Nuggets at 76ers
The Denver Nuggets broke out of their eight-game losing streak at Toronto on Thursday and will try to make it two wins in a row when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The 76ers know a thing or two about long losing streaks but have a chance to win two straight home games.
Philadelphia lost 18 straight to begin the season and a record 28 in a row dating back to last season before spoiling Kobe Bryant’s party with a 103-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, but fell right back down with a 99-87 loss at New York the following night. The loss to the Knicks marked the sixth time in seven games the 76ers have limited an opponent to 100 points or fewer, and improvement on the defensive end is keeping the young team in games. The Nuggets have been solid on the defensive end but were averaging 83.8 points in the five games prior to Wednesday’s 106-105 triumph at Toronto. Denver is playing the finale of a five-game road trip that began with losses at Dallas, Milwaukee and Chicago.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, Altitude (Nuggets), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (7-13): Denver was without starting power forward Kenneth Faried (ankle) on Wednesday and moved Darrell Arthur into the spot, giving the team four players comfortable playing the perimeter in the starting lineup. Arthur ended up with 19 points and went 3-of-3 from 3-point range while Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each added three more 3-pointers and combined for 43 points. The one lowlight was the continued struggle of rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who went 2-of-9 from the floor in the win and is shooting 24.4 percent in the last five games.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (1-19): Philadelphia will be without rookie center Jahlil Okafor (suspension) for the second straight game, leaving Nerlens Noel alone in the middle to start. The 76ers went with Robert Covington and Jerami Grant at the forward spots against the Knicks, pushing Noel to center, and ended up shooting 37.2 percent from the field. Covington scratched out 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting to reach double figures for the seventh straight game and has knocked down at least two 3-pointers in each of those seven contests.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The 76ers took both meetings last season, with Covington going off for 25 points in a 99-85 win at the Nuggets in the last matchup on March 25.
2. Denver went 18-of-18 at the free-throw line on Wednesday after struggling to 13-of-22 in the previous game.
3. Philadelphia G Isaiah Canaan is 14-of-35 from 3-point range in the last four games.