Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets, Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
Monday, April 11, 2011, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: CSBA+, ALT
Opening Line: Nuggets -11
Current Line: Nuggets -12
Opening Total: 220.5
Current Total: 218
Money Line: Nuggets -1200 / Warriors +800
Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets (49-31) will have a very difficult time duplicating their offensive performance from a 130-106 rout of Minnesota on Saturday, but they should still have another great opportunity to run up and down the floor when they host the Golden State Warriors (35-45) on Monday. Lawson scored a career-high 37 points and made 10 of 11 attempts from 3-point range against the Timberwolves to lead eight Nuggets who scored in double figures.
The second-year point guard from North Carolina actually briefly set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made without a miss (10) before failing to knock down a 28-footer at the end of the third quarter. Denver (-12) led 101-69 at that point, and Lawson got the fourth quarter off. He should have fresh legs for this matchup with the Warriors, who are coming off a 104-103 home loss to Sacramento on Sunday.
Golden State could be without leading scorer Monta Ellis due to a head injury he suffered in the final minutes against the Kings. Ellis scored seven points on 2 of 9 shooting while Stephen Curry led the Warriors with a game-high 27 points and David Lee added 24 and 14 rebounds. The team is already short-handed in the backcourt after reserve Acie Law elected to have season-ending wrist surgery.
Six of the last seven meetings between the teams have gone OVER the total, with all of those games closing with totals of higher than 220. The Nuggets have covered the spread in the last three meetings but lost the last one 116-114 at Golden State on February 9. Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 29 points for Denver in that game while Lawson had just eight. Ellis totaled a game-high 37 points to lead a Warriors team that also got 23 from Dorell Wright and 13 from Curry.
Since Anthony was traded to New York, the Nuggets have become more guard-oriented with some wondering if Lawson and fellow Tar Heel Raymond Felton could co-exist. Denver head coach George Karl also went to North Carolina and has enjoyed having both players on his team. Felton has come off the bench after starting for the Knicks and dished out 14 assists against Minnesota. The Nuggets are 17-6 straight-up and 18-4-1 against the spread sans Anthony. The UNDER is 10-2-1 in their last 13 games overall and has also cashed in five straight for Golden State.
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