Veilchengewächse » ns offence, Grossman is happy to help his fellow q

DENVER -- Kenneth Faried joined the 20/20 club just 48 hours after sinking his first winning basket. Faried scored 24 points and pulled down 21 rebounds Saturday night in the short-handed Denver Nuggets 101-94 come-from-behind win over the Utah Jazz. Faried was coming off an 18-point, 17-rebound performance at Golden State on Thursday night that would have been overshadowed by Timofey Mozgovs 23-point, 29-board performance were it not for coach Brian Shaw diagramming the last-second shot for him -- another first. So, whats next for Faried? "Maybe stepping out behind the 3-point line and shooting a 3," Shaw suggested. Faried likes to share the spotlight, so hes thinking more along the line of what he and Mozgov can do for an encore. "Twenty-twenty together," Faried suggested. "Hey, why not?" Suddenly, anything seems possible for these Nuggets, who are headed for the NBA lottery instead of the playoffs for the first time in a decade but are somehow playing well despite a depleted roster. On this night, they lost Anthony Randolph to the paternity ward before tip-off and fellow forward Darrell Arthur to a strained left knee in the first quarter. He was unable to jump and took a seat after logging just two minutes. Luckily, forward Wilson Chandler returned to action for Denver after missing 10 games with a strained left groin. He scored nine points in 21 minutes. After a slow start -- the Nuggets scored a season-low 34 points in the first half -- Faried took over, Randy Foye scored 26 points and Evan Fournier added 23 as Denver sent Utah to its fourth straight loss and evened the season series with their rivals at two games each. "We told the team at halftime just to flush that half down the drain," Shaw said. Foyes 3-pointer with 6:54 left gave Denver its first lead of the night at 77-76, and the Nuggets wouldnt trail again. Seconds later, Fournier made the most unlikely of baskets. He was driving in to the lane when he got tripped and let go of the ball as he fell backward into the paint. The ball fluttered through the net just as he hit the floor, and his subsequent free throw put Denver on top 80-76. Foye and Fournier teamed up for back-to-back 3s that gave the Nuggets a 90-82 lead with three minutes left. "Weve just got to stay with it," Utah guard Trey Burke said. "I feel we really had an opportunity to win this game. Foye got hot tonight, so did Faried. He did a great job of rebounding and giving them second opportunities. You cant give a good team like that to get as many second opportunities as they did in the second half." Gordon Hayward led Utah with 23 points, and Enes Kanter added 22 points and 14 rebounds. The teams combined to go 0-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half in a display befitting two teams headed for the NBA draft lottery this summer instead of their usual playoff perch. Denver, however, hit seven 3s after halftime, including three by Foye. Mozgov had another double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets won their third straight. "Im proud of them and the way theyre finishing up this season," Shaw said. "I think this is exactly what we wanted to see ending up the season to carry over into next season, win or lose, the kind of effort its going to take and the togetherness were going to need to be successful." NOTES: Utah F Marvin Williams missed his second straight game with a bruised left knee. ... The Nuggets said Arthur was day to day. ... Nuggets PG Ty Lawson missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left ankle. Cheap Puma Shoes From China .J. - The New Jersey Devils know the odds are against them as they chase a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Cheap Puma Shoes Online . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen. http://www.cheappuma.us/ . Sociedad remained in sixth place with Villarreal a point behind in seventh, both in Europa League spots and in striking distance of fourth place and the final Champions League berth. Sociedad forward Carlos Vela chipped goalkeeper Jaime Jimenez after receiving an equally exquisite lobbed pass from Ruben Pardo to set him up in the 23rd minute at Anoeta Stadium. Cheap Puma Shoes Wholesale . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts. Buy Puma Shoes Online . -- With his team down 16 points in the second quarter and headed for another blowout loss at home, Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson yelled out to his players to keep shooting and keep fighting on defence. BEREA, Ohio -- Browns coach Mike Pettine says he expects Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel to get equal reps with the first-team offence next Monday night against Washington. Manziel played with the first-team offence during Tuesday mornings practice, but Pettine said afterward that no decision has been made as to who will start the Browns second preseason game. But it wont necessarily matter, as Pettine wants both quarterbacks to get equal reps or close to it with the first-teamers. Whether thats by series, by quarter or by something else remains to be seen. Pettine said "theres a lot of options on the table" and the staff would figure it out when it meets during the teams off-day on Thursday. That includes deciding who will actually start the game. "Just the factor of starting a game I think is a little bit overblown in this situation because were going to try to balance the reps with the ones in the game," Pettine said. "Brian came in ahead and its a little overrated who trots out there for the first time." No matter what happens next Monday night, though, people are going to tune in to watch. Manziels debut last Saturday against the Lions drew 2.82 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched preseason game on the NFL Network. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains spoke to the media after practice, saying there was still no clear-cut leader in the competition. "I dont think well make the decision based on that (game)," Loggains said. "But its a body of work that theyre accumulating, putting together, and thats how well make the decision." Loggains was in the news after the NFL draft when he said in a radio interview on ESPN Arkansas that Manziel, before he was drafted, sent him a text that read: "I wish you guys wouldd come get me.dddddddddddd Hurry up and draft me because I want to wreck this league together." That slip by Loggains didnt go over too well with the Browns. "He paid his penance for that," Pettine said. "We made him wear a visor that said, Im a dummy for a day during the spring with the walkthrough." "Coach Pettine has a unique sense of humour," Loggains said. "Im trying to get rid of (the visor). Im waiting for someone else to say something so I can pass it on to the next guy." Earlier Tuesday, the Browns signed unrestricted free-agent quarterback Rex Grossman and waived quarterback Tyler Thigpen. With so much experience in co-ordinator Kyle Shanahans offence, Grossman is happy to help his fellow quarterbacks any way he can. "If anybody has any questions or I feel the need to maybe help out, then I will," he said. "I havent shied back from that in the past and Im here to just help." NOTES: Practice ended with a 4th and 1 play to see which side wore the orange jerseys Wednesday. The defence won, stuffing Miles Austin on an end-around attempt. . FB/TE MarQueis Gray (concussion) and CB Justin Gilbert (groin) returned to practice. . WR Josh Gordon (abdomen), WR Nate Burleson (hamstring), LB Darius Eubanks (shoulder) and DL Billy Winn (abdomen) did not practice. DL Desmond Bryant was also feeling nicked up, so his scheduled day of rest was bumped up. . In the Browns depth chart for the second preseason game, rookie FB Ray Agnew is listed as the starting fullback, with Gray listed as a tight end. ... A man covered head-to-toe in an all-orange bodysuit stood on the corner outside the Browns facility before practice, holding up a "Honk for Hoyer" sign to passing cars. ' ' '