nine since rallying from 21 points down to beat winless Washington in its season opener.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES, ALT
ABOUT THE NETS (2-8): Hitting the road shouldn’t be an issue for New Jersey, which fell to 0-4 at home with Monday’s 106-101 loss to Atlanta – its third defeat at the hands of the Hawks this season. Already missing C Brook Lopez (broken foot), the Nets also played with C Mehmet Okur, Damion James and DeShawn Stevenson. Rookie G MarShon Brooks had his first double-double with 19 points and 10 boards and Anthony Morrow had a team-high 20.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (6-4): Injuries are also starting to crop up on Denver, which lost its first home game against the Hornets. C Nene had to take a painkilling injection Monday after missing three of the previous four games with a bruised heel. It must have helped because he managed to pull down a season-high 11 rebounds. Lawson had to leave Monday’s game with a strained foot before returning in the third quarter. He is listed as day-to-day.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Nuggets have won seven of the last nine meetings with the Nets, including four of the past five.
2. Denver ranks second in the league in scoring at 101.7 ppg. New Jersey ranks 28th (87.0 ppg).
3. Morrow is 13 of 23 from 3-point range in his last three games.