Carmelo Anthony looked more rusty after missing one game than sitting out 15.

In his return from a one-game absence due to the birth of his first child, Anthony shot a meager 6-of-21 and committed seven turnovers Friday night at the Pepsi Center. After the Nuggets lost 95-82 to Detroit, he offered a serious critique of himself.

"The second half, man, I just played terrible," said Anthony, who scored only one of his 17 points after intermission while shooting 0-of-6. "If I was a coach, I'd have sat me down in the second half, the way I was playing."

Anthony shot 10-of-25 when he returned Jan. 22 after missing 15 games due to a suspension. Then again, he was playing Memphis, not the defensive-savvy Pistons.

The Pistons (38-22), who got a game-most 20 points from Chris Webber, shot only 42.7 percent. But they held the Nuggets (29- 31) to 37.7 percent.

Late in the game, according to Anthony, a fan behind Denver's bench created a commotion.

"One of the guys in the stands said something like, 'Melo, you suck,' Or something like that. 'Why you here in Denver' or something like that," Anthony said. "I understand from a fans' standpoint that they want their team to win. But when you go overboard like that, it's uncalled for. If we retaliate, then we're the bad people. . . . I tried to keep my mouth shut."

Anthony wouldn't use the distraction of the birth as an excuse. He said his play has been erratic of late.

"I don't know what it is," he said. "In the last couple of games, I haven't really been feeling like myself out there. When you know you can do so much out there and you're not living up to that, it feels like a failure in my eyes. But I know what I have to do. I know I've been in a situation like this where I can come back and keep fighting."

The Nuggets tried to fight back after falling behind by 17 points in the third quarter. They cut the deficit to 80-74 on a three-pointer by Linas Kleiza with 6:56 left before the Pistons went on a 10-2 run to put away the game.

"We're not in an easy place, but we've lost to good teams," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

"We haven't played well enough to get a lot of confidence (against) good teams. We still have an opportunity to turn the corner."

But the Nuggets, with 14 of their final 22 games on the road, are running out of time.

"We're not playing well," said guard Allen Iverson, who shot 5-of-13 for 19 points. "It's definitely a concern."

Denver native Chauncey Billups is concerned about his recent shooting slump. The Pistons guard shot only 6-of-17 for 16 points but threw down a rare dunk on a fast break.

"I've been struggling so bad, I had to do something that I haven't done," Billups said. "I dunked one. I missed a million jumpers."

So did the Nuggets, who shot 1-of-13 from three-point range in the first three quarters before going 5-of-6 in the fourth.

Karl said the Nuggets are getting open looks but miss the outside shooting of J.R. Smith, out for the sixth time in seven games following left knee surgery.

Forward Eduardo Najera, who had been listed as doubtful, did play. He scored 11 points despite a bone bruise on his left knee.

"(It was) thought giving me some rest would help," said Najera, who asked about getting a shot, but was told it wouldn't help. "But I can play with soreness."

Nevertheless, Najera somehow shot 5-of-6 on a night in which few Denver players, namely Anthony, could make a shot.

ETC.: Pistons guard Flip Murray, who said he almost signed with Denver in 2005, doesn't anticipate invoking a player option this summer and becoming a free agent. "I don't plan on opting out," he said. As a restricted free agent in 2005, Murray said he "almost got a chance" to sign with the Nuggets, but "they went a different route when they (signed) Earl Watson." . . . Smith won't travel Sunday to Sacramento. He and Karl are both hopeful he will play either Thursday against the Lakers or Saturday against Phoenix . . . Nuggets assistant Doug Moe returned after missing Wednesday's game due to illness.

		FG	FT	Reb
DETROIT	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Prince	38:31	4-10	0-0	0-5	2	2	9
Wallace	33:55	4-13	6-7	0-10	5	3	17
Webber	31:00	9-11	2-4	4-9	3	2	20
Hamilton	42:03	5-17	4-4	2-5	6	4	14
Billups	36:55	6-17	4-5	0-1	3	5	16
McDyess	24:01	2-5	0-0	2-10	4	3	4
Maxiell	7:04	2-2	1-2	1-2	0	2	5
Delfino	14:07	2-4	0-0	0-1	2	1	5
Murray	12:24	1-3	2-2	0-0	1	1	5
Totals	240	35-82	19-24	9-43	26	23	95

Percentages - FG .427, FT .792. Three-point goals - 6-17, .353 (Wallace 3-6, Delfino 1-1, Prince 1-2, Murray 1-2, Webber 0-1, Billups 0-5). Team rebounds - 10. Team turnovers - 13 (16 pts.). Blocked shots - 4 (McDyess, Wallace, Murray, Webber). Turnovers - 13 (Hamilton 6, McDyess 2, Wallace 2, Billups, Murray, Webber). Steals - 9 (Wallace 4, Prince 2, Webber 2, Billups). Technicals - Wallace, 4:56 second; Hamilton, 9:11 third.

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	38:49	6-21	5-6	1-7	2	5	17
Nene	29:36	3-4	1-2	4-7	1	3	7
Camby	30:19	3-8	0-0	2-13	3	2	6
DJohnson	10:18	0-2	0-0	0-1	0	0	0
Iverson	42:49	5-13	8-13	0-2	4	1	19
Blake	33:45	3-10	1-3	0-1	6	2	8
Najera	21:51	5-6	1-1	0-3	1	2	11
Evans	8:12	0-0	0-0	1-1	0	2	0
Kleiza	24:22	4-13	2-2	2-9	1	4	14
Totals	240:01	29-77	18-27	10-44	18	21	82

Percentages - FG .377, FT .667. Three-point goals - 6-19, .316 (Kleiza 4-8, Iverson 1-4, Blake 1-4, D.Johnson 0-1, Anthony 0-2). Team rebounds - 12. Team turnovers - 19 (16 pts.). Blocked shots - 5 (Camby 3, Anthony, Iverson). Turnovers - 19 (Anthony 7, Blake 3, Nene 3, Camby 2, Iverson 2, Kleiza, Najera). Steals - 7 (Najera 2, Iverson 2, Camby, Blake, Nene). Technicals - Defensive Three Second, 2:54 first; Defensive Three Second, 10:39 second; Defensive Three Second, 5:24 second.

Detroit ......27	20	27	21	-	95
Denver ......23	24	15	20	-	82

A - 19,790 (19,099). T - 2:16. Officials - Bob Delaney, Kevin Fehr, Rodney Mott.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com Pistons 95, Nuggets 82

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