Chauncey Billups

Carmelo Anthony's double-double leads short-handed Nuggets past New Orleans 93-80. Carmelo Anthony figured that with Kenyon Martin out and Chris Andersen coming back from two sprained ankles, Nene would have his hands full with Emeka Okafor.

Smith's big fourth quarter keys Denver's 97-87 win over Wizards. J.R. Smith scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Denver Nuggets pull away for a 97-87 victory Tuesday night over the Washington Wizards.

Brooks' 31 points, Scola's double-double carry Rockets past Anthony, Nuggets 125-123. Aaron Brooks swished a jumper with 2.9 seconds left and scored 31 points to help the Houston Rockets rally for a 125-123 victory over Denver on Monday night, snapping the Nuggets' six-game winning streak.

Anthony scores 32 as Nuggets extend win streak to 5 with 102-95 win over Hornets. Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to five with a 102-95 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Anthony, Billups get plenty of help as Denver beats Minnesota 110-102. Chauncey Billups scored 25 points and got a huge lift from role players Chris Andersen, Nene and J.R. Smith in the Denver Nuggets' 110-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

Carmelo Anthony scores 30 points to lead Nuggets to a 118-106 win over Trail Blazers. Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points ? his third consecutive game with at least 30 points ? and the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-106 Sunday night for their third straight victory.

Carmelo Anthony scores 34 points to lead Nuggets past Pacers 122-114. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and the Denver Nuggets overcame the injury-related absences of Kenyon Martin and Ty Lawson to beat the Indiana Pacers 122-114 on Friday night.

Knicks have four 20-point scorers, hand Pistons fifth straight loss with 128-104 win. Bill Walker was one of four Knicks with 20-plus points, scoring a career-high 22 in his first career start, and New York handed the Detroit Pistons their fifth straight loss with a 128-104 victory Wednesday night.

Reserves spark turnaround from early deficit in 101-85 victory over Nuggets. Amare Stoudemire had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the reserves keyed a big second quarter for the Phoenix Suns in a 101-85 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers produced a second half comeback to beat the Denver Nuggets 95-89 Sunday, and record their first victory over their Western Conference rivals this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers erased an 11-point third-quarter deficit Sunday to beat Denver 95-89, triumphing over their NBA Western Conference rivals after falling twice to the Nuggets this season.

Lakers beat Nuggets for first time in three tries this season. Lamar Odom scored nine of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 95-89 on Sunday.

Billups has 25 points as Nuggets end 7-game skid to Pistons. Chauncey Billups scored 25 points, Carmelo Anthony added 24 and the Denver Nuggets snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Detroit Pistons with a 107-102 victory Friday night.

Billups scores 37 points, Nuggets beat Warriors without Karl. Chauncey Billups had 37 points and nine rebounds, Carmelo Anthony added 27 points and Denver beat Golden State 127-112 on Thursday night in the Nuggets' first game without coach George Karl since he revealed he has throat cancer.

League will not block Ilgauskas if he wants to return to Cleveland after buyout, source says. An official within the league told The Associated Press on Monday the NBA has not threatened to stop a potential reunion between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

JR Smith scored 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter Sunday as Denver blew a big lead but still held off the Boston Celtics 114-105 in a National Basketball Association game.

Smith's big 4th quarter helps Nuggets turn back Celtics 114-105. The Denver Nuggets are building an impressive record against the NBA's elite teams.

Nuggets114Celtics105 DENVER - As NBA teams go, the Denver Nuggets are pretty transparent. They shoot the ball a ton, therefore they score a ton, and if you somehow can match them basket for basket - keeping in mind that they may make 40 or 45 a night - so be it. So when they came out yesterday and fired shots at the Celtics in a barrage that brought to mind a flurry of Manny Pacquiao punches, there was nothing surprising about it. ``You ever been in a fight?'' Boston forward Kevin Garnett asked, starting the analogy he hoped somehow would explain Denver's offensive binge in the first quarter of the Nuggets' 114-105 victory at the Pepsi Center. ``If you can withstand the first blow - hopefully it ain't a Kimbo Slice blow - you withstand it, you take it, and you keep throwing punches and hopefully something will happen.'' From their length-of-the-court passes to their highlight-reel dunks, to their 16 makes in 22 shot attempts, the Nuggets' 37-point first quarter was the equivalent of Sl

CELTICS NOTEBOOK DENVER - The effects of the ``slight'' sprain Paul Pierce suffered to his right thumb in Thursday night's win in Los Angeles against the Lakers could be seen yesterday in the Celtics' 114-105 loss to the Nuggets. It was the second game Pierce played with the injury, and it affected the way he caught the ball, gripped it, dribbled it, and passed and shot it. ``That's everything you do with a basketball,'' Pierce said, running down the checklist. Pierce was 2 for 10 against Denver, making his biggest contributions on defense, blocking four shots. But he said the nagging injury to his shooting hand has limited him. ``It's sore right now,'' Pierce said. ``It's affecting my shot a lot. Right now, I'm not really looking to be aggressive with it. I'm just trying to do the other little things to help this ball club and hopefully in the next few days it'll get better.'' Pierce already has missed seven games this season with knee and foot problems, and coach Doc Rivers said he's

Al Thornton has 21 points in Wizards debut to lead Washington to 107-97 win over Denver. Al Thornton scored 21 points in his Washington debut and Josh Howard added 20 to lead the Wizards to a 107-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.