Denver, CO
Short on starters, Nuggets take down Timberwolves again for 7th straight win
Two win streaks collided in the Twin Cities this weekend. Something had to give.
In the end, it was Minnesota’s four-game surge that snapped. The Nuggets were too much to overcome, even without starters Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. With a 123-112 victory on Saturday, they’ve won seven in a row, including three straight on the road.
Denver (10-2) hosts the Chicago Bulls on Monday before hitting the road again.
Without Braun and Johnson
In their first game navigating what will be at least a six-week absence for Braun, the Nuggets had to replace two starters, not one. David Adelman went with Peyton Watson and Tim Hardaway Jr., and both contributed in their own ways.
Hardaway reached 20 points for the second time this season, punctuated by a contested corner 3-pointer while falling into Minnesota’s bench as Denver pulled away in the fourth quarter. Watson had a fairly erratic night offensively, but Denver doesn’t need much from him at that end of the floor when he plays with the starters. His defensive effort will determine how he fills the Braun void, and it was largely up to standard in Minnesota.
The Nuggets started the game in their 2-3 zone defense, which was effective at forcing turnovers and above-the-break 3s early, then Watson was the primary matchup on Anthony Edwards when they played man-to-man. The star guard struggled to make shots as Denver played solid team defense against him. Watson was at the head of the snake, and behind him, his teammates tried to show Edwards a crowd.
The short-handed Nuggets played Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther to patch together a nine-man rotation. How they approach Braun’s spot in the lineup whenever Johnson returns will be fascinating. Hardaway has been stellar all season, but the starting unit might call for more of a defense-first player against opponents with an elite guard.
The Aaron Gordon factor
The Nuggets have tweaked how they prefer to use Gordon under Adelman. He’s working out of the dunker spot less often in the early part of the season. He’s handling the ball more and playing in a lot of three-man actions with Jokic and Jamal Murray (or other combinations).
Adelman staggered Gordon along with Murray on the second unit and managed to win the non-Jokic minutes by a sturdy margin. Gordon hit a pair of key shots during a fourth-quarter run, first from the midrange off the dribble, then from the 3-point line off the catch.
His defense has also been living up to his preseason promise to “turn up.” Opponents are shooting 43 for 113 (38.1%) with Gordon defending, and it’s a testament to his value that Denver’s coaching staff feels comfortable enough with him guarding Edwards to switch Gordon onto him when Watson or another primary defender gets screened.
Appointment viewing Christmas Day
This rivalry is alive and well. Even the Nuggets’ newcomers are embracing it. After Jonas Valanciunas battled Naz Reid for a feisty offensive rebound Saturday, they got in each other’s faces and Reid earned a technical foul.
In the second half, Rudy Gobert picked up a flagrant for bulldozing through a cross-screen set by Hardaway under the basket — Hardaway had words for Gobert after the foul. The Nuggets didn’t even have time to inbound the ball for the ensuing play because Gordon and Julius Randle were grappling for positioning. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the nearest official to call a rare double tech, trying to get a chippy game under control.
This was a physical, messy, awesomely competitive game that should portend more popcorn entertainment on Christmas, when the Wolves visit Ball Arena in prime time. The two franchises are fittingly trading blows in an increasingly layered rivalry. They’ve both taken a playoff series from the other. Minnesota swept the season series last year. Now, the Nuggets have already stolen both head-to-head matchups in Minneapolis this season.
Former coach Michael Malone used to be reluctant to label Nuggets vs. Timberwolves as a rivalry. But it’s abundantly clear these teams don’t like each other.
Denver, CO
Suspects sought in Denver shooting that killed teen, wounded 3 others
Denver police are searching for suspects in a Saturday night parking lot shooting that killed a 16-year-old and wounded three men, at least one of whom is not expected to survive, according to the agency.
Officers responded to the shooting in the 10100 block of East Hampden Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, near where East Hampden intersects South Galena Street, according to an alert from the Denver Police Department.
Police said a group of people had gathered in a parking lot on the edge of the city’s Kennedy neighborhood to celebrate the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro when the shooting happened.
Paramedics took one victim to a hospital, and two others were taken to the hospital in private vehicles, police said. A fourth victim, identified by police as 16-year-old William Rodriguez Salas, was dropped off near Iliff Avenue and South Havana Street, where he died from his wounds.
At least one of the three victims taken to hospitals — a 26-year-old man, a 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old man — is not expected to survive, police said Tuesday. One man was in critical condition Sunday night, one was in serious condition and one was treated for a graze wound and released.
No suspects had been identified publicly or arrested as of Tuesday afternoon.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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Denver, CO
Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines
The new year in Colorado brought new restrictions for people who vape in Denver. As of January 1, a voter-approved ban on flavored nicotine products is now in effect in Denver, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products within city limits.
