# 2011–12 Denver Nuggets season

The 2011–12 Denver Nuggets season was the 45th season of the franchise, and its 36th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Denver finished the lockout-shortened season in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 38–28 record and were eliminated in the first round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs by the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. The Nuggets finished the regular season leading the league in points per game (104.12) and assists per game (23.96).

## Key dates

* June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. With the 22nd overall pick in the draft, the Nuggets selected Kenneth Faried from Morhead State.

## Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
| 1 | 22 | Kenneth Faried | PF | United States | Morehead State University |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| y-Oklahoma City Thunder | 47 | 19 | .712 | – | 26‍–‍7 | 21‍–‍12 | 10–3 | 66 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 28 | .576 | 9.0 | 20‍–‍13 | 18‍–‍15 | 6–7 | 66 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 36 | 30 | .545 | 11.0 | 25‍–‍8 | 11‍–‍22 | 9–4 | 66 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 28 | 38 | .424 | 19.0 | 20‍–‍13 | 8‍–‍25 | 4–10 | 66 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 40 | .394 | 21.0 | 13‍–‍20 | 13‍–‍20 | 4–9 | 66 |
Western Conference :
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c-San Antonio Spurs * | 50 | 16 | .758 | – | 66 |
| 2 | y-Oklahoma City Thunder * | 47 | 19 | .712 | 3.0 | 66 |
| 3 | y-Los Angeles Lakers * | 41 | 25 | .621 | 9.0 | 66 |
| 4 | x-Memphis Grizzlies | 41 | 25 | .621 | 9.0 | 66 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 40 | 26 | .606 | 10.0 | 66 |
| 6 | x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 28 | .576 | 12.0 | 66 |
| 7 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 30 | .545 | 14.0 | 66 |
| 8 | x-Utah Jazz | 36 | 30 | .545 | 14.0 | 66 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 32 | .515 | 16.0 | 66 |
| 10 | Phoenix Suns | 33 | 33 | .500 | 17.0 | 66 |
| 11 | Portland Trail Blazers | 28 | 38 | .424 | 22.0 | 66 |
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 40 | .394 | 24.0 | 66 |
| 13 | Golden State Warriors | 23 | 43 | .348 | 27.0 | 66 |
| 14 | Sacramento Kings | 22 | 44 | .333 | 28.0 | 66 |
| 15 | New Orleans Hornets | 21 | 45 | .318 | 29.0 | 66 |

