Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points in the Denver Nuggets' 106-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night. Anthony scored 22 of his 39 points in the second half, when the Nuggets combined for 55 points over the last two quarters of play. Anthony added nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. He was 10-of-24 from the field, but made all 17 of his free throws. It was an impressive all-around performance from Melo tonight.
Center Chris Andersen made his first appearance of the season with the Nuggets tonight, returning from injury. He played 18 minutes off the bench and had seven points and three rebounds. Al Harrington had the best contribution off the bench, putting up 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Point guard Ty Lawson started in place of Chauncey Billups, who was put with a wrist injury, and scored 14 points, grabbed four boards and dished out five assists. Arron Afflalo fell a rebound short of a double-double, scoring 15 points and securing nine boards. Nene added nine rebounds and six points.
Power forward Shelden Williams started the game but played only 13 minutes with the return of Andersen. His playing time will only continue to diminish when Kenyon Martin returns.
For the Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry scored 20 and 17 points, respectively. Rodney Carney and Rodney Stuckey each added 16 points off the bench.
The Denver Nuggets (8-6) play their next game against the Chicago Bulls (7-4) on Friday, Nov. 26.