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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| MAGIC | 25 | 28 | 19 | 25 | 97 |
| NUGGETS | 25 | 25 | 35 | 30 | 115 |
Recap:
DENVER (AP) -- Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points and Chauncey Billups added 24 to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 115-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.
It was Denver's fourth win in five games, including victories over fellow division leaders Orlando and Cleveland.
Matt Barnes scored a season-high 28 points for Orlando. JJ Redick, with 13 points, and Mickael Pietrus, with 12, were the only other Magic players in double figures.
The Magic were playing without their leading scorer, Vince Carter (shoulder), for a third straight game and the second game of a back to back after winning at Sacramento the night before.
Dwight Howard, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in the win over the Kings, had 13 rebounds and three blocked shots but was held to 8 points against the Nuggets.
The rugged schedule may have caught up to the short-handed Magic in the third quarter, when the Nuggets outscored them 35-19, going from a three-point deficit at halftime to an 85-72 lead heading into the fourth.
Denver began the decisive quarter with a 12-0 run, finishing the flurry with consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony and Arron Afflalo. Rashard Lewis' 8-foot running jumper broke up the string, but Afflalo, who had 13 points, answered right away with another 3-pointer.
With 4:24 left in the period, Redick connected on a 3-pointer that cut Orlando's deficit to 72-63. From there, though, Denver extended the lead, scoring nine of the next 11 points and moving ahead by 16 when Billups connected from 3-point range with 1:57 left in the period.
By the time J.R. Smith broke free for a fastbreak dunk midway through the fourth quarter, putting Denver up 101-76, the Nuggets were coasting.
It didn't begin that way for Denver.
Anthony sparred verbally with officials and was hit with a technical after they did not call a foul when Anthony felt he was roughed up trying to drive through a double team for a layup in the waning seconds of the second quarter.
The Nuggets got the ball to Anthony for a 3-point try from the top of the key at the buzzer but it bounced off the rim and Denver trailed at the half 53-50.
NOTES: Nuggets G Ty Lawson missed his fourth game in a row with a left ankle sprain. ... Orlando fell to 9-12 in 21 games in Denver.
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GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
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Preview:
(STATS) -- With the team getting healthy and plenty of upcoming games at home, the Denver Nuggets are poised to make a push up the Western Conference standings. The Northwest Division leaders, though, realize they need to improve their defense and ball-handling if that's going to happen.
Denver continues a stretch of three straight games at the Pepsi Center Wednesday night when it faces the Southeast Division-best Orlando Magic.
Sparked by the return of Carmelo Anthony, the Nuggets (24-14), who have the league's second-best home record at 16-3, opened a stretch of six of seven games at the Pepsi Center with a 105-94 victory over Minnesota on Monday.
Anthony, who missed the previous five games due to a bruised right knee, missed four of his first five shots but scored eight points in the final 6:54 and finished with 24.
"Early in the game ... it was hard to figure what I can do and what I can't do,'' said Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer at 29.8 points per game. "I was trying to ease my way into the game.''
While Nuggets coach George Karl was pleased to have Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups on the court together for the first time since Dec. 25, Karl remains concerned with his team's poor defensive play.
Denver is averaging 105.4 points in its last 10 games, but has lost half of those contests while allowing 103.9 per game.
"My big thing is defense," Karl told the Nuggets' official Web site. "We've got to be more consistent and I'd like to see Melo take the responsibility of leading us in that area, instead of just worrying about leading us in knocking down shots. We've got to get serious about the defensive end."
Turnovers are another area of concern for Denver, which is averaging 16.6 in its last five games.
"Even though our record is good, we've got some improving to do as a team," Anthony said. "... We've got that feeling that we're on the verge of breaking out, breaking loose, getting everybody healthy, getting everybody on the same page."'
Anthony had a broken bone in his right hand and missed Orlando's last visit to the Pepsi Center on Jan. 17, when the Magic posted a 106-88 victory to snap a five-game slide in Denver.
Orlando (26-12) won for the first time in four road games Tuesday, defeating Sacramento 109-88 to begin its four-game trip. After shooting 39.6 percent during a season-high four-game skid from Jan. 2-8, the Magic are hitting 51.6 percent in back-to-back victories. Orlando hasn't won three straight since Dec. 19-23.
Dwight Howard, who had a season-high 30 points with 16 rebounds against the Kings, is averaging 19.2 and 16.8 while posting five straight double-doubles versus Denver.
"Defensively (Howard) just takes care of everything,'' point guard Jason Williams said after Howard helped Orlando outscore the Kings 33-10 in the fourth quarter. "He erases damn near every mistake the perimeter guys make.''
J.J. Redick will likely get his third straight start at shooting guard for Orlando on Wednesday with leading scorer Vince Carter expected to miss his third consecutive game with a left shoulder injury.
Redick had eight points against Sacramento, and has totaled 25 over the last two games.
Billups, who has missed eight games since Dec. 16 due to a strained left groin, is averaging 19.8 points and 6.6 assists in his last 17 games versus Orlando.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin looks to continue his solid play after just missing his fourth straight double-double Monday with eight points and a season-high 15 rebounds. Martin is averaging 15.9 points with 12.0 rebounds in his last nine games.
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Game Notes:
Jan. 13 @ Denver: Orlando is 27-14 all-time vs. Denver (18-3 at home, 9-11 on the road) during the regular season…Orlando spilt the season series with Denver 1-1 last season…The Magic have won six of the last 12 meetings and 17 of the last 23 outings overall, including 12 straight wins from Feb. 21, 1997 to Mar. 9, 2003…The streak tied Orlando’s longest all-time winning streak against any team (12 vs. Houston, Nov. 23, 1994-Feb. 16, 2001)…The Magic have won 15 of 16 at home (last loss @ Orlando: Mar. 10, 1992, 89-82) but lost five of the last six games in Denver…Jameer Nelson was drafted by Denver, then traded to Orlando on draft night (June 24, 2004)…GM Otis Smith spent time with Denver during his playing career…Assistant GM Dave Twardzik was a college scout for the Nuggets from 1997-99…For last season’s stats and Magic career numbers vs. Denver, see p. 248 of the media guide.
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. NUGGETS: 51 pts., Tracy McGrady (@ Denver, 11-14-03)
BEST ALL-TIME SCORING PERFORMANCE VS. MAGIC: 37 pts., Michael Adams (@ Denver, 3-2-91)
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