DENVER (Sporting Alert) Kenneth Faried collected a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds and six Nuggets players finished in double figures as Denver beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 126-114 at Pepsi Center Wednesday.
Faried Drew Howard Ejection Flagrant 2 Foul
Faried also played his part in helping to frustrate a tired looking Lakers team, when the former Morehead State forward drew a foul on Dwight Howard, who was ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul after flooring the Nuggets player as he drove to the basket in the third quarter.
“I think it was a little bit of frustration. He saw my eyes. I wasn’t going to back down, I wasn’t going to try to float it, I was going to try to dunk on him,” Faried said on NBA.com.
“He saw it, that’s why he put his hand directly in my face. That’s when I say, ‘Dang, I wish I would have jumped higher.'”
Brewer Was Very Impressive For Nuggets Too – Karl
Corey Brewer came off the bench to shoot 9-of-16 from the field, including knocking down an impressive six of his 3-pointers on his way to top scoring for the home side with 27 points as a more energetic Nuggets side easily won the game.
“It’s one of those nights when the shots start going down — the basket gets big,” Brewer said of his night’s performances against the Lakers.
Head coach George Karl said of Brewer: “His defensive plays and his energy, he energizes us on the perimeter. Kenneth energizes us in the middle.
“We were smart tonight. We did a good job of getting everyone in a good place on almost every possession.”
Also contributing to the Denver win were Ty Lawson, who added 17 points and 14 assists, Andre Iguodala, who finished with 17 points, 11 boards, seven assists and three steals, while Danilo Gallinari had 19 points and Kosta Koufos chipped in with 10 as the Nuggets, improved to 9-1 at home.
Another Big Lakers Night For Kobe
Kobe Bryant paced the Los Angeles Lakers with a game-high 40 points to go along with his six assists and four boards in the defeat.
It was the 116th time in his career Bryant was scoring 40 points, and he has hit 30 or more points in 10 consecutive games.
Still, that wasn’t enough to secure the win for the Lakers, which had its five game win streak snapped.
“Tonight it seemed like we were just a step slow, seemed like we were stuck in mud,” Bryant said. “We played old.
“They played with a lot of energy, a lot of youth, got up and down. It just seemed we were in a lower gear.”
Pau Gasol poured in 19 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, while Steve Nash added 15 points and eight assists in the defeat.
Howard ended with 12 points and seven rebounds before being ejected with 5:02 left in the third quarter.
Karl In Denver Delight
The Nuggets had a miserable time in Los Angeles on Christmas night in the defeat to the Clippers, but coach Karl said he was delighted to be on the winning side this time around.
“It was just good to see us shoot the ball and beat a good team with some confidence,” Karl said.
“I just think the last couple of games, we have been playing with a little more confidence and more awareness of how to win close games.”
Karl was also impressed with Lawson’s outing as he became the first Denver Nuggets player to have at least 14 assists and no turnovers since Nick Van Exel did did so on Jan. 24, 2002.
The impressive win also saw Denver scoring a season high in points against the Lakers.
