The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and set a season-high with nine assists despite injuring his hand in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets’ 135-115 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night… Kenyon Martin finished with 25 points, the fourth time this season he’s led the team in scoring. Danny Granger had 36 points, the most scored against the Nuggets this season. He’s now scored 30 or more points 10 times this season… Troy Murphy added 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Jarrett Jack contributed 17.
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Carmelo Anthony breaks hand
Postgame x-rays revealed that Nuggets F Carmelo Anthony suffered a probable nondisplaced 3rd metacarpal fracture on his right hand in the third quarter of tonight’s win over Indiana.
Anthony will see a hand specialist tomorrow and his status will be determined afterwards.
UPDATE: On Tuesday afternoon it was determined he’ll be out 3-4 weeks. More info here.
Nuggets trade Cheikh Samb to Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired center Cheikh Samb and cash considerations from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for a future conditional second draft pick.
A 7-foot-1-inch center from Senegal, Samb has played in six games with the Nuggets this season, averaging 0.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 4.0 minutes. Samb came to Denver on Nov. 3 along with Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess in exchange for Allen Iverson. Samb was assigned to the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League on Dec. 10 and has averaged 12.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in 10 games with the 14ers.
Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 51st overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft, Samb, was traded to Detroit and started his career with the Pistons, appearing in four games and averaging 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game in 2007-08 while also playing in 19 games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League.
Samb, 24, also played professionally in Spain before coming to the NBA, appearing for WTC Cornella and Winterthur F.C. Barcelona.
Nuggets blow lead, recover to beat Hornets 105-100
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points, including a layup with 56.5 seconds left, and the Denver Nuggets blew a 26-point third quarter lead before recovering to beat the New Orleans Hornets 105-100 on Saturday night. J.R. Smith scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Denver. Chris Paul had 30 points and 11 assists, and David West had 21 points for the Hornets, who had their four-game winning streak snapped… The Hornets played without center Tyson Chandler, suspended for one game for an altercation with Portland’s Joel Pryzbilla on Friday night. Hilton Armstrong started in place of Chandler and had 17 points.
Nene, Anthony lead Nuggets over Raptors 114-107
The AP reports: Nene scored 21 points, Carmelo Anthony added 20 and the Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 114-107 on Wednesday night. Chauncey Billups scored 18 points and J.R. Smith had 16 for Denver, with Kenyon Martin adding 15 points and reserves Linas Kleiza and Chris Andersen each scoring 10. Denver coach George Karl earned his 900th career regular-season victory. He is 10th on the career list. Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points and Chris Bosh added 24 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Raptors, who have lost 13 of 17. Jose Calderon had 18 points and 11 assists for Toronto, with Anthony Parker scoring 12 points, Will Solomon 11 and Jamario Moon 10.
Johnson’s 25 points lift Hawks past Denver, 109-91
The AP reports: Joe Johnson scored 25 points and the Hawks beat the Denver Nuggets 109-91 on Monday night to close out the homestand with a long-awaited milestone. The Hawks (20-10) reached 20 wins before New Year’s Day for the first time since the 1987-88 season, when second-year center Al Horford was 1… The Hawks, bolstered by their strong start, are shooting for their first 50-win season since 1997-98… The Hawks made 12 of 23 3-point attempts, including 5-of-6 by Mike Bibby, who had 20 points and nine assists… Carmelo Anthony, who scored 32 points in the Nuggets’ 117-110 victory at the New York Knicks on Sunday, had only half that total with 16 points on 4-for-17 shooting from the field.
Anthony scores 32 in return, Nuggets beat Knicks 117-110
The AP reports: Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points after missing three games with a bruised right elbow, and the Denver Nuggets sent the Knicks to their sixth straight loss with a 117-110 victory Sunday… J.R. Smith added 16 points and Billups 14 for the Nuggets, who shot 57 percent from the field in the opener of a four-game road trip. Nate Robinson scored 20 points on just 5-of-17 shooting and David Lee had 19 for the Knicks, who have yielded an average of 115.5 points during their skid. They came in allowing teams to shoot 48.3 percent, highest in the NBA, and even Mike D’Antoni’s high-scoring offense can’t overcome that… Chris Duhon had 17 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, while Wilson Chandler also scored 17 points but shot only 6-of-19.
Dec 26: Nuggets 105, Sixers 101
The AP reports: The Denver Nuggets played most of the game disinterested in anyone or anything that wasn’t standing within a step of the 3-point line. Odd, then, that they won it with a backboard-shaking dunk from a big guy, Kenyon Martin, who spent most of Friday night acting as though he was one of Denver’s many shooting guards. Martin took a bounce pass from Chauncey Billups and drove for the go-ahead dunk with 9 seconds left to lift the Nuggets to a 105-101 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers… J.R. Smith made seven 3s for the Nuggets and finished with a team-high 27 points. Billups had 26 points and 10 assists… Andre Miller, used as trade fodder two seasons ago when the Nuggets dealt for Allen Iverson, had 19 points and eight assists for the Sixers… Louis Williams finished with 16 points, and his nice alley-oop to Marreese Speights gave Philly a 101-100 lead with 17.7 seconds to set the stage for Martin.
Nene feeling grind of season
The Denver Post (Chris Dempsey) reports: Nene just can’t seem to feel 100 percent. He swears he has been fighting a cold for the past couple of weeks. “After the cancer, I don’t know,” Nene said. “I’m hard to get sick, you know? But now I get sick all the time.” That’s not all. Nene will play his 30th game tonight, which is nearly double last season’s workload. While he’s held up just fine, there is a wear-and tear factor that warrants keeping an eye on the 6-foot-10 Brazilian as the season progresses. Nene acknowledges the difficulty of his nightly tasks and says he is doing all he can to stay healthy and in game shape. One of those things is letting the coaches know when he needs a breather. He has signaled the bench more often of late to remove himself from games to grab rest. When he has been on the court, his level of exhaustion is obvious. On his way back down the defensive end of the court, he walks the first few steps, gradually trots and then runs.
Chris Andersen block party
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: Denver Nuggets reserve big man Chris Andersen ranks third in the NBA in blocked shots, but that’s just a start. He has an overwhelming NBA lead in blocks per minute. Andersen is averaging 2.3 blocks, putting him behind Orlando’s Dwight Howard (3.65) and the Clippers’ Marcus Camby (2.83). But Andersen is averaging 6.36 blocks per 48 minutes, well ahead of second-place Howard’s 4.84. “I’ve always been a real good shot blocker,” said Andersen, thanking coach George Karl for having the “confidence” in him to “roam on defense a little bit.”