The Denver Nuggets are off to their best start since the 1976-77 season, their first year in the NBA; that shouldn’t be surprising considering that they were just a decent team until they acquired Chauncey Billups from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Allen Iverson.  At this juncture of the season, I would venture to say that the Nuggets have gotten the better end of the deal.  All of that aside, they had a game to play on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers at Pepsi Center. 

The Nuggets must have thought that they were the 1976-77 ABA version as they shot 58.1% from the floor, outrebounded Indiana 49-36, dished out 38 assists and made 10 three-pointers; all of that culminated in a bittersweet victory for Denver over Indiana 135-115.  Bittersweet in the sense that while they did win, they also lost Carmelo Anthony for an undetermined length of time due to a badly injured hand; Anthony is due to see a hand specialist on Tuesday to determine the extent of his injury.

The first half was for all and intents a track meet as Denver outscored Indiana 40-28 in the first quarter while the Pacers outscored the Nuggets 42-34 yet Denver held onto a four-point lead going into the third quarter.  The Pacers tied it at 80 on a Danny Granger layup, but Anthony would give the Nuggets the lead for good with a jumper – further pouring it on by outscoring Indiana 38-23 in the final quarter.

Denver’s high scorer was Kenyon Martin with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocked shots while Chauncey Billups added 24 (including 4 three-pointers) with 4 rebounds, 11 assists and a steal; Anthony, prior to leaving the game with his injured hand, scored 21 with 6 rebounds, 9 assists and a blocked shot while Nene chipped in 18 with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 3 blocked shots.

Indiana was led by Danny Granger with another decent effort, scoring 36 points (including 4 treys), 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Jarrett Jack added 17 with 2 rebounds and 7 assists; Stephen Graham – from off the bench – pitched in, scoring 16 with 5 rebounds and 2 assists while Troy Murphy added 15 with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot.  Denver (24-12) plays again on Wednesday as they continue their long homestand, hosting the Miami Heat while Indiana (12-22) goes further west on their road trip when they visit the Phoenix Suns – also on Wednesday.