Carmelo Anthony is on an offensive tear as of late; three of his last 4 games, he has scored at least 30 points. So it would seem that the Denver Nuggets may be depending a bit too much on Melo’s offense. Anthony and the Nuggets on Sunday to the FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN to take on the Grizzlies, which would be a test – especially to the Grizzlies. While both teams won halves of this game, it was the unusual sighting of Zach Randolph having a monster game; he scored 32 points and grabbed 24 rebounds, trumping Anthony’s 41 points and helping Memphis hold off Denver 102-96.

Denver was lethargic at the start of the game and Memphis scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 37-19 lead. The Grizzlies led by as many as 23. But Memphis was sloppy at the start of the second half, letting the Nuggets get back into the game. Denver scored the first seven points in the third, and cut the deficit to 69-60 on an Anthony dunk. Memphis still managed to carry an 80-67 lead into the fourth quarter.

Randolph’s work down the stretch allowed Memphis to weather a Denver rally that got the Nuggets within two with 3:22 left when Carmelo Anthony hit an 18-foot jumper. Randolph’s 3-pointer with 43 seconds left, only his third 3 of the season, gave Memphis a 100-91 lead. A pair of Mike Conley free throws would ice the game for Memphis.

Randolph had easily his best game this season as he scored 32 points, 24 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block while Rudy Gay added 19 with 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Marc Gasol notched a double-double as he scored 14 with 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Anthony scored a game-high 41 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal while Nene Hilario added 19 with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Memphis (12-15) plays again on Tuesday when they host the Golden State Warriors while Denver (19-9) returns home to host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.