Nuggets Show Griz No Mercy

Determined to get Ron Mercer more involved in the offense in the second half, the Denver Nuggets found the key to unlocking their losing streak.

Mercer scored 24 points, all in the second half, and the Nuggets snapped a six-game losing streak with a 110-98 win over the Vancouver Grizzlies on Monday night.

In a duel of teams with losing skids, the Grizzlies dropped their sixth straight game.

"We did a better job of getting him the ball in the second half," Nuggets coach Dan Issel said. "Ron hadn't scored, but he had only four shots in the first half."

"It's obvious he is a big part of our offense. The very first play in the second half we ran for him, and he took it from there. He was terrific."

Mercer, the Nuggets' second-leading scorer with an 18.2 average, wasn't discouraged by his slow start.

"I just tried to forget the first half because I was out of rhythm and out of sync," he said. "At the beginning of the second half, we started running plays for me and that's all I needed. One or two shots and I'm in a groove."

Nick Van Exel added 18 points and nine assists, Raef LaFrentz had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Antonio McDyess finished with 16 points.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Bibby contributed 18 points and nine assists.

Mercer scored 20 points in the third quarter alone on 8-of-11 shooting as the Nugges built a 10-point lead by the end of the period.

With LaFrentz and McDyess on the bench for most of the period with foul trouble, Mercer took control.

He scored 10 points in the first 4:52 of the quarter, making a three-point play for a 66-57 lead and then hitting a 3-pointer for a 69-59 lead with 7:08 left in the period. Mercer's fastbreak layup made it 84-71, and the Nuggets took an 86-76 lead into the fourth quarter.

Vancouver got no closer than eight points after that.

LaFrentz scored eight points in the final period as Denver built a lead that reached 17 points on George McCloud's 3-pointer with 1:54 remaining.

Bibby said the Grizzlies "played good defense on Mercer, but he made some good shots. He caught fire."

Vancouver coach Lionel Hollins said when a player like Mercer "gets on a roll like that, it's tough for anybody to guard him."

The Nuggets also got 12 points from Popeye Jones, playing in only his fifth game of the season after a long stint on the injured list with a strained lower back.

"He was terrific," Issel said. "If Popeye can give us that every night, then we are going to be in great shape. He gave us a tremendous lift. If he hadn't played like that, with the foul trouble we were in, we would have been in trouble."

Denver lost backup point guard Chris Herren with a strained left knee midway through the second quarter. He was scheduled to have an MRI on Tuesday.

Vancouver opened the game by missing its first six shots and 11 of its first 12, but the Nuggets didn't take advantage. Denver led only 14-13 before James Posey hit a 3-pointer and two free throws during a 7-0 run, helping the Nuggets take a 21-13 lead.

Denver shot 55 percent compared to Vancouver's 36 percent in the period, but led only 27-23 at the end of the first.

The Nuggets went on a 9-2 run to start the second quarter, opening up a 36-25 lead. But Abdur-Rahim and Felipe Lopez each had eight points in the quarter, helping the Grizzlies draw even at 48. McCloud's 20-foot jumper gave Denver a 50-48 lead at intermission.

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