The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony’s right elbow was so sore, he couldn’t shoot, pass or dribble. Heck, he couldn’t even lift his toddler son, Kiyan, after the game. Good thing the Denver Nuggets have Chauncey Billups on their side now. Making up for Anthony’s absence—along with ‘Melo’s usual double-digit performance—Billups had 28 points and 10 assists to lead the Nuggets past Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets, 104-94 on Sunday night… Anthony scored just two points, halting his NBA-best streak of consecutive games in double figures at 222. That honor now goes to LeBron James, who has scored in double figures 134 straight times… Yao led Houston’s balanced production with 18 points but he was just 5-for-12 from the floor as Martin, Nene and Chris Andersen played terrific defense on the big man… Nene had 17 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who took a 48-44 halftime lead thanks to two 3-pointers from J.R. Smith in the closing minutes of the first half. Smith, who has been in and out of coach George Karl’s dog house for lapses in play and professionalism, finished with 19 points.
