Two months and more than 30 games later, the Nuggets erased the bad memory of the last time the New Orleans Hornets visited Denver.
With a 110-97 win over the Hornets on Friday night, the Nuggets won the type of game they were supposed to, unlike that humiliating night Jan. 9, when they lost 94-81 at the Pepsi Center, or like Wednesday, when they lost 100-99 to Cleveland.
It won’t mean much if the Nuggets win big games on the road — like they did last week at Houston and San Antonio — if they can’t win the contests they should at home.
And Friday, in the third game of a nine-game homestand, it was a game the Nuggets couldn’t bear to lose. Each of the team’s next six opponents has a winning record.
“We’re in a good place, but I think we have to continue to play better,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “All the teams coming in here now are playoff teams, and there are going to be some great games. Hopefully, we can take the energy of tonight and move it into a better place on Sunday (against Memphis).”
Before the game, Karl told his players the way to regain what confidence may have been lost recently was to “be aggressive and be positive,” with an increased focus on defense — traits that were missing against the Cavaliers and the Jan. 9 game against the Hornets, who have won just five road games all season.
It was an important message for a rookie like Kenneth Faried, who was making his 10th consecutive start. Faried, a fan favorite, had a block and two dunks — including one off a huge lob pass from Ty Lawson — in the game’s first five minutes.
The Nuggets also forced the Hornets into 10 turnovers by halftime. Denver forced just 13 turnovers all game on Wednesday against Cleveland.
“The effort was great, and the defense was better,” Karl said.
Denver led by as many as nine points in the first quarter, yet struggled to pull away from the Hornets. New Orleans erased an early Denver lead to tie the game at 40 with 4:36 remaining in the second quarter. Denver led 50-46 at halftime.
Still, Denver wasn’t completely in control until late in the third quarter, when Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer gave the Nuggets an 11-point lead. From there, the Nuggets cruised, as they outscored New Orleans 31-26 in the fourth quarter.
“It’s good to put ‘W’ in the column, but you want to do it with some confidence and some pride,” Afflalo said. “It was good that we got a solid win tonight, because I can’t remember the last time we finished the fourth quarter in that manner, so it was good.”
Afflalo paced the Nuggets with 28 points — four shy of his career high and his second-highest total of the season — on 9-of-13 shooting. Fifteen of Afflalo’s points came in the second half.
Forward Al Harrington added 20 points off the bench.
Reserve forward Lance Thomas led New Orleans with 18 points.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
It was throwback night at the Pepsi Center, with the Nuggets wearing their old-school white uniforms from the mid 1970s.
Final thought
Nuggets couldn’t afford to lose this one, and they didn’t.
Up next
Memphis, Sunday, 6 p.m.
Lindsay H. Jones, The Denver Post
