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. Cheap Air Max 98 China . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Air Max 98 Outlet . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native was stellar in making 39 saves in his home province and Lars Eller got credit for a bizarre short-handed winner as the Canadiens defeated the Canucks 4-1. http://www.airmax98outlet.com/ . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Air Max 98 Cheap Wholesale . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Wholesale Air Max 98 China . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are 6-7 since the All-Star break and steady starting pitching has been a major part of the turnaround for a team that had lost 24 of 27 games at one point.Everything is going well for our starters -- just consistent outings back-to-back-to-back, said Fridays winner, Jake Odorizzi, who pitched six-plus innings of shutout baseball in the Rays 5-1 win over the New York Yankees.It really takes the stress off the bullpen. I think another thing is our defense is playing phenomenal. Theyre really backing us up and its a lot easier to pitch when you have great plays being made behind you.The Rays (40-61) have allowed more than four runs just once in 13 games since the All-Star break. At one point in June, they gave up at least five runs in 13 straight games, so theyre at the opposite end of the spectrum.Weve played that way since the break, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. I know we dont have the wins to support that, but were playing tighter ballgames, our pitching has been tremendous and the timely hits, hopefully they continue to come.As both teams move another day closer to the trade deadlines and teams around them continue to make moves, the Rays must decide if theyre dealing starters like Odorizzi and Matt Moore.Meanwhile, the Yankees -- having already dealt away closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs -- must decide how much talent they are willling to part with while they linger on the fringe of wild-card contention.dddddddddddd.Asked if the trade deadline -- and the thin line between seller and buyer -- changes his approach to these games, Yankees manager Joe Girardi was adamant his focus is unchanged on putting his team in position to win games.Zero, he said of how he allows the deadline to impact his decisions as a manager. You try to win every game, no matter what the situation is.On Saturday, the Yankees will send RHP Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 4.80 ERA) against Rays LHP Drew Smyly (2-11, 5.42). The Yankees have lost back-to-back games after a stretch that saw them win eight of 10. They went into Friday night with a chance to match their season high of four games above .500.Just as the Tampa Bay pitching has stepped up, New York has struggled in its last two games, giving up a combined nine runs after holding opponents to 10 in the previous five games. Nova gave up two home runs Friday to the first three batters, literally trailing from his third pitch of the night on.By the time the Rays-Yankees series ends, the trade deadline will arrive and both teams will have a better sense for whether their path to the end of this season is easier or harder, depending on how active they are at the deadline. 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