Slam Dunk Central

Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony has proven to be clutch when the situation warrants it; Wednesday night proved to be one of those nights as he connected on a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, leading the Nuggets past the New Orleans Hornets 105-99 at Denver. The stats between both clubs were eerily similar: Denver had 43 rebounds, New Orleans 41; both teams had 25 assists; probably what did the Hornets in were the 28 personal fouls, which led to Denver getting many more free throw opportunities than New Orleans (27 attempts for Denver vs. 15 for New Orleans). The Hornets, to make things worse, were without forwards Morris Peterson and Peja Stojakovic for the game, due to injury.

Denver trailed New Orleans 59-45 with 41.9 seconds left in the first half before surging; Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera hit a jumper and a dunk by Anthony with 35.9 left in the half started a 15-0 Denver run that would finally end at 9:17 left in the 3rd period. New Orleans’ Rasual Butler ended their run with a layup and forward David West scored 6 straight points to give New Orleans a 71-62 lead with 6:34 left in the 3rd.

Nuggets guard Anthony Carter kept Denver in the game with 9 points in the third quarter, reducing the Hornets lead going into the fourth quarter 81-77. Denver trailed 86-80 when Allen Iverson made a 3-point play and both Anthony and Najera made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Nuggets an 89-86 lead. Anthony made 2 free throws to give Denver the lead 93-92, then he hit 3 straight baskets to make it 99-96.

The Hornets’ Chris Paul would make a 3 to tie the game at 99, but Denver’s Marcus Camby’s tip-in with 1:33 left in the game made it 101-99; Anthony would then make a layup and a free throw to seal the victory for Denver. Denver’s high scorer was Anthony with 32 points and 10 rebounds; Iverson added 22 with 11 assists while Camby recorded a double-double with 14 along with 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

New Orleans was led by Paul with a solid effort with 30 points, 4 rebounds and 12 assists; West had a very good game, as well, scoring 25 with 16 boards and 5 assists. Butler chipped in with 18 points in a losing effort. Denver (14-8) travels to San Antonio to take on the Spurs Saturday, while New Orleans (14-8) goes to Texas, as well, to take on the Dallas Mavericks Friday.