The returns on Melvin Hunt’s first foray into head coaching came back showing a landslide victory for him and his Nuggets.
They stopped a 10-game home losing streak Tuesday night, looking as spry as they have in some time with a 106-95 win over Milwaukee at the Pepsi Center. Not only was it a streak-busting win, it was the Nuggets’ first win since the all-star break.
“It feels good,” Hunt said. “We’ve had a humongous monkey on our backs, trying to get it off. And we finally got it off. The home fans, they’ve been enduring a lot of stuff dealing with us and hanging in there. We wanted to win for them.”
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And it was done in very familiar Nuggets style: Running. Spacing. Active defense.
Danilo Gallinari continued a string of solid performances with 26 points to lead all scorers. Ty Lawson added 16 points and 10 assists in the victory.
“We just got the win today,” Lawson said. “We were knocking down shots the last couple of practices. That’s all we’ve been focusing on, shooting the ball better. And today we actually shot the ball a little bit better.”
But it was the energy they played with that stood out most. They held Milwaukee to 40.7 percent shooting and scored 20 points off 14 Milwaukee turnovers. And the Nuggets shot the ball well for the first time in a while, hitting 45.3 percent from the field and nailing 12 3-point shots.
“We really shared the ball,” Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson said. “The ball was moving. It didn’t stick as many times as it had in the past. We made a big emphasis on moving the ball and, more important, helping each other defensively.”
Meanwhile, the Bucks never could totally get a foothold in the game. They were led by Ersan Ilyasova’s 21 points.
DENVER AT MINNESOTA
6 p.m. Wednesday, ALT2; 950 AM
Spotlight on Kevin Garnett: The most heartwarming story of an otherwise coldblooded NBA trade deadline day was the deal that sent Kevin Garnett from Brooklyn back to the team that originally drafted him out of high school. Garnett is soaking up his time back in the Twin Cities. He’ll retire in a couple of seasons, and it has been reported that he wants to be part of a group that buys the Timberwolves.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