### Game log

2011–12 game log Total: 38–28 (home: 20–13; road: 18–15) :
December: 2–2 (home: 1–0; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 26
@ Dallas
W 115–93
Ty Lawson (27)
Danilo Gallinari Nenê (7)
Andre Miller (5)
American Airlines Center 20,408
1–0
2
December 28
Utah
W 117–100
Nenê (25)
Al Harrington Nenê (7)
Andre Miller (12)
Pepsi Center 19,155
2–0
3
December 29
@ Portland
L 102–111
Ty Lawson (25)
Nenê (9)
Andre Miller (8)
Rose Garden 20,531
2–1
4
December 31
@ L. A. Lakers
L 89–92
Al Harrington (21)
Timofey Mozgov (10)
Ty Lawson (8)
Staples Center 18,997
2–2 :
January: 12–5 (home: 6–3; road: 6–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
5
January 1
L. A. Lakers
W 99–90
Danilo Gallinari (20)
Al Harrington (11)
Ty Lawson (10)
Pepsi Center 19,155
3–2
6
January 2
Milwaukee
W 91–86
Danilo Gallinari (21)
Danilo Gallinari (10)
Ty Lawson (6)
Pepsi Center 14,142
4–2
7
January 4
Sacramento
W 110–83
Al Harrington (15)
Kosta Koufos (10)
Rudy Fernández (8)
Pepsi Center 14,562
5–2
8
January 6
@ New Orleans
W 96–88
Danilo Gallinari (23)
Nenê (8)
Ty Lawson (8)
New Orleans Arena 13,035
6–2
9
January 7
@ San Antonio
L 117–121
Danilo Gallinari (31)
Andre Miller (6)
Ty Lawson (10)
AT&T Center 17,537
6–3
10
January 9
New Orleans
L 81–94
Danilo Gallinari Ty Lawson (15)
Nenê (11)
Nenê (4)
Pepsi Center 14,002
6–4
11
January 11
New Jersey
W 123–115
Danilo Gallinari (22)
Nenê (9)
Andre Miller (12)
Pepsi Center 14,139
7–4
12
January 13
Miami
W 117–104
Ty Lawson (24)
Nenê (12)
Ty Lawson (9)
Pepsi Center 19,155
8–4
13
January 15
Utah
L 96–106
Nenê Danilo Gallinari (18)
Al Harrington (7)
Ty Lawson (8)
Pepsi Center 16,208
8–5
14
January 17
@ Milwaukee
W 105–95
Corey Brewer (22)
Nenê (9)
Andre Miller (11)
Bradley Center 11,322
9–5
15
January 18
@ Philadelphia
W 108–104 (OT)
Andre Miller (28)
Nenê (14)
Andre Miller (10)
Wells Fargo Center 15,201
10–5
16
January 20
@ Washington
W 108–104
Al Harrington (29)
Ty Lawson (9)
Ty Lawson (7)
Verizon Center 14,866
11–5
17
January 21
@ New York
W 119–114 (2OT)
Danilo Gallinari (37)
Nenê (13)
Andre Miller (12)
Madison Square Garden 19,763
12–5
18
January 25
@ Sacramento
W 122–93
Danilo Gallinari (23)
Kosta Koufos (7)
Andre Miller (10)
Power Balance Pavilion 12,097
13–5
19
January 27
Toronto
W 96–81
Rudy Fernández (23)
Nenê (10)
Andre Miller (12)
Pepsi Center 18,855
14–5
20
January 29
L. A. Clippers
L 105–109
Nenê (18)
Nenê (9)
Andre Miller (10)
Pepsi Center 19,495
14–6
21
January 31
@ Memphis
L 97–100 (OT)
Al Harrington (23)
Al Harrington (10)
Andre Miller (6)
FedEx Forum 13,651
14–7 :
February: 5–10 (home: 3–5; road: 2–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
22
February 2
@ L. A. Clippers
W 112–91
Danilo Gallinari (21)
Timofey Mozgov (7)
Andre Miller (8)
Staples Center 19,223
15–7
23
February 3
L. A. Lakers
L 89–93
Al Harrington (24)
Al Harrington (8)
Ty Lawson Andre Miller (7)
Pepsi Center 19,155
15–8
24
February 4
@ Portland
L 97–117
Danilo Gallinari (20)
Kosta Koufos (12)
Ty Lawson (5)
Rose Garden 20,583
15–9
25
February 6
Houston
L 90–99
Rudy Fernández Danilo Gallinari (14)
Al Harrington (15)
Ty Lawson (7)
Pepsi Center 14,501
15–10
26
February 8
Dallas
L 95–105
Rudy Fernández Al Harrington (17)
Nenê (10)
Ty Lawson (10)
Pepsi Center 15,970
15–11
27
February 9
Golden State
L 101–109
Arron Afflalo (26)
Kenneth Faried (10)
Ty Lawson (10)
Pepsi Center 14,960
15–12
28
February 11
@ Indiana
W 113–109
Ty Lawson (27)
Kosta Koufos (7)
Andre Miller (4)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 15,313
16–12
29
February 14
Phoenix
W 109–92
Arron Afflalo (20)
Kenneth Faried Kosta Koufos (9)
Andre Miller (7)
Pepsi Center 17,873
17–12
30
February 15
@ Dallas
L 84–102
Rudy Fernández (14)
Kosta Koufos (14)
Corey Brewer Julyan Stone (4)
American Airlines Center 20,075
17–13
31
February 17
@ Memphis
L 102–103
Corey Brewer (26)
Kenneth Faried (10)
Andre Miller (9)
Pepsi Center 15,201
17–14
32
February 19
@ Oklahoma City
L 118–124 (OT)
Arron Afflalo (27)
Al Harrington (11)
Andre Miller (10)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203
17–15
33
February 20
Minnesota
W 103–101 (OT)
Al Harrington (31)
