Carmelo Anthony couldn’t even get out of bed.
“I’ve felt no energy at all,” he said Wednesday morning after making his way to the Pepsi Center, where he received IV fluids for hydration.
But by Wednesday night, Melo was back to being Melo, shooting 8-for-11 in the first half alone during Denver’s 119-90 rout of the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, which was playing the second game of a back-to-back.
The all-star Anthony had struggled during Denver’s four-games-in-five-days stretch, scoring just seven field goals in the last two games (both losses).
“My body has started shutting down on me that last week,” he said. “It’s fatigue and having no energy — trying to find energy.”
But he found it by nightfall, hitting five of his first seven shots, spearheading the victory for the Nuggets (40-21) over the Thunder (36-24).
The Nuggets’ defense was stifling, holding the Thunder to just 34 percent shooting from the field. Entering Thursday, the lowest a Nuggets opponent had shot was Portland’s 34.6 percent Oct. 29.
Nuggets defenders rattled the sluggish Kevin Durant for much of the night, and the NBA’s No. 2 scorer tallied just 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Russell Westbrook had 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
Another ailing Nugget, Chris Andersen, battled lingering knee pain to play valiantly, scoring 13 points with eight rebounds.
