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NEW ORLEANS -- Eric Gordons rustiness from a three-month layoff showed up in the form of two early air balls and misses on his first four shots. Cheap Jerseys . Too bad for the Denver Nuggets that Gordon maintained his knack for scoring in the clutch. Gordon scored 15 points in his long-awaited return from a right knee injury, capping the performance with two free throws in the final seconds to lift the New Orleans Hornets to a 94-92 victory over the Nuggets on Wednesday night. "It feels good," said Gordon, who had not played since Jan. 4 because of a right knee bruise that required arthroscopic surgery. "I just looked forward to winning and my individual game will come as far as stat wise." Trevor Ariza scored 15 points, and Chris Kaman added 14 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans. The Hornets had six players score in double figures, including all five starters. "Thats good team basketball right there. You really cant script it much better than that," said Hornets forward Jason Smith, who had 10 points and made a steal on the final play to prevent Denver from getting off one final shot for the win or tie. "Tonight was an overall team win." Ty Lawson scored 22 points for Denver, which tied it at 92 on Al Harringtons 3 from the corner with 10 seconds left, only to see Gordon bait Arron Afflalo into a foul on an up-fake near the lane with 2 seconds left. Although Gordon was 3 of 11 from the field, he said there was no doubt in his mind he would find a way to put the Hornets back in front. "I knew I was going to get the ball at the top of the key. It was just all about making a play," Gordon said. "(Afflalo) was guarding me pretty good, but when I was obviously getting ready to attack the basket, he was so close up to me I knew a pump-fake would probably have him up in the air." Afflalo finished with 15 points and a career-high seven assists, and Harrington scored 14 points, but Denver was outrebounded 41-32 and allowed New Orleans to shoot 52 per cent (35 of 67). "Our defence broke down in the second half," Denver coach George Karl said. "Protecting the paint was very poor." New Orleans surged into the lead, never to trail again, when Kaman hit a jumper and Smith scored twice during a 6-0 run to open the third quarter. Soon after, Gordon hit a 3 and added a free throw to give New Orleans a 55-48 lead. Denver pulled as close as 59-58 on Harringtons fast-break layup after one of New Orleans 19 turnovers, but the Hornets wound up making nine of their first 11 shots in the quarter, including Gordons driving layup and 3 in succession that made it 68-59. The Hornets matched their largest lead when Gordons free throw made it 86-75 with 6:51 to go, but New Orleans then went into a shooting slump, missing nine of its last 11 shots. Afflalo started Denvers comeback, scoring inside as he was fouled for a three-point play. Kenneth Faried dunked and followed that with a three-point play of his own on a reverse layup. Denver closed to 89-87 on Jordan Hamiltons reverse layup before Arizas free throw and Kamans putback gave New Orleans a late 92-87 lead. "It was a tough loss, but we fought back," Hamilton said. "We just came up short." The Nuggets played most of the fourth quarter without Andre Miller, who was ejected when he was called for a flagrant-2 foul on Carl Landry. Miller threw a forearm into Landrys ribs under the basket as the New Orleans forward tried to finish a fast break. "Andre getting thrown out of the game was a big (problem) for us," Karl said. "He had a very good game going." Landry, who remained in the game, stayed down on the baseline for several minutes while officials confirmed the call on video review. "Im fine," Landry said. "It was a hard foul and I just took my time getting up." Landry finished with 12 points, while Greivis Vasquez had 11 points and 10 assists. Faried had 13 points for the Nuggets. After making only two of their first 16 shots and falling behind by 11 in the first quarter, the Nuggets shot 17 of 24 for the rest of the first half. Lawson scored twice and Afflalo hit a 3 as Denver used an 11-0 run to tie it at 18 late in the first quarter. Denver would up taking lead in the second quarter, though never by more than 3 points, and led 46-45 going into halftime. Notes: The Hornets had their NBA-high 22nd starting lineup of the season. ... Denver closed out its seven-game road trip with a 3-4 record. ... The Hornets scratched point guard Jarrett Jack with a sore right ankle and replaced him with Vasquez. Denvers Wilson Chandler missed his second straight game with a strained left groin and Corey Brewer started for him. ... The teams split their four meetings this season. ... Actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz, sitting in courtside seats, were among the announced attendance of 15,020. cheap world cup jerseys . Forte was injured on a run deep in Chicago territory midway through the first quarter, when Kansas Citys Derrick Johnson hit him in the knee. chinajerseysnflwholesale.com . Ausmus says he realized his words were insensitive and in poor taste as soon as they left his mouth. The first-year manager was asked after Detroits 2-1 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday how his mood is when he heads home from the ballpark these days.MINNEAPOLIS -- After three consecutive years of 90-plus losses, Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan is hoping a rare in-season, free-agent signing will keep his team in contention the rest of the summer. Minnesota signed first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a one-year, prorated, $12 million contract on Sunday. The Cuban-born slugger, who hit .277 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 156 games with the Seattle Mariners last season, has been in Miami working out while waiting to sign. "Why not the Twins?" Ryan asked during a press conference announcing the signing. "I read there were probably a handful of clubs that were chasing Kendrys. We were ahead of many of those clubs in the standings." The Twins have lost 291 games the last three seasons, but are 29-31 this year, five games back in the AL Central and 2 1/2 back in the wild card standings. Morales, who turns 31 on June 20, had been unsigned because teams were hesitant to surrender a compensatory first-round pick to sign him. Since the Twins signed him after the MLB draft, they do not have to give up a coveted pick. The prorated portion of Morales contract will total slightly more than $7.4 million. "It just made sense," said Ryan, who is back in the GM chair after stepping away during spring training to battle skin cancer. For Morales, the deal gives him an opportunity to provide some power to an inconsistent Twins offence in desperate need of a full-time designated hitter. "It wasnt easy for a baseball player to watch baseball games when he knows he can pllay," Morales said through an interpreter. Wholesale Jerseys. "But you have to be mentally tough and be prepared so when this opportunity does come around, youre ready to do what you gotta do." In 620 career games, Morales has 102 home runs and 345 RBIs. He also missed 1 1/2 years after breaking his leg celebrating a game-ending home run on May 29, 2010, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Since Morales is out of options and not injured, the Twins cant send him to the minors to shake off the rust from missing the seasons first 60 games. Hell work out with the team and take the field when hes ready. "Its a day to day thing, Ill be working out and talking to (manager Ron Gardenhire) and the coaching staff," Morales said. "When Im ready, Ill be in there. We just want to do it the right way." Morales greeted his new teammates in the clubhouse before Sundays game against the Houston Astros and spent some time with Tony Oliva, Minnesotas most famous Cuban-born player. Since the Twins arent known for making splashy moves, especially during the season, players viewed the signing as a signal from management that theyre serious about contending. "Its a good signing. A lot of us are real excited right now," Joe Mauer said. "It tells you how close this division is and us adding is definitely a great thing." To make room on the 25-man roster, Minnesota released Jason Kubel, who appeared in 798 games over parts of eight seasons with the Twins. He was hitting .224 this year, but just .158 since April. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '