Denver, CO (Sports Network) – Starters Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari and reserves Chris Andersen and Al Harrington each scored 17 points, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 114-94 victory over the Washington Wizards.
J.R. Smith added 14 points and Nene scored 10 in a well-rounded effort that earned Denver its ninth straight home win.
“The best part about this team is that we have so many weapons,” Gallinari said.
Jordan Crawford scored 19 points to lead the hapless Wizards, who fell to 1-34 on the road this season. They have dropped three in a row and nine of their last 10 overall.
The Nuggets have won three straight overall, and seven of their last nine, to solidify their No. 5 position in the Western Conference. They are 3-0 on a four-game homestand that ends next Wednesday against the Kings.
With four days off to look forward to, Denver didn’t let up against an overmatched Wizards team playing the third game of a five-game road trip.
Washington’s final lead of the game was 16-15 midway through the first quarter.
The Nuggets scored the final 15 points of the quarter, with Harrington’s layup giving them a 30-16 advantage heading into the second. Denver pushed its lead as high as 25 points when Gallinari buried a three-pointer to make it 57-32.
It was 64-45 going into halftime and the Wizards were never closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Denver carried an 82-67 advantage into the fourth and its lead ballooned as high as 26 points when Andersen’s three-point play made it 107-81 with 4:57 remaining in the game.
“I thought we took a step back, we weren’t communicating enough,” Washington head coach Flip Saunders said. “We were competing, but we were competing on the second half. We were reacting instead of being more aggressive.”
Game Notes
The Nuggets were coming off a win over the NBA-leading Spurs on Wednesday. They have made the playoffs seven straight years…Washington’s road trip finishes with games against the Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.
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