HOUSTON — The second airball was so inexplicable Carmelo Anthony had to smile.
How else to describe a repetitive ordinary shot from an extraordinary player?
Anthony’s two nothing-but-air shots in the second quarter may have resulted in a smile, but there was nothing funny about Houston’s 109-81 whipping of the Nuggets on Saturday night at the Toyota Center. The game had a Boston feel to it, and there was certainly nothing humorous about that loss, a 26-point defeat on Nov. 7.
But of more immediate concern is the health of Kenyon Martin. The 6-foot-9 forward started and played 15 minutes in the first half, but never re-entered the game after halftime with a right knee strain, the same knee he had microfracture surgery on a year ago.
Martin will be re-evaluated today in Denver to determine the extent of the injury. He said he’ll probably undergo an MRI today “or in the next couple of days.”
“We’re just trying to be cautious when we’re dealing with my knees,” said Martin, who walked out of the arena with no discernable limp. “No worries yet, just trying to be cautious. I won’t be worried until I hear bad news. Right now there’s no news. They just looked at it.”
Asked what his gut feeling told him, Martin said, “Ain’t nothing wrong. But I’ve been wrong before. Hopefully, I’m right this time.”
The Nuggets were never in Saturday’s contest, with or without Martin. Houston blitzed the tired Nuggets early, racing out to a 20-6 lead and 34-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Anthony finished with 17 points on 8-of-20 shooting. The Nuggets’ star was 1-of-6 in the first quarter and 3-of-10 in the first half, including the two airballs. In the first half, the Nuggets had 14 field goals and 12 turnovers.
Meanwhile, Houston sizzled in snapping a six-game losing streak.
Tracy McGrady led the way, scoring 21 of his game-high 35 points in the first half. Yao Ming provided inside punch with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Luis Scola (five points, eight rebounds) helped the Rockets outhustle the Nuggets all night.
“They played very hungry,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “A combination of our fatigue and injuries, we never got the energy and intensity in the game that could match theirs.”
The game was the second home-road back-to-back of the week, and the Nuggets have shown the wear-and-tear in both, losing at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday and then to the Rockets by a combined 39 points.
For Houston, it was the first time this season new coach Rick Adelman truly reverted to the full offense that made his Sacramento and Portland teams so successful.
“You’ll see the Sacramento mentality with Adelman, to shoot the ball more freely early in the shot clock,” Karl said. “(Former coach Jeff) Van Gundy had a tendency of going pass, pass, pass before even looking for a shot.”
McGrady started 7-of-10, and kept hitting shots into the fourth quarter until the life in the Nuggets was taken away. “Tonight was just one of those nights where I think we came out with great intensity and most importantly we executed,” McGrady said.
Nuggets recap
What you might have missed
Allen Iverson followed referee Ron Garretson to the scorer’s table at the half, yelling at the official about calls. The Nuggets had a combined 24 turnovers and personal fouls (12 apiece) in the first half, six times more than their four assists. Mike Wilks made his first appearance in two games with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter and immediately responded with a steal.
Final thought
Kenyon Martin had been improving steadily, coming back from microfracture knee surgery last year. The Nuggets were being cautious with his comeback, but sometimes the best-laid plans go awry.
Up next
Pacers, Tuesday, 7 p.m., Pepsi Center
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
