Clearly slacking, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony scored only 14 points in Saturday’s third quarter.
“I was slipping,” Anthony said, flashing his famous smile. “I’m falling off, man.”
The Nuggets dominated Golden State, 123-105, and one game after his 33-point third quarter tied a league record for points in a quarter, Anthony again had a stellar third stanza.
In those 12 minutes, he tallied 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. And by the fourth quarter, Anthony and most of the starters lounged on the bench.
The Nuggets (16-7) breezed by the depleted and defeated Warriors, and thus Denver remained in first place in the airtight Northwest Division. The Nuggets shot 53.2 percent from the field and dished out 36 assists, 11 by Chauncey Billups, who had just two turnovers.
And Anthony, who has been playing with an injured shooting elbow, followed his 45-point performance with 27 against Golden State, complemented by nine rebounds and six assists in just 30 minutes.
“It just doesn’t seem to be as many forced plays,” Nuggets coach George Karl said of Anthony’s offense. “And I think he’s maturing to the process that winning is more fun than scoring.”
The Warriors, however, are not good. They are 7-17, and they played Saturday without Corey Maggette (hamstring) and Monte Ellis (ankle), who has been out all season. Though, before the game, Karl curiously said, “This kid from Notre Dame, I’m scared to death of him.”
It turned out, Karl was referring to Rob Kurz, who, apparently, is in the NBA. And sure enough, the Notre Dame product scored 15 points in the first half, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds.
Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin returned to the lineup after missing two games with a sprained left wrist, and he played Saturday like he was making up for lost time.
Martin played passionate defense and contributed consistently on offense, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in 25 minutes. On one possession in the final minute of the first half, Martin grabbed two offensive rebounds, scoring shortly after the second.
He also scared the heck out of everyone.
In the second quarter, Martin leapt for a dunk over C.J. Watson, but Martin crashed into him in midair and fell to the ground, making a thunderous thud. But Martin hopped to his feet about a minute later and was back to banging in the low post by the third quarter.
The Nuggets are 15-4 with Billups in the lineup, which is a sunny stat, for sure. But now Denver embarks on an unenviable stretch — at Dallas on Monday, at Houston on Tuesday, home against Cleveland on Friday, at Phoenix on Saturday. And then a back-to-back, home-and-home against division-rival Portland on Dec. 22 at the Pepsi Center and Dec. 23 at the Rose Garden.
It’s pretty obvious what’s on the Nuggets’ holiday wish list.
“As I told the team, the next six games are probably the hardest six games we play all year,” Karl said. “We put ourselves in a position to be tested and to evaluate how we’re going to do against some of the big boys of the league.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin played smart defense against Stephen Jackson, who finished with four points in 31 minutes, shooting 1-for-13 from the field. . . . Nuggets reserve Chris Andersen had four blocked shots and five rebounds in nine minutes. “We seem to always have a lot of good defensive plays when Chris is on the floor,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
Final thought
The Nuggets are off to their best start in franchise history, and it’s because of their dedication to defense and ability to share the basketball on offense.
Up next
Monday at Dallas, 6:30 p.m.
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
