New Orleans at Denver

[Real Deal]

TIME: 9:00 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Real Deal]

DENVER -- Arron Afflalo is giving the Denver Nuggets' offense a boost as the team's leading scorer, Danilo Gallinari, tries to regain his shooting touch after returning from an ankle injury.

 

Afflalo scored 28 points, Al Harrington had 20 and the Nuggets pulled away for a 110-97 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

 

Nene added 12 points and Ty Lawson had 11 points to go with 10 assists for the Nuggets, who have won five of six since the All-Star break.

 

"I thought the effort was great and the defense was better," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Arron offensively was really into the game and gave us a horse to ride a little bit."

 

Gallinari, who remains the team's leading scorer, was playing for just the third time since missing a month with a severely sprained left ankle. He missed his first six shots against the Hornets and finished with nine points on 3 of 10 shooting.

 

While Gallinari has been working his way back to his pre-injury form, Afflalo, who got off to a slow start offensively this season, has gone on a tear. He scored a career-high 32 points in last week's overtime win against Sacramento.

 

"I'm just starting to get locked in," Afflalo said. "I'm looking to play well for sure. When I play well, when anybody plays well, it's good for your mind. It's good for your team. It's good for the game and I want to allow it to help us win games."

 

Harrington said Afflalo's scoring surge was no surprise to his teammates.

 

"He had games like this last year so we knew he had it in him," Harrington said. "It's just him staying confident and when he gets his opportunities to capitalize on them."

 

Lance Thomas scored 18 points to lead the Hornets, who lost their fourth in a row.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120309_NO@DEN