Just outside the Denver border, vape shops say they’re already feeling the ripple effects.
At Tokerz Head Shop in Aurora, located about a block and a half from the Denver city line, owner Gordon McMillon says customers are beginning to trickle in from Denver.
“I was in shock it passed, to be honest,” McMillon said. “Just because of how many people vape in Denver. But we’re hoping to take care of everybody that doesn’t get their needs met over there anymore.”
One of those customers is Justin Morrison, who lives in the Denver area and vapes daily. He stopped by the Aurora shop a day after the ban went into place.
Morrison says the ban won’t stop him from vaping. It will just change where he buys his products.
“I’m going to have to come all the way to Aurora to get them,” he said. “It’s pretty inconvenient. I smoke flavored vapes every day.”
The goal of the ban, according to public health advocates, is to reduce youth vaping.
Morrison said flavored vapes helped him quit smoking cigarettes, an argument frequently raised by adult users and vape retailers who oppose flavor bans.
“It helped tremendously,” he said. “I stopped liking the flavor of cigarettes. The taste was nasty, the smell was nasty. I switched all the way over to vapes, and it helped me stop smoking cigarettes completely.”
McMillon worries bans like Denver’s could push some former smokers back to cigarettes.
“If they can’t get their vapes, some will go back to cigarettes, for sure,” he said. “I’ve asked people myself, and it’s about 50-50.”
While McMillon acknowledges it will bring more business to shops outside Denver, he says the ban wasn’t something he wanted.
“Even if it helps me over here in Aurora, I’m against it,” he said. “I feel like adults should have the rights if they want to vape or not.”
More than 500 retailers in Denver removed their flavored products. For many, they accounted for the majority of their sales. Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment says it will begin issuing fines and suspensions to retailers found selling flavored tobacco products.
Both McMillan and Morrison say they’re concerned the ban could spread to other cities. For now, Aurora vape shops remain legal alternatives for Denver customers.
Despite the added drive, Morrison says quitting isn’t on the table.
“It’s an addiction. You’re going to find a way to get it. That’s why I don’t see the point of banning it here,” Morrison said.
Denver, CO
Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy
Denver will be the site of the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy.
Funding for the project was approved by Denver voters in the Vibrant Denver Bond measure.
The vision is for the embassy to welcome Native people back home to Colorado.
On the snowy day of CBS News Colorado’s visit, Rick Williams observed the buffalo herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
“These animals are sacred to us,” said Williams, who is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “This was our economy. They provided everything we needed to live a wonderful lifestyle.”
Williams is president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy.
“‘Homeland’ is a special term for everybody, right?” Williams asked. “But for people who were alienated, for American Indians who were alienated from Colorado, they don’t have a home, they don’t have a home community that you can go to, this is it. And I think that’s sad.”
The First Creek Open Space — near 56th and Peña, near the southeast corner of the Arsenal — is owned by the City and County of Denver and is being considered for development of the embassy.
“To have a space that’s an embassy that would be government-to-government relations on neutral space,” said Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents northeast Denver District 11. “But then also supporting the community’s economic development and their cultural preservation.”
Gilmore said $20 million from the Vibrant Denver Bond will support the design and construction of the center to support Indigenous trade, arts, and education.
“That sense of connection and that sense of place and having a site is so important if you’re going to welcome people back home,” added Gilmore.
“What a great treasure for people in Colorado,” Williams said as he read the interpretive sign at the wildlife refuge.
He said the proposed location makes perfect sense: “Near the metropolitan area, but not necessarily in the metropolitan area, we would love to be near buffalo. We would love to be in an area where there’s opportunities for access to the airport.”
The Denver March Powwow could one day be held at the embassy.
Williams dreams of expanding the buffalo herd nearby and having the embassy teach future generations Indigenous skills and culture.
The concept for the embassy is one of the recommendations emerging from the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission, a group of American Indian leaders in Colorado who began to organize four years ago to study the history of Native Americans in our state.
And the work is just beginning.
“We have to think about, ‘how do we maintain sustainability and perpetuity of a facility like this?’” Williams said. “So there’s lots of issues that are going to be worked on over the next year or so.”
Williams added, “One day our dreams are going to come true, and those tribes are going to come, and we’re going to have a big celebration out here. We’re going to have a drum, and we’re going to sing honor songs, and we’re going to have just the best time ever welcoming these people back to their homeland.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s staff sent the following statement:
“We are excited about the passing of the Vibrant Denver Bond and the opportunity it creates to invest in our city’s first American Indian Cultural Embassy. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with the Indigenous community to plan and develop the future embassy, and city staff have already been invited to listen and engage with some of our local American Indian groups, like the People of the Sacred Land. We are not yet at the stage of formal plans, but we are excited to see the momentum of this project continue.”
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