match and should probably advance comfortably. If they

NEW ORLEANS -- Denver coach Mike Malone decided the Nuggets should not in fact do whatever it takes to stop Anthony Davis.Instead, the Nuggets stuck to their usual defensive principles against New Orleans and it paid off -- barely.Jusuf Nurkic scored 23 points, Will Barton added 22, and Denver survived a dominant performance by Davis to defeat the Pelicans 107-102 in both teams regular season opener Wednesday night.When you play against a great player, you have a problem you need to answer: Are you going to shut him down and create problems elsewhere, or are you going to let him get his and hope nobody else goes off?, Malone said.Denver did the latter and Davis wound up with 50 points, 16 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and four blocks. His prolific play helped New Orleans trim a deficit as large as 14 late in the second quarter down to two points in the waning minutes.We gave them too many easy looks in the beginning of the game, Davis said. We gave ourselves a chance. Weve just got to play like we played in the third and fourth quarter in the beginning of the game.Davis didnt get much help offensively. The rest of the Pelicans combined to shoot 21 of 58.Tim Frazier scored 15 for the Pelicans. ETwaun Moore added 10 points, but missed a 3-point attempt that could have tied it with 24 seconds left.Danilo Gallinari scored 15 for Denver, Wilson Chandler added 12 points and Kenneth Faried finished with 14 rebounds -- six on the offensive end to help Denver finished with a 14-3 advantage in second-chance points.Denver built its largest lead when Barton hit a 3 and a layup to spark a 9-2 run that made 60-46 in the final minute of the second quarter.I was just trying to be aggressive, staying in attack mode, whether Im scoring for myself of making plays for others, Barton said.The Nuggets still led by 10, at 87-77, when Kenneth Farieds 5-foot hook shot opened scoring in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans managed to keep its deficit within single digits most of the final period. Davis pulled the Pelicans as close as 100-98 when he cut into the lane for a layup with 2:32 to go.Davis didnt fault his teammates for the loss, saying their shot selection was decent but that they missed shots they often make. He was more inclined to criticize himself for a few missed shots from close range and his late turnover.Im going to have to -- probably not 50 every night -- but try to get somewhere along those lines every game to give ourselves a chance, Davis said.ROOKIE DEBUTSNuggets rookie guard Jamal Murray, taken seventh overall in last summers draft -- one spot behind Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield -- played 13 minutes and was 0 of 2 shooting, finishing with a point on a free throw. Hield missed the first three shots of his NBA career before scoring his first points on a driving layup. He finished with four points on 2 of 8 shooting in nearly 17 minutes off the bench.OFF THE MARKBoth teams let fly frequently from 3-point range, but often inaccurately. Denver missed 16 of 24 from deep. The Pelicans made only three of 19.TIP-INSNuggets: Between Gallinari, Nikola Jokic and the 7-foot- Nurkic, Denver opened the game with three players 6-10 or taller on the floor at a time when a number of teams are favoring smaller lineups that feature the quicker, more versatile players on their rosters. Obviously the trend is going away from what we do, but were not worried about what the trends are, Malone said. Were going to do what we think is best for us, but within our game youll see a lot of different lineups.Pelicans: Before the game, the Pelicans wore black T-shirts during warm-ups honoring Bryce Dejean-Jones, who was fatally shot last May when he forced his way into an apartment that he had mistaken for that of his girlfriend. The shirts had the letters BDJ on the chest with Dejean-Jones No. 31 underneath. Its unfortunate what happened the fact that hes not with us any longer, but he was part of our family and we just wanted to do something to pay tribute to him, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said.UP NEXTNuggets: Host Portland on Saturday night.Pelicans: Host Golden State on Friday night. Custom New Jersey Devils Jerseys . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Custom New York Rangers Jerseys .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. http://www.customjerseyshockey.com/custom-dallas-stars-jerseys-359b.html . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Custom Anaheim Ducks Jerseys . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Custom Ottawa Senators Jerseys . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Were moving across the pond from yesterdays North America preview to the European Rocket League Championship Series playoffs. With the stage set for the final in Amsterdam, the European teams will all be looking to advance out of the double elimination bracket and compete for the lions share of $250,000. Heres how Week 1 of the playoffs stacks up:Mockit Aces (3) vs. Reunited (6)If the Aces were playing anyone other than Reunited, I would say this will be a quick 3-0 (it really would be). Reunited, more than any other team, will not roll over and die. Mockit are the heavy favorites in this match and should probably advance comfortably. If they keep up the pressure, theyll head to Amsterdam as favorites alongside FlipSid3 Tactics and Northern Gaming.This is the type of set Reunited can thrive in. They come in as fan favorite underdogs looking to make the incredible happen; with Mockit Aces in solid form going into playoffs, this sset should be rather one sided.ddddddddddddBut if anyone was going to make this upset happen, it would be Reunited.Prediction: Mockit Aces 3-0 ReunitedPrecision Z (4) vs. Red Eye (5)Red Eye werent supposed to be here, let alone comfortably. Many people expected OhMyDog to make it here, or Red Eye to fall off after its excellent first half form, but it didnt. Unfortunately for Red Eye, the upset story should end here with Precision Z being heavy favorites to advance and to make LAN.If Red Eye can somehow keep its quietly consistent form going this match could be very close, but Precision Z may be just a little bit too good for them to keep up. With that said, dont count Red Eye out from the losers bracket. With two cracks at Precision Z, it could definitely be close.Prediction: Precision Z 3-2 Red Eye ' ' '