Bobcats lose 15th straight, fall 110-88 to Nuggets
DENVER -- The Denver Nuggets got their Christmas present early, while the Charlotte Bobcats got more coal in their stockings.
Kosta Koufas scored a season-high 16 points, Andre Iguodala added 15 and the Nuggets beat Charlotte 110-88 on Saturday to extend the Bobcats' losing streak to 15 games, a period of nearly one month.
Ramon Sessions scored 23 and Byron Mullens had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Charlotte, which hasn't won since Nov. 24 at Washington.
The Bobcats' losing streak is far short of the league record of 26 set by Cleveland two seasons ago. In fact, this isn't even the longest losing streak in franchise history. Last year's team lost 21 straight in a season shortened to 66 games.
With games against Miami and Brooklyn coming up, the Bobcats' woes could continue for a few more games.
"Losing is one of the hardest things you can ever go through, especially losing as many as we've lost," said guard Kemba Walker, who was a part of last year's squad. "At the same time you've got to keep your chin up. You've got to know that these losses will turn into wins one day."
Saturday wasn't Charlotte's day, but it was a chance for Denver to end its shooting woes. The Nuggets set an NBA single-game record by missing all 22 of their 3-point shots in Thursday's loss to Portland, and they looked headed for more futility Saturday. They missed their first six long-range shots before Jordan Hamilton connected with 8:02 left in the first half.
Denver made 6 of 14 3-pointers to finish the game, but it wasn't the most impressive team stat. The Nuggets set a season high with 36 assists and no player had more than eight.
"We attacked the paint as much as we do normally," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Corey Brewer usually doesn't get six assists so a lot of guys who are not playmakers contributed a lot. We moved the ball very well. We were unselfish from the beginning and the defense got us in the open court."
The first 3-pointer seemed to relax the Denver players. Danilo Gallinari and Iguodala hit consecutive threes and Gallinari hit one with 1.3 seconds left in the second quarter as the Nuggets pulled away for a 64-46 halftime lead.
"Denver has always been known as a team that space the floor really well," Sessions said. "They showed that tonight. They opened us up and our rotations were kind of late, and against a good team you've got to be on-point."
Denver built on it in the third quarter, going on a 12-5 run in the first 4:14 of the period to take a 76-51 lead, its biggest of the game to that point.
By the fourth quarter Karl had emptied his bench but the Bobcats didn't fare much better against them, falling behind by as many as 26.
"The starters came out hard and the bench came out as hard," center JaVale McGee said. "(We) just kept playing and the lead got bigger and bigger."
Seven Nuggets scored in double figures but neither point guard -- Andre Miller or Ty Lawson -- had a point.
Things got worse late in the game when Mullens rolled his left ankle under the basket. X-rays were negative but he left the arena with a heavily-taped leg and on crutches.
It was another blow for a team that has been searching for good news, so much so that Karl is pulling for Dunlap.
He's smart, he's philosophical, he's a great friend and I hope he gets a win very soon," Karl said. "I hope that's his Christmas present. The monkey gets awful heavy when you lose this many in a row."
NOTES: The Nuggets played the second half without Lawson, who suffered a strained left Achilles in the first half. Karl said sitting him was precautionary. ... The Bobcats played without guards Ben Gordon and Gerald Henderson. Gordon missed his second straight game with right knee soreness and Henderson was sidelined after suffering a contusion on his right shin Friday. ... The Nuggets had a season-high 12 blocked shots. ... Dunlap faced his former boss for the first time since taking over as Charlotte's coach. Dunlap served as an assistant on Karl's staff from 2006-08 and Karl gave Bobcats' GM Rod Higgins a recommendation when Dunlap was interviewing. Dunlap was happy to be back in Denver. "It's home, so I like that a lot," he said.