Cavs’ busy day ends in blowout loss to Nuggets

Associared Press

Cleveland

The Denver Nuggets aren’t getting too excited about their early season success.

Denver moved to 7-1 with a 110-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, the Nuggets’ best start since going 8-0 in 1976-77.

Juancho Hernangomez scored 23 points and Paul Millsap added 16 to lead six players in double figures.

The Nuggets won their third straight. On Wednesday night in Chicago, they beat the Bulls 108-107 in overtime on Millsap’s put-back with 0.1 seconds left.

Jordan Clarkson led Cleveland with 17 points, and Cedi Osman added 13. Collin Sexton, the No. 8 overall pick, had 12 points. The Cavaliers dropped to 1-7. They have split two games under “acting” coach Larry Drew.

Denver shot 6 for 17 in the first quarter and fell behind 29-17. After cutting it to 38-34, the Nuggets finished the second period on 16-4 run that included 13 straight points.

Millsap had a simple explanation for the first quarter.

“At the start, we were shaking off some of the rust, I guess,” he said.

Asked what happened on Cleveland’s end, Drew chuckled and said, “That’s a good question. We made bad decisions, we turned the basketball over, we couldn’t make shots and our defense let us down.”

Hernangomez had 12 points in the quarter, including three 3-pointers. The backup forward came into the game with 22 points for the season and didn’t get off the bench Wednesday.

“Juancho was the best player on the floor for long stretches,” Malone said. “You’ve got to give a lot of credit to him.”

Denver led 50-42 at halftime and dominated the second half. The Nuggets’ biggest lead was 106-76.

The Nuggets won going away despite an off-night from leading scorer Nikola Jokic. The 7-footer scored four points in 22 minutes and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers had another busy day off the court. Drew said contract negotiations with the team are going in a positive direction. Drew wants the Cavs to restructure his contract.

Guard J.R. Smith said he wants to be traded after being dropped from the rotation. The 15-year veteran has played in four of Cleveland’s eight games. A few fans began a “We want J.R.” chant as Denver built the lead in the second half.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Thursday that the Cavaliers have been awarded the 2022 NBA All-Star Game. The game will be a cornerstone event during the league’s 75th anniversary.

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Assistant coach Mark Price is in his first season with the Denver. He spent the first nine seasons of his playing career with the Cavaliers and his No. 25 hangs in the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cavaliers: Cleveland was held to 15 points in the second quarter and was 5 for 22 from the field with five turnovers.