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Saturday, Nov. 20 9:00pm ET
Nuggets give Issel 100th coaching win | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Dan Issel got his 100th victory and even though it came against the Chicago Bulls, it still wasn't easy. Issel gave his team a mild scolding after a dismal first half performance and the Nuggets responded to keep the Chicago Bulls winless on the road with a 95-86 victory Saturday night. "I didn't get on them too badly, but we talked about things that we had to do better," Issel said. "Everyone was still congratulating each other on the Laker win and forgot to show up in the first half." Antonio McDyess scored 21 points to lead the Nuggets, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half. "We got better as the game went on," said Issel, who is 100-107 in four years as the Nuggets coach. "They had 28 points in the first quarter and only 58 points the rest of the way." Ron Mercer added 19 points, including 14 in the second half, as the Nuggets ended a five-game losing streak to Chicago. "I wasn't aggressive enough in the first half," Mercer said. "My intensity wasn't very high, just like anyone else, until the second half when I got motivated." Chris Anstey had 18 points and Kornel David added 17 off the bench for the Bulls, who are 0-5 on the road this year. Chicago's last loss to Denver came on Feb. 4, 1996. Denver took a 74-65 lead into the fourth quarter and extended it to 82-68 with 8:10 left on successive 3-pointers by George McCloud and a basket by Keon Clark. But Randy Brown converted a pair of jumpers to spark a 8-0 run that got Chicago within eight points. The Bulls got as close as 89-82 with two jumpers by Anstey, but McDyess sealed the win with two free throws and a dunk in the last 2:41. "I felt we played our best half of season in the first half," Chicago coach Tim Floyd said. "Denver came out with good aggressiveness in the third quarter and we didn't match it." Trailing 47-41 at halftime, the Nuggets got a dunk from James Posey and 3-pointers from Nick Van Exel and Mercer in the first two minutes of the third quarter to take 49-46 lead. Chicago tied the game at 59-59, but Mercer had four points in the last 3:53 of the third period as the Nuggets jumped ahead by nine points. David and Anstey had six points each off the bench to get the Bulls a double digit lead in the second quarter, one they held through most of the period. Chicago controlled the boards (14-3) and with Elton Brand's 10 points led by as many as six points in the first quarter. "Our goal is to win games and not have good individual performances," Anstey said. "We were weak defensively and didn't sustain our effort for 48 minutes." Game notesThe Bulls have yet to score 100 points. ... No Bulls player has been held out of a game by coaches decision this season. ... McDyess has scored in double-digits in 60 consecutive games, 75 in a row as a Nugget. ... Bulls' Hersey Hawkins has played in 521 consecutive games. ... . Denver, the NBA's leader in blocked shots had 13. ... Chicago hasn't won a road game since May 1 in Miami, its last road game last season. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Denver Clubhouse RECAPS LA Clippers 98 Washington 89
Denver 95
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