Kenneth Faried (14)
Andre Miller (12)
Pepsi Center 17,263
18–15
34
February 22
@ L. A. Clippers
L 95–103
Arron Afflalo (20)
Kenneth Faried (9)
Andre Miller (8)
Staples Center 19,163
18–16
35
February 23
San Antonio
L 99–114
Corey Brewer (23)
Jordan Hamilton Al Harrington (9)
Andre Miller Julyan Stone (12)
Pepsi Center 18,875
18–17
36
February 29
Portland
W 104–95
Ty Lawson (18)
Kosta Koufos (11)
Ty Lawson (9)
Pepsi Center 15,715
19–17 :
March: 9–7 (home: 5–4; road: 4–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
37
March 2
@ Houston
W 117–105
Ty Lawson (22)
Kenneth Faried (11)
Ty Lawson (15)
Toyota Center 16,879
20–17
38
March 4
@ San Antonio
W 99–94
Ty Lawson (22)
Ty Lawson (9)
Ty Lawson (11)
AT&T Center 18,581
21–17
39
March 5
Sacramento
W 119–116 (OT)
Arron Afflalo (32)
Kenneth Faried (12)
Ty Lawson (13)
Pepsi Center 14,823
22–17
40
March 7
Cleveland
L 99–100
Al Harrington (22)
Kenneth Faried (9)
Ty Lawson (6)
Pepsi Center 15,816
22–18
41
March 9
New Orleans
W 110–97
Arron Afflalo (28)
Al Harrington (10)
Ty Lawson (10)
Pepsi Center 19,155
23–18
42
March 11
Memphis
L 91–94
Three players (15)
Chris Andersen Nenê (9)
Andre Miller (7)
Pepsi Center 17,737
23–19
43
March 13
Atlanta
W 118–117 (OT)
Nenê (22)
Kenneth Faried (9)
Andre Miller (8)
Pepsi Center 15,594
24–19
44
March 15
Oklahoma City
L 90–103
Andre Miller (17)
Kenneth Faried (9)
Ty Lawson (5)
Pepsi Center 18,458
24–20
45
March 17
Boston
W 98–91
Danilo Gallinari (20)
Kenneth Faried (16)
Ty Lawson (10)
Pepsi Center 19,003
25–20
46
March 19
Dallas
L 95–112
Arron Afflalo (24)
Al Harrington (9)
Danilo Gallinari (7)
Pepsi Center 16,683
25–21
47
March 21
Detroit
W 116–115
Ty Lawson (25)
Wilson Chandler (10
Andre Miller (7)
Pepsi Center 16,681
26–21
48
March 23
@ Utah
L 102–121
Al Harrington (20)
Al Harrington (10)
Ty Lawson Andre Miller (6)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,250
26–22
49
March 25
@ Minnesota
L 100–117
Kenneth Faried (17)
JaVale McGee (11)
Wilson Chandler Ty Lawson (5)
Target Center 20,023
26–23
50
March 26
@ Chicago
W 108–91
Ty Lawson (27)
Ty Lawson (9)
Andre Miller (10)
United Center 22,274
27–23
51
March 28
@ Toronto
L 96–105
Ty Lawson (26)
Wilson Chandler (8)
Ty Lawson (9)
Air Canada Centre 15,867
27–24
52
March 30
@ Charlotte
W 99–88
Arron Afflalo (19)
Arron Afflalo Al Harrington (11)
Ty Lawson (10)
Time Warner Cable Arena 13,806
28–24 :
April: 10–4 (home: 5–1; road: 5–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
53
April 1
@ Orlando
W 104–101
Ty Lawson (25)
Kenneth Faried (9)
Ty Lawson (9)
Amway Center 18,846
29–24
54
April 4
@ New Orleans
L 92–94
Ty Lawson (22)
Kenneth Faried (8)
Arron Afflalo (7)
New Orleans Arena 15,020
29–25
55
April 6
Phoenix
W 105–99
Arron Afflalo (30)
Kenneth Faried Kosta Koufos (8)
Ty Lawson (8)
Pepsi Center 19,155
30–25
56
April 7
@ Golden State
L 97–112
Ty Lawson (21)
JaVale McGee Andre Miller (6)
Ty Lawson (6)
Oracle Arena 18,942
30–26
57
April 9
Golden State
W 123–84
Kenneth Faried (27)
Kenneth Faried (17)
Andre Miller (12)
Pepsi Center 15,530
31–26
58
April 11
Minnesota
W 113–107
Ty Lawson (24)
Kenneth Faried (12)
Ty Lawson (8)
Pepsi Center 15,823
32–26
59
April 13
@ L. A. Lakers
L 97–103
Andre Miller (20)
JaVale McGee (10)
Andre Miller (6)
Staples Center 18,997
32–27
60
April 15
Houston
W 101–86
Arron Afflalo Ty Lawson (20)
Kenneth Faried (11)
Andre Miller (11)
Pepsi Center 17,954
33–27
61
April 16
@ Houston
W 105–102
Arron Afflalo (26)
Al Harrington (9)
Andre Miller (13)
Toyota Center 15,988
34–27
62
April 18
L. A. Clippers
L 98–104
Ty Lawson (24)
Kosta Koufos (9)
Andre Miller (8)
Pepsi Center 17,219
34–28
63
April 21
@ Phoenix
W 118–107
Ty Lawson (29)
Kenneth Faried (14)
Ty Lawson (10)
US Airways Center 15,877
35–28
64
April 22
Orlando
W 101–74
Danilo Gallinari JaVale McGee (17)
Kenneth Faried (10)
Andre Miller (11)
Pepsi Center 19,155
36–28
65
April 25
@ Oklahoma City
W 106–101
Ty Lawson (25)
Kenneth Faried (10)
Andre Miller (6)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203
37–28
66
April 26
@ Minnesota
W 131–102
JaVale McGee (19)
Kosta Koufos (11)
Andre Miller (10)
Target Center 14,824
38–28 :
2011–12 season schedule :

