OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant had just made a clutch 3-pointer over Carmelo Anthony with 2.7 seconds left, putting the Oklahoma City Thunder on the verge of an unexpected victory over the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets.
Then friend Carmelo Anthony upstaged him.
Anthony took the ensuing inbounds pass from Kenyon Martin and answered with a 3-pointer of his own from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, capping a 31-point performance in the Nuggets’ 122-120 victory Friday night.
“I want to get out of town before the sheriff catches us for stealing,” Denver coach George Karl said. “He has made some big shots for us. Durant made an incredible shot and Melo made one right on top of him. Somehow that’s how the NBA works on some nights. Great players do great things.”
Denver (22-12) trailed Oklahoma City (4-30) by 14 points in the second half as the Thunder appeared set to record consecutive wins for the first time this season. But the Nuggets’ trio of Anthony, Chauncey Billups and Nene kept that from happening.
Nene had 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting and 14 rebounds, and Billups added 24 points for Denver, which was playing on the road for the eighth time in 11 games.
Meanwhile, the Thunder lost on a last-second shot for the third time this season, having fallen in similar fashion to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.
“That team is not a four-win basketball team,” Billups said.
Durant led the Thunder with 33 points, and Jeff Green had 18.
Oklahoma City shot a season-high 58.4 percent from the field and posted its highest point total of the season, but Denver answered with 54.7 percent shooting.
Anthony’s winning shot, well-guarded by Oklahoma City’s Desmond Mason, was Denver’s fifth 3-pointer of the fourth quarter.
“That was a heck of a game,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. “Carmelo hit a great, tough, competitive shot. Desmond got his hand up on the jump. It was a tough shot.
Billups’ 3-pointer with 1:45 left broke a 113-113 tie, and Oklahoma City didn’t regain the lead until Durant’s shot with 2.7 seconds left.
“I told myself I wanted the ball,” Durant said. “I wanted to hit the game-winner.”
For a few moments, it appeared he had done so. But after a Denver timeout, Anthony approached Martin, who was to inbound the basketball, and told Martin to look for him on a play designed for either Anthony or Billups.
“I knew that 2.7 seconds was a lot of time,” Anthony said. “I tried to catch it closer to the basket but I knew that I could still get to the basket in 2.7 seconds. Kevin stood there and looked at me and I had a chance to look at his feet and I just shot it.”
Oklahoma City led 74-60 after a three-point play by Robert Swift with 9:52 left in the third. Denver closed to 92-89 on Billups’ 3-pointer with 46.5 seconds left in the quarter, but the Thunder scored the next six points to rebuild their advantage.
