Nuggets 117, Knicks 94: Wilson Chandler scored 24 points as Denver extended its winning streak to a season-high 10 games and made it a nightmarish return to the Mile High City for Carmelo Anthony.
Danilo Gallinari added 16 points and Andre Iguodala scored 14 to power the Nuggets to their 14th consecutive victory at the Pepsi Center and give them a Western Conference-best 29-3 record at home.
Anthony, who was shipped to New York by Denver in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline in February 2011, was booed lustily each time he touched the ball. He scored nine points on 3-of-12 shooting before exiting with 9:45 in the third quarter due to a sore right knee. Iman Shumpert paced the Knicks with 20 points.
Chandler, who along with Gallinari was acquired in the Anthony trade, sparked the game-breaking run in the second quarter, scoring nine points in a 17-0 spurt as the Nuggets stormed ahead by 20 points en route to taking a 64-42 lead into the break.
Any notion of a Knicks' comeback was doused quickly when Iguodala and Ty Lawson buried back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead to 70-44, prompting a timeout by New York and Anthony's exodus to the locker room. It was the second straight blowout loss for the Knicks, who fell by 29 points at Golden State on Monday.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Knicks C Tyson Chandler escaped what appeared to be a serious injury when he bumped into Corey Brewer late in the first half and fell to the floor clutching his left knee and writhing in pain. He was diagnosed with a knee contusion and did not return. ... Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kosta Koufos grabbed 10 boards as the Nuggets mauled New York on the backboards 53-33 while improving to 20-4 in their last 24 games. ... Denver led by as many as 34 points in the third quarter on its way to scoring 100 points for the 24th time in 25 games.
New York | Denver | |
Iman Shumpert 20 | Scoring | Wilson Chandler 24 |
JR Smith 8 | Assists | Ty Lawson 7 |
Chris Copeland 6 | Rebounds | Kenneth Faried 10 |
Chris Copeland 5 | Free Throws Made | Danilo Gallinari 7 |
Raymond Felton 3 | Steals | Danilo Gallinari 3 |
Kenyon Martin 4 | Blocks | Kenneth Faried 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New York | 94 | 43.0 | 11-28 | 15-22 | 22 | 33 | 9 | 7 | 19 |
Denver | 117 | 48.8 | 9-21 | 26-37 | 22 | 53 | 8 | 11 | 15 |