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Lawson scores 32 as Denver Nuggets down Los Angeles Lakers

Ty Lawson scored 32 points and tied a season high with 16 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets in a 106-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Lawson scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Nuggets snap their six-game losing streak.

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Darrell Arthur had 15 points off the bench, while J.J. Hickson and Wilson Chandler each posted 13 points in the win.

Carlos Boozer finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who have lost five straight. Wayne Ellington deposited 18 points, while Wesley Johnson and Nick Young added 12 points apiece off the bench.

Arthur went on a personal 7-1 run for the Nuggets to put them up 86-79 with 7 1/2 minutes to play. Los Angeles was down eight a couple minutes later when Young dropped in a 3-pointer to make it 93-88.

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Johnson had the final four points of a 6-0 run that made it a one-point deficit for the Lakers with 2:45 remaining. Lawson proceeded to wrap a pair of tough jumpers around a Boozer layup that kept Denver in front by three.

Following a missed jumper by Johnson, Lawson drove the lane and kicked it back out to Arthur for a mid-range jumper that extended the margin to 101-96 with 54.3 seconds left. Lawson put the game away when he jumped a pass from Jeremy Lin to Young and laid it in at the other end to secure the victory.

The Lakers used a pair of 7-0 runs in the opening quarter to jump out to a double-digit lead. Ellington scored all seven of the second such run to give the Lakers a 16-6 lead, but Denver closed to within 29-24 after the first.

The Nuggets shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the second quarter and limited Los Angeles to 28 percent shooting. However, the Lakers outrebounded their opponent 7-0 on the offensive glass in the frame and brought a 48-45 lead into the locker room at half.

Lawson supplied 10 points to a 12-2 run that gave Denver a 63-61 lead in the third. Young then scored the final four points of the frame to tie it up at 71-71 entering the fourth.

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Game Notes

Denver shot 54.4 percent from the floor and limited LA to 43.5 percent shooting ... The Nuggets scored 17 points off 12 Los Angeles turnovers ... Denver had a 54-40 edge in the paint ... Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson dished out a career-high seven assists.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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