New Orleans, LA – Ryan Anderson scored 23 points and made 5- of-11 from behind the arc to go along with nine rebounds as New Orleans convincingly ended Denver's 15-game winning streak, downing the Nuggets, 110-86, on Monday.
Darius Miller had 16 points and Roger Mason Jr. had 14, while both connected on 4-of-5 from 3-point range for the Hornets, who have won three straight. Anthony Davis chipped in 14 points and six rebounds and Brian Roberts added 13 points and a career-high 18 assists in the victory, which was also the third straight at home for New Orleans.
Even more surprising was the fact that New Orleans came out on top without Eric Gordon and Greivis Vasquez, who both had sore ankles.
"We knew we had some guys out, but the group we had we just wanted to come out and fight," Roberts said. "Guys played extremely hard, and think that's what got us the win."
Danilo Gallinari paced Denver with 24 points, while Kenneth Faried followed with 13 and seven rebounds for the Nuggets, who were looking to make franchise history with 16 straight wins, after matching their 1969-70 American Basketball Association team's record of 15 straight victories.
After leading by 21 at the break -- and 23 just minutes into the second half -- New Orleans' lead was cut to 67-58 on two Gallinari free throws around the midway point of the third.
But like they had all game up to that point, the Hornets answered, as Mason hit consecutive treys to push the lead to 15. Mason's final 3-pointer of the quarter proved to be the most important, as it made the contest an 86-68 margin in favor of New Orleans.
The fourth quarter was no different, as the Nuggets weren't done just yet and Corey Brewer's lay-in with 7:20 to play closed the gap to 12 points.
New Orleans, though, made a final stand and utilized a 14-2 run over the next five-plus minutes to secure the outcome. Miller capped the swing with a trey to make it 108-84 with just 1:45 to play, all but ending any hopes Denver had to keep the streak going.
"This league has a way of humbling anybody who doesn't have the right karma or the right approach to playing basketball," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "They played better than we did, and they earned it."
Wilson Chandler's three-point play early in the second quarter looked to help the Nuggets dismiss a poor first period, but back-to-back triples from Anderson and Mason kicked off an 8-0 swing which Davis capped on a jumper to make it 41-25.
The Hornets were able to keep a double-digit advantage and all the momentum, as they ended the first half on a 11-1 flurry to take a surprising 59-38 edge into the break.
Denver made just 11-of-32 shots by halftime, while the Hornets shot 54.8 percent from the floor, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc.
New Orleans opened up the contest on a mission, outscoring the visitors 27-13 10 minutes in before taking a 27-18 edge into the second quarter.
Game Notes
Denver defeated New Orleans on Feb. 1, 113-98 at home ... New Orleans is 15-21 at home this season ... Denver is 17-20 on the road ... Denver guard Ty Lawson missed his third straight game (right heel) ... The Nuggets failed in a bid to tie franchise-best seven-game road winning streak set from Nov. 28 - Dec. 15, 1975. That was the team's final season in the ABA ... New Orleans made 14- of-25 from behind the arc.
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