Carmelo Anthony returns as Nuggets bury Mavericks
Carmelo and Billups returned, Kenyon Martin sits, and the Nuggets still roll over Dallas
Carmelo Anthony returned and the Nuggets laid waste to the Mavericks. Image via Wikipedia
With Denver rolling through top opponents in L.A. and again tonight in Dallas, one can only wonder why and how they are allowing the divisional rival Jazz to climb their way within reach of the powder blue Nuggets. For now let’s play the injury card and cut the Mile High crew some slack; they did embarrass the Lakers in L.A. and dominated at home tonight with an outstanding maximum team effort. For now Denver can no longer worry about the Jazz playing them the blues as the teams do not meet again this regular season. All Denver can do is continue to win the big games and find a way to beat the lesser competition on a more regular basis.
So, forget about those frustrating Utahnians and instead draw the focus on the dominant resurgence Denver presented tonight at the Pepsi Center. Dallas rode into town today off a high scoring victory over Golden State, and Denver was coming off a loss in Utah. In the previous meeting in December, Denver was foiled by the Mavs 104-96. Tonight the Nuggets brought the fire power to blaze the nylon in front of an eager home gathering as fans welcomed back the league star Carmelo Anthony, coming off an ankle injury that cost him four straight games.
Anthony started where he left off, scoring 19 points in 30 minutes of work, hitting 3 of his 5 shots from downtown. Chris ‘Birdman’ Anderson filled in for the injured Kenyon Martin, pounding the boards and the Dallas players inside, scoring 14 points and gathering 10 boards. And ‘The Brazilian’, Nene, had his way with Dallas, scoring 21 and spearing 8 rebounds. The starting five did their jobs to pull ahead of the Mavs, but a tip of the hat goes to the great effort from the Nuggets bench, who helped widen and maintain the lead to allow plenty of rest for the injury prone squad. The bench provided 57 points to help trample Dallas 127-91. This is the largest margin of victory (36) for Denver so far this season.
Last 5 Games: 3-2
- Sacramento: 112-109 (Win)
- Phoenix: 97-109 (Loss)
- @ L.A. Lakers: 126-113 (Win)
- @Utah: 116-106 (Loss)
- Dallas: 127-91 (Win)
Upcomng Games:
- Feruary 11th: San Antonio (Home)
- February 18th, @ Cleveland
- February 19th @ Washington
The Nuggets shouldn’t sweat Utah. I heard a quote from Carlos Boozer about the Jazz aiming for the #2 seed come playoff time. I’ve always kind of liked Boozer, so I actually felt bad for the guy. They’ll make the playoffs, but Denver is the real deal and Utah is just livin in a dream…