From the free T-shirts tossed into the crowd to the alley-oops tossed into the lane, the nearly 4,000 fans Friday night continually screamed and shrieked as though Justin Bieber were playing point guard.
Basketball (basically) was back as the Nuggets held their first organized scrimmage at the Pepsi Center.
“Obviously the lockout didn’t affect them — they were waiting on us to get back, so we’re happy about that,” Nuggets forward Al Harrington said. “We’re going to give them a good season.”
The powder-blue faithful, many of them schoolkids, got their first glimpses of Kenneth Faried and Rudy Fernandez, while cheering on fan favorites Danilo Gallinari, Ty Lawson and Nene, who received a huge ovation. He re-signed his week.
Fernandez had 20 points and 10 assists, Kosta Koufos had 24 points and eight rebounds and Gallinari had 14 points and eight rebounds. (They switched the teams up at halftime.)
And when it was over, the Nuggets’ rookies danced the Dougie in front of the laughing crowd.
The Nuggets will have one preseason game at home, Tuesday against the Suns.
