THE Nuggets ended a two-game slide and stunned the titleholders Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-113, on Wednesday in Denver (Thursday, Manila time).
Gary Harris and Will Barton showed the way as hot-shooting Denver overcame a Cleveland side that started its main unit for the first time since December.
LeBron James had with him the Cavaliers starting lineup from the championship run, as JR Smith got the start after coming off the bench the past seven games.
The main unit also featuring Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson could not overcome the hot-shooting Nuggets, however, and the Cavaliers absorbed their third loss in the last six games.
Harris scored 21 on 8 of 14 shooting, while Barton came off the bench to deliver 20 points.
The Nuggets, who lost two straight to the Houston Rockets, shot 53 percent frm the field inlcuding 42 percent (11 for 26) from beyond the arc, as they notched their 34th win in 71 games.
Irving scored 33 on 11 of 22 shooting, while James was the only other starter to scorein double figures with 18 points.
Deron Williams went 8 for 10 and wound up with 19 points for Cleveland, which suffered its 24th loss in 70 games.