Carmelo Anthony was becoming a liability. Deep into the third quarter Wednesday night against New Orleans, Anthony was 3-for-17. But the Nuggets star finished the night 7-for-11, and with 38.4 seconds left he grabbed a wacky bounce off a rebound and skated down court for a layup-and-one.
The Nuggets suddenly were up 104-99 after Anthony made the free throw, clinching a hard-earned, 105-99 victory over the Hornets at the Pepsi Center.
Anthony scored a game-high 32 points and Allen Iverson contributed 11 assists in the victory for the Nuggets, who are 14-8.
It was 59-45 with 1:02 left in the first half. But when Iverson drove the lane for a layup with 9:17 left in the third quarter, the Nuggets took a 60-59 lead, their first since 4-3. The rest of the game was a scrappy defensive battle by two teams vying for respect in the Western Conference.
Knowing slippery point guard Chris Paul was coming to town, the Nuggets had spent extra time in practice working on their pick-and-roll defense. For the Nuggets on Wednesday, it was pick-and-watch. Paul and forward David West were masterful for the Hornets. Paul finished with a team-high 30 points and 12 assists.
West, Malone to Paul’s Stockton, finished with a jaw-dropping 25 points, 16 rebounds (three from tying a career high) and five assists.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
