lot of footage of teams who have played against them th

NEW ORLEANS -- Denver coach Mike Malone decided the Nuggets should not in fact do whatever it takes to stop Anthony Davis.Instead, the Nuggets stuck to their usual defensive principles against New Orleans and it paid off -- barely.Jusuf Nurkic scored 23 points, Will Barton added 22, and Denver survived a dominant performance by Davis to defeat the Pelicans 107-102 in both teams regular season opener Wednesday night.When you play against a great player, you have a problem you need to answer: Are you going to shut him down and create problems elsewhere, or are you going to let him get his and hope nobody else goes off?, Malone said.Denver did the latter and Davis wound up with 50 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks. His prolific play helped New Orleans trim a deficit as large as 14 late in the second quarter down to two points in the waning minutes.We gave them too many easy looks in the beginning of the game, Davis said. We gave ourselves a chance. Weve just got to play like we played in the third and fourth quarter in the beginning of the game.Davis didnt get much help offensively. The rest of the Pelicans combined to shoot 21 of 58.Tim Frazier scored 15 for the Pelicans. ETwaun Moore added 10 points, but missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied it with 24 seconds left.Danilo Gallinari scored 15 for Denver, Wilson Chandler added 12 points and Kenneth Faried finished with 14 rebounds -- six on the offensive end to help Denver finished with a 14-3 advantage in second-chance points.Denver built its largest lead when Barton hit a 3 and a layup to spark a 9-2 run that made 60-46 in the final minute of the second quarter.I was just trying to be aggressive, staying in attack mode, whether Im scoring for myself of making plays for others, Barton said.The Nuggets still led by 10, at 87-77, when Kenneth Farieds 5-foot hook shot opened scoring in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans managed to keep its deficit within single digits most of the final period. Davis pulled the Pelicans as close as 100-98 when he cut into the lane for a layup with 2:32 to go.Davis didnt fault his teammates for the loss, saying their shot selection was decent but that they missed shots they often make. He was more inclined to criticize himself for a few missed shots from close range and his late turnover.Im going to have to -- probably not 50 every night -- but try to get somewhere along those lines every game to give ourselves a chance, Davis said.ROOKIE DEBUTSNuggets rookie guard Jamal Murray, taken seventh overall in last summers draft -- one spot behind Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield -- played 13 minutes and was 0 of 2 shooting, finishing with a point on a free throw. Hield missed the first three shots of his NBA career before scoring his first points on a driving layup. He finished with four points on 2 of 8 shooting in nearly 17 minutes off the bench.OFF THE MARKBoth teams let fly frequently from 3-point range, but often inaccurately. Denver missed 16 of 24 from deep. The Pelicans made only three of 19.TIP-INSNuggets: Between Gallinari, Nikola Jokic and the 7-foot- Nurkic, Denver opened the game with three players 6-10 or taller on the floor at a time when a number of teams are favoring smaller lineups that feature the quicker, more versatile players on their rosters. Obviously the trend is going away from what we do, but were not worried about what the trends are, Malone said. Were going to do what we think is best for us, but within our game youll see a lot of different lineups.Pelicans: Before the game, the Pelicans wore black T-shirts during warm-ups honoring Bryce Dejean-Jones, who was fatally shot last May when he forced his way into an apartment that he had mistaken for that of his girlfriend. The shirts had the letters BDJ on the chest with Dejean-Jones No. 31 underneath. Its unfortunate what happened the fact that hes not with us any longer, but he was part of our family and we just wanted to do something to pay tribute to him, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.UP NEXTNuggets: Host Portland on Saturday night.Pelicans: Host Golden State on Friday night. Garrett Temple Jersey . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Henry Ellenson Jersey . The Brazilian goalkeeper signed a loan deal with the Major League Soccer club on Friday as he looks to get playing time ahead of this summers World Cup in his home country. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Spencer-Dinwiddie-City-Edition-Jersey/ . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Dzanan Musa Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Joe Harris Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.Norwich boss Alex Neil has warned his players to be wary of a Leicester backlash when the teams clash on Saturday. The Premier League pacesetters had their lead at the top of the table cut to just two points when they lost 2-1 at Arsenal two weeks ago.Neil reckons Leicester will be banking on three points as Norwich battle for survival, and he expects his players to raise their game. I think they will be hurting after Arsenal and they will be targeting games like these to keep their title run going, Neil said.The one thing about Leicester is they are good at what they do. They are an efficient team and they have a few individuals who have had a fantastic season for them.We need to make sure we battle against that and show ourselves in the game. Danny Welbeck scored a late winner in Leicesters last match Both teams have got a real requirement for the three points for very different reasons so it should make for a good game.With the season Leicester have had I dont see them being down. I think they have done incredibly well, it has been unbelievable.They have struck upon a way they are comfortable playing and they have had players who have made differences in crucial games.There have been teams in the league that have got points off them.dddddddddddd We have been watching a lot of footage of teams who have played against them this season to see how they went about it.We have a plan so we will see how it goes. Leicester recorded a 2-1 win over Norwich in October Norwich are one place above the relegation zone - ahead of Newcastle on goal difference - and Neil knows that the remaining games are going to be difficult, but he is pleased at how the players are reacting to the challenge.Neil said: The one thing we have had is that everyone is together, everyone is fighting for the same cause which when you are having a difficult season is really pleasing and a source of strength in the remaining games.The games vary that much, to try and get yourself ready for games is a test.We have a lot of work to do before the end and if we can stay up, whether it is by a point or a goal, then I think that will be seen as a successful season by us.Over these next 12 games we have to try and attack it and hope that it is going to be enough. Also See: Norwich video Norwich fixtures Norwich stats Get a ￡10 free bet ' ' '