Kobe is creeping. But Melo is staying, well, mellow.

Through Jan. 26, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony looked to be running away with the NBA scoring race. He was averaging 31.8 points, giving him a 2.2 cushion over Washington's Gilbert Arenas, averaging 29.6.

But Anthony, scoring less while paired with Allen Iverson and mired in a recent slump, has come back to the pack. His average has fallen to 29.9, giving him only 0.7 of a point lead over the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, averaging 29.2.

"I'm not worrying about that," Anthony said. "It would mean a lot (winning the scoring title). First time. Just another individual achievement I could put under my belt. But winning that and not making the playoffs, I'd rather make the playoffs."

If Anthony, who has averaged 26.4 in nine games since the All-Star break, needs advice on battling for a scoring crown, he doesn't have to look far. Iverson, acquired Dec. 19, won four with Philadelphia, and assistant coach Adrian Dantley won two with Utah.

Iverson has talked with Anthony, whose average dropped below 30 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 13, about how to handle the race. He's told him "don't worry" about Bryant getting closer.

"Because that's going to make it that much harder on him if he's thinking about that," Iverson said. "If you're scoring at a rate he's doing, you're doing it to help your team. You're not doing it to get an award."

Iverson topped the NBA in 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2004-05, but only one went down to the wire. That was his first title, when he averaged 26.8 to 26.3 for the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal, the last time a scoring chase has been decided by less than one point.

"In the last game of the season, Shaq needed 40 points," Iverson said of O'Neal, who scored 18. "I remember looking at it."

Still, Iverson said Anthony "can't concern" himself with the race. Dantley, who won titles in 1980-81 and 1983-84 by more than one point but lost the 1985-86 race to Atlanta's Dominique Wilkins by 0.5 of a point, hopes it won't be a distraction.

"The only way it plays on the mind is if guys like you (the media) ask about it," Dantley said.

If the race is close down the stretch, that's certain to happen. The Nuggets have had only one scoring champion in their previous 30 NBA seasons, Alex English in 1982-83.

Anthony also is challenging English's NBA team record average of 29.8, set in 1985-86. And he could top the team's overall record of 30.0, set in the ABA by Spencer Haywood in 1969-70.

Nuggets coach George Karl said the scoring chase "means nothing to me." But he did say "if everything is settled" in the playoff race by the season's final day, he "might" be conscious of helping Anthony secure the crown.

Nuggets fans haven't forgotten what happened on the last day in 1977-78. Denver's David Thompson scored 73 points in the afternoon, but San Antonio's George Gervin got 63 at night to win the closest race, 27.21 to 27.15.

Bryant will have the last crack when the season ends April 18. The Nuggets play a 6 p.m. MDT game at San Antonio, while the Lakers start two hours later at Sacramento.

"We have talked," Anthony said of his conversation with Iverson about the scoring chase. "I know what I can do. I know I can go out there and score the ball at will whenever I want. But that's not something I worry about when I'm out there on the court."

Anthony, who needs 56 points to reach 1,400 needed to qualify, hasn't been scoring at will of late. But he hopes a recent slump is behind him.

After shooting 37-of-100 in 4 1/2 games, Anthony was 7-of-10 in the second half Sunday at Sacramento. He finished with 29 points in a 113-101 win.

"Everybody goes through it," Anthony said of slumps. "But, hopefully, that game (Sunday) was the beginning for me."

Perhaps it also will be one that leads to putting an end to any drama surrounding the scoring race.

Back to the pack

• Though Jan. 26, Carmelo Anthony had his biggest lead in the NBA scoring race. What has happened before and since then among the current top four scorers:

Avg. through Avg. after Current Player Team Jan. 26 Jan. 26 average

Carmelo Anthony Nuggets 31.8 27.4 29.9

Kobe Bryant Lakers 28.4 30.8 29.2

*Dwyane Wade Heat 28.5 29.7 28.8

Gilbert Arenas Wizards 29.6 27.0 28.7* Wade Is Out Because Of A Shoulder Injury And Won'T Qualify For The Scoring Title Unless He Scores 76 More Points This Season.

Trail Blazers at Nuggets

• When: 7 tonight.

• Where: Pepsi Center.

• TV/radio: Altitude; KKFN-AM (950).

• Starting lineups

Portland (26-36) Pos. Ht. Pts.

5 Ime Udoka F 6-8 8.9

50 Zach Randolph F 6-9 23.5

12 LaMarcus Aldridge C 6-11 7.7

7 Brandon Roy G 6-6 15.9

1 Jarrett Jack G 6-3 12.5

Coach: Nate McMillan

Denver (30-31) Pos. Ht. Pts.

15 Carmelo Anthony F 6-8 29.9

31 Nene F 6-11 11.1

23 Marcus Camby C 6-11 11.2

3 Allen Iverson G 6-3 27.8

25 Steve Blake G 6-3 5.8

Coach: George Karl

• Injuries: Trail Blazers - F Raef LaFrentz (left calf), F Darius Miles (right knee) and C Joel Przybilla (left knee)are all out. Nuggets - F Linas Kleiza (sprained left ankle) is probable; G J.R. Smith (left knee surgery) is questionable; F Kenyon Martin (right knee surgery) is out.

• Notes: Karl likely will "give some minutes" to Smith, who has missed eight of nine games . . . . "He looked better (in Monday's practice) than I thought," Karl said. . . . Kleiza, hurt in the third quarter Sunday at Sacramento, didn't practice, but Karl expects he'll play. . . . The Nuggets are 1 1/2 games behind the Lakers for the West's No. 6 seed. "I've never said (No. 6) wasn't in play," Karl said. . . . Iverson starts his second straight game at shooting guard after eight at point. He'll do "whatever the team needs," but at one point said "it's a fun game when you have the ball in your hands and you get to run down the court with it." . . . Blake, who played last season for the Trail Blazers, has played well against them with 25 points and 14 assists. . . . Portland has split its past 12.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com

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