for Tennessee Tech. Mack and Savonte Frazier each scored 11, a

DENVER -- The thinking is big around the Denver Nuggets this season. As in, pairing towers Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic on the court more often.Thats a counter move in a copycat league where teams are trying to be fast and free-shooting like the Golden State Warriors. The way Nuggets coach Michael Malone sees things, the Nuggets have two talented big men -- dubbed the Balkan Bigs -- so why not utilize their particular niche.Anything to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. By Malones estimation, the Nuggets (33-49) need to find a way to capture 12 more games in order to end their playoff drought and woo back disenchanted fans.Thats what I love about our roster -- we have versatility, Malone said. We can play a lot of different ways.It will help to have a healthy Wilson Chandler (hip surgery) on the floor. Same with Danilo Gallinari (ankle). Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has an improved jumper and a year of experience under his belt, along with another offensive weapon in Jamal Murray, the seventh overall pick in the June draft.The talent is different, but the talent is there, Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. This is a good young team and theyre going to cause problems for people.Especially up front with the 7-foot Nurkic of Bosnia and the 6-10 Jokic of Serbia. Nurkics a bruiser inside and capable of putting up some big numbers, as he demonstrated down the stretch a year ago. Jokic is riding a wave of confidence after helping Serbia to a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics over the summer.The real dilemma for Malone will be finding minutes for everyone. He can easily go 10 deep, including a smaller lineup that features Will Barton, Gary Harris (once he recovers from a right groin strain) and Murray.Were not here to finish six-to-eight (in the Western Conference), general manager Tim Connelly said. Thats not the goal. We know it wont be easy sledding. The wins and losses will take care of themselves if we keep doing the right things every day.Things to know about the Nuggets as they prepare to honor Dikembe Mutombo during the home opener by retiring his No. 55 jersey:MANIMALS ROLE: There are rumors flying around that Kenneth Faried is on the trading block after a season in which he averaged 12.5.points and 8.7 rebounds. For now, he may come off the bench with Nurkic and Jokic getting more playing time.He hasnt gotten caught up in, `Whos starting? Am I not starting? Why am I not starting? Malone said. Hes, `Let me go out there and do the best job I can do to help this team win games.HIP CHECK: The pain from Chandlers surgically repaired hip was nothing compared to watching night in and out from the sideline. Chandler thinks it made him a better basketball player because, I got to see the game from the coachs perspective. It made me a stronger person.MIKE AND HIS MECHANICS: For veteran leadership, the team brought back Mike Miller. The 36-year-old guard/forward knows that playing time will be sparse for him. His true role will be as a leader at practice and on the bench.Listen, theres no beating around the bush -- Im old, Miller cracked. You can say it. ... The guys in the locker room, the best way you can lead and be a part of it is by doing it with action, by not missing practice and getting through it when its tough. I can definitely help.SILVER LINING: Jokic has been teased about his Olympic silver medal. He played well before his squad lost to the Americans in the final. He averaged 9.1 points and six rebounds for the Serbians.Theyre saying Im changed now -- I need a red carpet, Jokic joked. Crazy.NO ALPHAS NEEDED: Darrell Arthur doesnt believe a team needs an Alpha leader to make a run at a title. He cites the Boston Celtics as a perfect illustration.They really dont have that Alpha player, said Arthur, whos working his way back from left knee surgery. As far as their team, they all play for each other. It doesnt matter who is scoring. Its going out there and competing and playing hard. If we come out with that mindset, we can do the same thing.Cheap Jordan Retro 1 For Sale . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Air Jordan 1 Retro Sale . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. http://www.saleairjordan1.com/ . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Jordan 1 Black Toe For Sale .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Air Jordan 1 Wholesale . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season.KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- ?Robert Hubbs III scored 25 points and made a key block in the last minute Tuesday night as Tennessee outlasted Tennessee Tech 74-68 after leading by as many as 22 points early in the second half.Tennessees fast first-half performance and struggle down the stretch came two days after the Volunteers couldnt hang on to a 15-point lead in a 73-71 loss at No. 7 North Carolina.Weve shown we can play well, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said, but what we havent shown is we can play a really solid 40 minutes.After trailing 49-27 with just under 17 minutes left, Tennessee Tech (4-8) cut Tennessees lead to 71-67 on Courtney Alexander IIs dunk with 21 seconds remaining. Tennessee went 3 of 4 on free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the victory.Im proud of how we came back, Tennessee Tech coach Steve Payne said. It could have gotten ugly.Before Alexanders dunk, Tennessee Tech had the ball twice in the last 90 seconds with a chance to trim a five-point deficit.On the first possession, Kajon Mack was called for an offensive foul when he leaned into Lamonte Turner with 1:14 left. The next time Tennessee Tech had the ball, Hubbs blocked Aleksa Jugovics 3-point attempt with 33 seconds remaining.I saw it all the way, Hubbs said. And then once I saw (Jugovic) slide to the corner, I just read it. I tried to steal it but couldnt get there in time, so I just played the shot and blocked it. We needed that. I had to make the play.Hubbs had arguably the best performance of his career against North Carolina, as the senior guard scored 21 points and shot 9 of 11. He stayed hot Tuesday by shooting 10 of 17 and pulling down seven rebounds, two off his career high.Turner added 16 points and shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range.But the game still was up for grabs in the last few minutes because Tennessee got stagnant.dddddddddddd Tennessee (5-4) withstood a 6 1/2-minute stretch in which it failed to make a basket.In the first half, I think we were the aggressor defensively, Turner said. In the second half, they were.Jugovic scored 14 points for Tennessee Tech. Mack and Savonte Frazier each scored 11, and Mason Ramsey added 10.THE TAKEAWAYTennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles have twice as many losses as wins, but theyve shown plenty of tenacity in how theyve rallied against more talented opponents. Tennessee Tech trailed Michigan State by as many as 18 on Saturday but made that game interesting down the stretch before falling 71-63. The Golden Eagles followed a similar formula Tuesday as Tennessee struggled to put the game away.Tennessee: The Vols played virtually error-free basketball in the first half by compiling 11 assists with only one turnover. Tennessee wasnt nearly as effective the rest of the way. In the second half, the Vols had 13 turnovers with six assists.QUOTABLEI thought after we dunked the ball once or twice, our guys acted like a bunch of high school guys where they thought the game was over with, Barnes said. We just started jacking some 3s up there. It doesnt take long when youre playing against a team thats well coached and that plays hard. They got comfortable and made us have to make plays at the end to win.KEY STATSTurner has gone 14 of 25 from 3-point range over his last four games. While Turner was 5 of 9 on 3-pointers Tuesday, his Tennessee teammates were a combined 1 of 11.NEXT UPTennessee Tech hosts Lipscomb on Saturday.Tennessee hosts Lipscomb on Thursday. ' ' '