Melo Lifts Denver Over Dallas 118-105

Posted by Jeff Sack under Main

Carmelo Anthony recorded a double-double, and scored a game high 32 points, Allen Iverson added 31 more, and Nene returned to action for the first time since surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. All that led to the Denver Nuggets defeating the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night by the score of 118-105. Denver is now just a half game out of the final seed in the NBA Western Conference playoff chase.

Dallas started out the game on fire and led for two and a half quarters, before falling behind for good. The Mavericks opened up the game by scoring 39 points in the first quarter, and led at the end of the period 39-28. Dallas stayed hot through the second quarter as they?had a 70-60 lead at the half.?When Dallas returned for the second half, it was as if they left their game back in the locker room. The Mavericks held the lead until with 5:54 left in the third, A.I. hit a 26 foot trey putting Denver up 78-77.?Dallas would trail for the?rest of the game. The Nuggets had a 94-84 lead at the end of the third quarter. Dallas never got within single digits of the Nuggets in the fourth.

Melo scored 32 points, 10 boards, 8 assists,?2 steals, in the Denver victory.? A.I. scored 31 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, Marcus Camby scored 13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block.? J.R. Smith came off the bench and scored 13 points,?5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal.

Josh Howard paced Dallas with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists. Jason?Kidd may have had his best game since being back in a?Dallas uniform as he recorded a double-double 19, points, 15 assists, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, Jerry Stackhouse scored 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal.? Jason Terry came off the bench and scored 14 points, 3 assists, 2 steals.? With the win Denver is now 44-28, the Mavericks are 45-27.

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