## Playoffs

2012 playoff game log :
First round: 3–4 (home: 2–1; road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 29
@ L. A. Lakers
L 88–103
Danilo Gallinari (19)
Andre Miller, Kenneth Faried (8)
Andre Miller (7)
Staples Center 18,997
0–1
2
May 1
@ L. A. Lakers
L 100–104
Ty Lawson (25)
Kenneth Faried (10)
Andre Miller (8)
Staples Center 18,997
0–2
3
May 4
L. A. Lakers
W 99–84
Ty Lawson (25)
JaVale McGee (15)
Ty Lawson (7)
Pepsi Center 19,155
1–2
4
May 6
L. A. Lakers
L 88–92
Danilo Gallinari (20)
Andre Miller, Kenneth Faried (7)
Ty Lawson (6)
Pepsi Center 19,155
1–3
5
May 8
@ L. A. Lakers
W 102–99
Andre Miller (24)
JaVale McGee (14)
Ty Lawson, Andre Miller (8)
Staples Center 18,997
2–3
6
May 10
L. A. Lakers
W 113–96
Ty Lawson (32)
Kenneth Faried (11)
Arron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari (7)
Pepsi Center 19,770
3–3
7
May 12
@ L. A. Lakers
L 87–96
Al Harrington, Ty Lawson (24)
JaVale McGee (14)
Andre Miller (8)
Staples Center 18,997
3–4 :
2012 playoff schedule :

## Player statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Arron Afflalo | 62 | 62 | 33.6 | .471 | .398 | .798 | 3.2 | 2.4 | .6 | .2 | 15.2 |
| Chris Andersen | 32 | 1 | 15.2 | .546 | | .610 | 4.6 | .2 | .6 | 1.4 | 5.3 |
| Corey Brewer | 59 | 17 | 21.8 | .434 | .260 | .692 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 1.2 | .3 | 8.9 |
| DeMarre Carroll | 4 | 0 | 5.3 | 1.000 | | | .8 | .8 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Wilson Chandler | 8 | 6 | 26.9 | .392 | .250 | .833 | 5.1 | 2.1 | .8 | .8 | 9.4 |
| Kenneth Faried | 46 | 39 | 22.5 | .586 | | .665 | 7.7 | .8 | .7 | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Rudy Fernandez | 31 | 1 | 22.9 | .440 | .328 | .698 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 8.6 |
| Danilo Gallinari | 43 | 40 | 31.4 | .414 | .328 | .871 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 1.0 | .5 | 14.6 |
| Jordan Hamilton | 26 | 2 | 9.9 | .432 | .362 | .400 | 2.4 | .8 | .2 | .1 | 4.4 |
| Al Harrington | 64 | 1 | 27.5 | .446 | .333 | .676 | 6.1 | 1.4 | .9 | .2 | 14.2 |
| Nene Hilario | 28 | 27 | 29.5 | .509 | .000 | .677 | 7.4 | 2.2 | 1.3 | .9 | 13.4 |
| Kosta Koufos | 48 | 24 | 16.5 | .599 | | .600 | 5.4 | .3 | .5 | .9 | 5.5 |
| Ty Lawson | 61 | 61 | 34.8 | .488 | .365 | .824 | 3.7 | 6.6 | 1.3 | .1 | 16.4 |
| JaVale McGee | 20 | 5 | 20.6 | .612 | | .373 | 5.8 | .3 | .5 | 1.6 | 10.3 |
| Andre Miller | 66 | 7 | 27.4 | .438 | .217 | .811 | 3.3 | 6.7 | 1.0 | .1 | 9.7 |
| Timofey Mozgov | 44 | 35 | 15.6 | .526 | | .684 | 4.1 | .5 | .3 | 1.0 | 5.4 |
| Julyan Stone | 22 | 2 | 8.1 | .419 | .182 | .727 | 1.1 | 1.7 | .4 | .3 | 1.6 |
$^a$ Statistics with the Denver Nuggets.

