PHILADELPHIA — For a half, the Nuggets looked to still be on the beach, back with the family or at the All-Star Game. Which is to say, anywhere but the Wachovia Center.
But the rusty Nuggets found their groove Wednesday night in the second half. Behind Carmelo Anthony’s ninth double-double of the season and a monster third quarter from Chauncey Billups, the Nuggets overwhelmed the 76ers 101-89. The win was their fifth in six games on the current eight-game road trip.
“We were flat,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “We haven’t played in a while and brought some bad habits back on the court in the first half. I thought it was a pretty courageous win here in the second half.”
The Sixers’ problem holding as much as a 16-point lead was twofold. In the first half, when the Nuggets could do little right, Philadelphia never got out to a sizable enough advantage to make a comeback difficult. Second, the Nuggets started the second half blistering hot and, led by Billups, assumed control of the game.
Billups scored 17 points in the third, and the Nuggets blitzed the 76ers — winners of 14-of-19 coming in — with a 24-4 run that took a 47-37 halftime deficit and turned it into a 61-51 lead. Denver shot 54 percent in the quarter and scored 34 points.
“He’s pretty special,” Karl said of Billups. “He takes a higher responsibility to win the game.”
It didn’t help Philadelphia that point guard Andre Miller, who had 15 points and six assists in the first half, left the game in the third quarter with a right calf strain. Andre Iguodala, the other player Karl wanted to keep under control, fouled out with five minutes left in the fourth quarter after scoring 10 points on 1-of-6 shooting.
For the Nuggets, Anthony flourished again, scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. He didn’t shoot particularly well from the field overall (10-of-24), but was a solid 7-of-12 in the second half. It was revealed afterward that he played with a left knee contusion after a second- quarter collision. X-rays after the game came back negative, and Anthony insisted, “I’m good,” for Friday’s game at Chicago.
Evidence of a six-day vacation was obvious as the Nuggets started sloppy. They allowed the 76ers to get out to a 21-7 lead. Missed shots and turnovers piled up for Denver as it shot 36.8 percent in the first half and had nearly as many turnovers (11) as field goals (14).
“That probably had a little something to do with it, but I tell you, I was surprised,” Billups said of the layoff influencing the Nuggets’ start. “We had an awesome practice (Tuesday), a great, great practice. So I thought that we would come out and be ready to go.”
The Nuggets have now won 10 of their last 12 games, six of eight on the road.
“Guys did a good job of not getting frustrated and just going with what we know,” forward Kenyon Martin said. “And that’s just play basketball.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Carmelo Anthony’s technical foul in the first quarter was his seventh of the season. Coach George Karl’s technical was his 10th of 2008-09. . . . Former Nuggets coach Doug Moe, who is also a former Sixers coach (for 56 games in 1992-93), was in attendance.
Final thought
The Nuggets are proving to be a team that can win in many ways, and that will serve them well the rest of the season.
Up next
Friday at Chicago, 6:30 p.m.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
