DENVER — Playing a smaller lineup paid off in a big way for the Brooklyn Nets.
Brook Lopez led seven Nets players in double figures with 19 points, and Brooklyn won its second consecutive road game by beating the Denver Nuggets 110-82 on Monday night.
Deron Williams added 16 points and 12 assists, and Thaddeus Young scored 15 in another solid outing for the Nets since his acquisition last week from Minnesota in a trade for Kevin Garnett.
Rookie guard Markel Brown had 11 rebounds and 10 points for the Nets in his first start of the season. Brooklyn, coming off a 114-105 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers last Friday, won back-to-back road games for the first time since mid-January.
"The court’s a lot more open when we play small like this," Williams said. "When you play ‘Kel, when you play Cory (Jefferson), we’re a lot more athletic. We can get out and run and that suits me."
The Nets, focusing on their transition game, outscored the Nuggets 62-38 in the paint.
"We tried to be aggressive, move the ball side to side and share the ball," Lopez said.
Added coach Lionel Hollins: "We are trying to establish how we are going to play. We had seven guys in double figures, and for as small as we are, we still dominated the glass."
Danilo Gallinari had 22 points for the struggling Nuggets, who have lost 16 of 18 — including seven in a row at home. It matches their longest losing streak at the Pepsi Center since dropping seven straight from Feb. 6 to March 2, 2003.
"Unfortunately, when we played, we had too many ups and downs," Gallinari said. "Throughout the whole season, almost every game, we cannot be consistent. That has been our problem and it was our problem tonight, too."
Up by nine at halftime, the Nets led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and had an 85-69 advantage heading into the fourth.
Young and Lopez each had four points during a 12-2 run that stretched Brooklyn’s lead to 101-75 with 5:32 remaining.
After a pair of free throws by Gallinari gave the Nuggets a 43-42 lead, the Nets went on a 12-2 spurt over the last 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter to take a 54-45 halftime lead.
Jefferson sparked the burst with a dunk and Joe Johnson capped it, driving the lane for a layup a second before the halftime buzzer sounded.
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TIP-INS
Nets: Jarrett Jack missed his second consecutive game because of a sore left hamstring. Fellow G Bojan Bogdanovic sat out with a left ankle sprain. He was injured in practice Sunday. … F Thomas Robinson, waived by the Nuggets following his acquisition from the Trail Blazers as part of the deal that sent Arron Afflalo to Portland last week, is expected to sign with Brooklyn once he clears waivers. … All five Nets starters scored in double figures.
Nuggets: Wilson Chandler was held out because of soreness in his left groin. … F Joffrey Lauvergne, signed by the Nuggets as a free agent last Wednesday, made his home debut and played in his second NBA game. … F Kenneth Faried left late in the second quarter with a bruised left thumb. The team said X-rays were negative, and Faried returned to play in the third.
UP NEXT
Nets: At New Orleans on Wednesday night.
Nuggets: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night.
