Melo misses 12,000th (repeatedly) in loss to Wizards
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It all started with an innocuous free throw miss in the third quarter.  Carmelo Anthony was just two points shy of 12,000 for his career, and the Nuggets were ahead by double-digits.  Melo hit his first free throw, but missed the second to leave him at 11,999 career points. The Nuggets tried to force several plays to Anthony in isolation to get him over the hump, but each try resulted in a turnover or missed shot.
Carmelo went on to miss consecutive free throws on his next trip to the free-throw line with 1:10 left in the 3rd Quarter. Â From there, the game was all downhill for Denver.
Carmelo came out with 0:28 left in the 3rd, and didn’t return until 5:35 left in the 4th.  Coach George Karl was clearly upset that his team had taken advantage of a big lead to feed the ball to a single player, and the Nuggets failed to play team ball the rest of the way.  The Nuggets’ bench, less Chris “Birdman†Anderson, paled in comparison to the Wizards’ bench, and Denver gave away every inch of their 13-point lead.
Down by two when Anthony reentered the game, the Nuggets could not keep pace with the now energized Washington Wizards.  The result was a slow widening of Washington’s lead. Carmelo saw several shots rim out, one dropping most of the way into the cylinder before swirling back out. The final score: 97-107 Wizards
In the end, Carmelo Anthony failed to record his 12,000th point, and the Nuggets failed to record their 37th win of the season. Â A win would have also bumped the Nuggets above .500 on the road this season. Â Instead, they fell to 13-14 away from Pepsi Center, where they will play the Boston Celtics in a nationally televised game Sunday afternoon.
