The Denver Nuggets defeated the Sacramento Kings, 104-86, on Saturday night. Carmelo Anthony, who missed the last five games following the death of his sister, finished the night with a double-double, 16 points and 10 rebounds. However, Anthony's shooting struggles continued. At one point, he was 1-of-10 from the field, but finished 6-of-22. He also committed six turnovers.
Nene also returned to the starting lineup and finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Chauncey Billups added a solid game with a team-high 22 points in addition to four rebounds and five assists. Kenyon Martin played only 11 minutes and collected two points and five rebounds. Arron Afflalo did not score a point and was 0-for-4 from the field.
For the Kings, DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Tyreke Evans scored 12 points, made four rebounds and five assists and stole the ball four times. He also added two blocks.
The Nuggets (19-13, 14-3 home) host the Houston Rockets on Monday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. MT.
Carmelo Anthony practiced Friday with the Denver Nuggets for the first time since the passing of his sister Michelle, and is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Nuggets host the Sacramento Kings.
Melo, who missed five games while spending time with family back East, leads the Nuggets (18-13) in scoring and rebounding, but had to watch the Nuggets go 2-3 in his absence. Though they struggled at times without Melo, the Nuggets clicked as a team over their past two games, winning against the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the most recent game, Melo wasn't the only star out for the Nuggets. Kenyon Martin, Nene and Al Harrington each missed the last game of 2010 nursing a variety of ailments. Harrington has all but ruled himself out for tonight's game, while Denver expects Nene to see action. At the time of this publication, K-Mart's status is up in the air.
With Melo out Chauncey Billups took over as the team leader in points per game, averaging 25.6 over his past five games.
The young Kings are led in scoring, assists and steals by second-year pro Tyreke Evans. Rookie DeMarcus Cousins leads the team in rebounding.
The game tips tonight at the Pepsi Center at 7:00 p.m. MT and can be seen on Altitude.
