NBA-Struggling Nuggets fire head coach Shaw

March 3 (Reuters) - The free-falling Denver Nuggets fired head coach Brian Shaw on Tuesday, replacing him for the rest of the season with his assistant coach Melvin Hunt. The Nuggets have slumped to a 20-39 record this season, losing their last six games and 19 of their past 21. "I want to sincerely thank Brian for his time with our organization," Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said in a statement. "You won't find a better guy than Brian and he is one of the brightest basketball minds I've ever been around. "Unfortunately things didn't go as we hoped, but we know with his basketball acumen that he has a very bright future ahead of him." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)