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Arron Afflalo | 7 | 7 | 32.7 | .405 | .200 | .800 | 3.6 | 2.7 | .7 | .3 | 10.9 |
| Corey Brewer | 7 | 0 | 16.6 | .426 | .300 | .750 | 2.0 | .9 | 1.0 | .3 | 8.3 |
| Kenneth Faried | 7 | 7 | 27.4 | .533 | | .750 | 10.0 | .6 | .7 | 1.1 | 10.4 |
| Danilo Gallinari | 7 | 7 | 31.7 | .362 | .174 | .917 | 5.1 | 2.4 | .7 | .6 | 13.4 |
| Jordan Hamilton | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | .667 | | | .0 | .0 | .5 | .0 | 2.0 |
| Al Harrington | 7 | 0 | 23.3 | .320 | .286 | .667 | 4.3 | .9 | .4 | .1 | 9.7 |
| Kosta Koufos | 3 | 2 | 8.7 | .333 | | | 3.7 | .0 | .0 | .1 | .7 |
| Ty Lawson | 7 | 7 | 34.6 | .514 | .321 | .632 | 2.6 | 6.0 | 1.0 | .1 | 19.0 |
| JaVale McGee | 7 | 0 | 25.9 | .434 | | .538 | 9.6 | .7 | .7 | 3.1 | 8.6 |
| Andre Miller | 7 | 0 | 28.6 | .425 | .571 | .867 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 1.3 | .1 | 11.3 |
| Timofey Mozgov | 7 | 5 | 14.1 | .480 | | .500 | 3.3 | .4 | .3 | .9 | 4.0 |
| Julyan Stone | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | .500 | | | .5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |

## Awards

* Ty Lawson was named Western Conference Player of the Week (February 27 – March 4).
* Kenneth Faried was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

## Injuries and disciplinary actions

* Before the start of the postseason, Wilson Chandler had a labral tear in his hip and was out for the remainder of the season.
* Arron Afflalo earned a 1-game suspension for throwing an elbow at an opponent during a game against the Utah Jazz on March 23.

## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added Via draft Kenneth Faried Via free agency DeMarre Carroll (later waived) Julyan Stone (Undrafted) Via trade Corey Brewer Rudy Fernández JaVale McGee Andre Miller | Players Lost Via trade Raymond Felton Nenê Via free agency Melvin Ely Gary Forbes Kenyon Martin J. R. Smith Waived Cory Higgins Ronny Turiaf (acquired in trade) |

### Trades

| June 23, 2011 | To Denver NuggetsAndre Miller Draft rights to Jordan Hamilton (from Mavericks) | To Dallas MavericksRudy Fernández Draft rights to Petteri Koponen (from Trail Blazers)To Portland Trail BlazersRaymond Felton Draft rights to Tanguy Ngombo (from Mavericks) |
| June 23, 2011 | To Denver NuggetsDraft rights to Chukwudiebere Maduabum | To Los Angeles LakersFuture second round pick |
| December 13, 2011 | To Denver NuggetsCorey Brewer Rudy Fernández | To Dallas MavericksFuture second round pick |
| March 15, 2012 | To Denver NuggetsJaVale McGee Ronny Turiaf Future second round pick (from Clippers) | To Los Angeles ClippersNick YoungTo Washington WizardsNenê Brian Cook Conditional 2015 second round pick (from Clippers) |

### Free agents

Additions :
| Player | Date signed | Former team |
| Julyan Stone | December 9 | UTEP (undrafted rookie) |
| DeMarre Carroll | December 13 | Houston Rockets |
| Nenê | December 14 | Re-signed (later traded to Washington) |
| Arron Afflalo | December 20 | Re-signed |
| Wilson Chandler | March 18 | Re-signed |
Subtractions :
| Player | Date signed | New team |
| J. R. Smith | September 13 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls (China) (later signed with the New York Knicks) |
| Kenyon Martin | September 21 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China) (later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers) |
| Melvin Ely | December 14 | Charlotte Bobcats |
| Gary Forbes | December 14 | Toronto Raptors |
Many players signed with teams from other leagues due to the 2011 NBA lockout. FIBA allows players under NBA contracts to sign and play for teams from other leagues if the contracts have opt-out clauses that allow the players to return to the NBA if the lockout ends. The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.
Played in other leagues during lockout :
| Player | Date signed | New team | Opt-out clause |
| Timofey Mozgov | July 21 | BC Khimki (Russia) | Yes |
| Ty Lawson | August 15 | Žalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania) | Yes |
| Wilson Chandler | August 29 | Zhejiang Lions (China) | No |
| J. R. Smith | September 13 | Zhejiang Golden Bulls (China) | No |
| Danilo Gallinari | September 20 | Armani Milano (Italy) | Yes |
| Kenyon Martin | September 21 | Xinjiang Flying Tigers (China) | No |