Source: AFP,
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Argentina's Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and Gary Neal came off the bench to add 22 more as the San Antonio Spurs stretched their win streak to 10 games by beating Denver 109-103.
The Nuggets lost while playing without star playmaker Carmelo Anthony, who was absent due to a death in his family. His return timetable is uncertain. Denver's next game is on Christmas Day at Oklahoma City.
"It brings us down to earth," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Basketball isn't the most important thing."
The Spurs, who improved their NBA-best record to 25-3, are two triumphs shy of matching their longest win streak of the year. The Nuggets fell to 16-11, sixth in the Western Conference.
Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith each scored 22 points to lead Denver while Kenyon Martin made his season debut after missing 26 games after knee surgery, scoring eight points in 17 minutes.
Richard Jefferson scored 16 points for the Spurs while Brazilian rookie Tiago Splitter contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Nuggets led 89-80 entering the fourth quarter but Denver connected on only two shots in the last five and a half minutes and connected on only 17 percent of their shots in the final period.
"It was a huge fourth quarter," Ginobili said. "I'm still kind of in shock by the way we won it."
Denver missed a chance to avenge a loss last week to the Spurs in which they had appeared to win on an Anthony basket with one-third of a second to play, but the basket was waived off by officials.
Anthony, 26, is averaging 24 points and 8.3 rebounds this season but has been the subject of trade rumors for months after rejecting a three-year offer worth 65 million dollars from the Nuggets.
Matt Bonner added 13 points for San Antonio, which also had 11 points and a game-high nine assists from French guard Tony Parker and nine points and nine rebounds from Tim Duncan.
Source: AP,
DENVER —The Denver Nuggets pulled away in the final five minutes to beat the Orlando Magic, 111-94, in the NBA on Tuesday, with Carmelo Anthony scoring 35 points.
With Denver leading 92-91, Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer jump-started the Nuggets on a 19-3 run to close out the game.
Anthony hit 14 of 21 shots from the floor and pulled down 11 rebounds. Nene had 10 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who improved to an NBA-best 11-1 at home.
J.J. Redick scored a career-best 29 points for Orlando.
Source: Reuters
-- Dirk Nowitzki recorded the second triple-double of his career to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-93 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Nowitzki, who had failed to score 20 points in his last four games, made 34 with 10 rebounds and 10 assists as Dallas maintained its grip on second spot in the Western Conference.
The Nuggets (48-27) have lost five of their last six games and dropped to fifth in the West behind the Phoenix Suns. They also surrendered their lead in the Northwest division to Utah.
JR Smith had a team-high 27 for Denver but Carmelo Anthony had an off night, finishing with just 10 points.
"To me the game ball really belongs to (Shawn) Marion," Nowitzki told reporters. "He was fantastic tonight. Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league and he did a phenomenal job on him. This was definitely a fun win."
Dallas (49-25) took an eight point lead in the first quarter and cemented the win with a 10-2 run in the fourth when they built a 100-81 lead.
Nowitzki made three three-pointers and had 13 points in the fourth to put the game away. Marion chipped in 21 and Jason Terry added 15 off the bench for the Mavericks, who are 4-4 from their last eight games.
Rookie Rodrigue Beaubois had just five points, a game after exploding for 40 against Golden State.
"That Denver team has always been a thorn in our side," Terry said. "So it means something to beat them, especially given the situation (with the standings). And if you don't fight back, if you get lax at all, they will sense it and they will kill you."
Six players managed to score in double figures for Denver but the team has struggled with injuries and in the absence of head coach George Karl, who has been receiving treatment for cancer.
Nuggets big man Kenyon Martin missed his 14th straight game because of a knee injury.
Source: AP
-- Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points in his return from an ankle injury and the Denver Nuggets had their biggest win of the season, routing the Dallas Mavericks 127-91 on Tuesday night.
Anthony, the NBA's second-leading scorer, returned after missing eight consecutive games with a left ankle sprain. However, the Nuggets were without Kenyon Martin, who missed the game because of tendinitis in his left knee.
The 36-point victory margin against a Dallas team Denver eliminated in last season's semifinal round of the playoffs surpassed the Nuggets' previous high of 28 points, which they achieved twice in wins against Toronto and New Jersey in November.
Nene led Denver with 21 points, Chauncey Billups added 16 and Chris Andersen had 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. The Nuggets won at home for the 23rd time in 27 games.
Dallas, losing to Denver for the sixth time in the last seven meetings, was led by Dirk Nowitzki, who had 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting from the floor. Jason Terry had 16 points and Josh Howard 14 for Dallas.
Up by 26 at the half, the Nuggets pulled ahead 78-46, connecting on three 3s in a row, two by Arron Afflalo and the third by Anthony.
The Mavericks tried to get back in the game with a 14-5 run but Denver answered with a 7-0 burst touched off by a pair of baskets by Anthony, pulling in front 90-60 with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter and taking a 103-70 lead into the final period.
At halftime, the Nuggets led 65-39.
Dallas managed to pull to 49-35 on a three-point play by Nowitzki with 4:13 left in the second quarter but the Nuggets scored 16 of the next 20 points leading up to the break. Nene had five points in the flurry, including a three-point play in which he muscled in a layup underhanded as Kidd grabbed his arm. Billups' culminated the spree by hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the final seconds of the period.
