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.Rico Carty Jersey .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. Liam Hendriks Jersey . - 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. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/2335m-luis-barrera-jersey-athletics.html . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Dustin Fowler Athletics Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Rick Monday Jersey . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship.The American Volleyball Coaches Association released its 2016 preseason poll?on?Wednesday. Here are some of the noteworthy names and numbers.1: That would be Nebraska. Loaded Nebraska. The defending national champions received the top ranking in the AVCA poll for the fifth time in their history (2001, 2005, 2006, 2007). The Cornhuskers return five starters: first-team All-American Kadie Rolfzen, second-team All-American Amber Rolfzen, third-team All-American and reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Justine Wong-Orantes, All-American honorable mention setter Kelly Hunter and defensive specialist Kenzie Maloney. Also back is Mikaela Foecke, the most outstanding player at the NCAA championships, who came off the bench for all but three games.2: Runner-up a year ago, Texas starts the season exactly where it ended last season: right behind Nebraska. The Longhorns have four players on the Big 12s preseason all-conference team, the most of any team. Count them: Chiaka Ogbogu, Ebony Nwanebu, Chloe Collins and Paulina Prieto Cerame. Nwanebu returns from a medical redshirt after sitting out all but one game in 2015 because of a back injury. The 6-foot-4 junior who spent her first two seasons at USC was a national team player in 2014. The Longhorns also boast the preseason freshman of the year, Orie Agbaji.5: Kansas, a surprise team in the national semifinals a year ago, wont be sneaking up on anyone this season and starts in the No. 5 spot. Youll be getting a lot of No. 8 from the Jayhawks, in the form of the jersey number worn by junior Kelsie Payne, who is the first Jayhawk to be named the preseason Big 12 player of the year.7:?The number of Big Ten teams ranked in the preseason poll. Nebraska is followed by Minnesota (3), Wisconsin (4), Penn State (9), Illinois (14), Ohio State (15) and Purdue (20).T7: Washington, which lost seven seniors to graduation, is tied with USC for seventh. The Huskies and Trojans are the top-ranked teams in the Pac-122.dddddddddddd Stanford is No. 11, and UCLA is No. 12.12: The number of times the preseason No. 1 has finished as the NCAA champion. Penn State (1999, 2008-10), UCLA (1990-91), Stanford (1994, 1997), Nebraska (2006) USC (2013), Pacific (1986) and Hawaii (1983) all finished where they started.17:?Thanks to Florida State, the best rank for an ACC school. Oddly, North Carolina, ranked 19th, was picked to win the ACC title by the conference coaches.18: Nebraskas other team, Creighton, begins at No. 18, the best starting position in school history. The Bluejays advanced to the Sweet 16 last season and were previously ranked as high as 19.21: Loyola Marymount, which advanced to the Sweet 16 after upsetting Stanford on its home floor a year ago, starts with a No. 21 ranking.27: Of August, that is. Circle the date. Thats when this years top two teams, Nebraska and Texas, also last years NCAA finalists, square off in the VERT Challenge in Eugene, Oregon.34: The number of wins last season by No. 22 Western Kentucky, picked to win its third Conference USA championship in 2016. The Hilltoppers 153 victories the past five seasons are second only to Penn States win total.60: The number of first-place votes received by Nebraska. No. 2 Texas received three votes for the top spot, and No. 11 Stanford got one.1,189: Number of wins Penn States Russ Rose brings into the 2016 season. Thats the most by anyone ever.1,818: Average attendance for No. 15 Ohio State, which hosts the 2016 final four.8,291: Although the road trip to play sixth-ranked Hawaii is often the longest haul of the season for teams, consider how far Rainbow Wahine coach Dave Shoji is from his team this preseason. Shoji left Wednesday for Rio de Janeiro, which is 8,291 miles from Honolulu, to watch his sons, Erik and Kawika, compete for the United States in the Olympics. ' ' '