Box score

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Oh, yes. The Nuggets got rid of an 0-fer.

The Nuggets had been 0-21 in games in which they failed to score 100 points. They were in jeopardy of being the first team to have a winless season in such games since the Atlanta Hawks went 0-22 in 1992-93.

No more. The Nuggets turned up the defense Tuesday night and beat the New Jersey Nets 94-90 at Continental Airlines Arena.

"It feels good," Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said of breaking the streak. "I don't care how we did it, we won. When it comes time to grind it out and buckle down, we can."

And when it comes time to put away a game, Anthony can. He scored a game-most 30 points, none bigger than a three-point play layup with 1:38 to play that gave the Nuggets a 93-88 lead.

The Nets closed to 93-90 and had a shot to tie. But forward Vince Carter, who led the Nets with 29 points, saw his three- pointer clang off the iron with 10 seconds to play, and Nuggets guard Allen Iverson made 1-of-2 free throws with 6.7 seconds left to wrap it up.

That's five straight wins for the Nuggets (34-31). And Iverson, who has had his share of frustrations since being acquired Dec. 19, likes what he sees.

"If you win five games in a row, you get that type of swagger," said Iverson, who scored 20 points but made only 8-of-23 shots. "You feel you can't get beat."

Before, when the Nuggets didn't score 100, they couldn't get a win. And that wasn't a statistic that boded well, with the Nuggets in line to possibly play grind-it-out San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs.

Then again, Nuggets coach George Karl never has put stock in that stat.

"You guys are way overboard on that one," he said. "Basketball is basketball. Your personality is to try to play to your strengths."

In the first half, one of the Nuggets' strengths was on the bench in foul trouble.

Anthony had to take a seat with 7:47 to play in the second quarter with his third foul.

The Nets were leading 33-28. They extended the advantage to 49-42 at halftime.

"At halftime, I told (the Nuggets) I owed them a half because I was sitting down the whole first," Anthony said. "I tried to come back and be a little bit aggressive."

Consider Anthony's debt paid. He scored 20 after intermission.

But with Iverson struggling, the Nuggets also turned to defense. They outscored the Nets 31-16 in the third quarter and held them to 40 percent shooting for the game.

"It wasn't our defense, it was our offense," said guard Jason Kidd, whose Nets (31-37) made only 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) three-pointers. "We had some great opportunities but we missed some shots that we should have hit."

Kidd was a culprit; he made only 2-of-10 shots.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are starting to feel pretty good. They have faced plenty of criticism with the Iverson-Anthony pairing not immediately working.

"Everybody thought it was going to happen overnight," Nuggets center Marcus Camby said.

As much as Anthony and Iverson meshing, it has been other players learning to play with them. Camby seemingly has become more content with getting fewer shots.

Camby made only 1-of-5 shots and scored 10 points. But he had his usual workmanlike game with nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

Foul trouble was the only real concern for Camby and fellow big man Nene, who grabbed 11 rebounds. Nene fouled out with 1:19 left. Camby finished with five.

"I felt there were a lot of questionable calls," Camby said.

In the end, the Nuggets were able to break a six-game losing streak at New Jersey, where they had lost 14 of 15.

But the most notable streak that came to an end was 0-of-21. OK, it was notable to Anthony, if not Karl.

ETC.: Nuggets assistant Mike Dunlap, contacted last week, said he will not pursue the University of Wyoming job. But Dunlap is not ready to say he definitely will return next season. . . . Anthony might have fallen to second in the NBA scoring race behind the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, but he vows he isn't done yet. "We've still got 17 games left," said Anthony, who added he'd "be happy" to win it but it wouldn't bother him if he didn't. He said teammates have been joking with him about Bryant, who, with 115 points in two games last weekend, "ain't going to let you get that title." . . . Injured Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin, a former New Jersey player, was on hand. "There's still a lot of love here," he said of Nets fans.

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	29:58	10-20	8-12	1-4	3	5	30
Nene	31:59	4-6	0-0	4-11	1	6	8
Camby	36:28	1-5	8-8	0-9	4	5	10
Iverson	44:14	8-23	3-6	0-5	5	0	20
Blake	35:24	3-9	3-3	0-6	6	0	10
Kleiza	28:30	3-8	0-0	1-5	0	2	7
Smith	10:34	0-2	0-0	0-1	0	1	0
Najera	22:53	3-7	3-3	4-7	3	5	9
Totals	240	32-80	25-32	10-48	22	24	94

Percentages - FG .400, FT .781. Three-point goals - 5-17, .294 (Anthony 2-3, Blake 1-3, Kleiza 1-4, Iverson 1-6, Smith 0-1). Team rebounds - 8. Team turnovers - 17 (20 pts.). Blocked shots - 5 (Camby 4, Nene). Turnovers - 16 (Anthony 4, Iverson 4, Nene 3, Smith 2, Camby, Najera, Blake). Steals - 8 (Iverson 4, Nene 2, Camby, Kleiza). Technicals - Delay of game, 1:37 second; Kleiza, 43.8 second.

		FG	FT	Reb
N.J.	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Jefferson	39:50	6-17	5-6	1-5	2	2	18
Moore	40:01	5-9	2-2	1-9	2	3	12
Collins	19:34	1-1	1-2	0-2	0	3	3
Carter	36:34	10-24	8-9	3-7	9	6	29
Kidd	39:21	2-10	1-1	1-7	5	2	5
Nachbar	17:52	2-7	0-0	0-4	1	2	4
Boone	6:32	0-1	0-0	1-2	0	1	0
Williams	11:48	2-5	2-2	0-1	5	0	6
House	20:36	5-10	0-0	0-2	0	1	11
Wright	7:51	1-1	0-0	0-1	1	1	2
Totals	239:59	34-85	19-22	7-40	25	21	90

Percentages - FG .400, FT .864. Three-point goals - 3-19, .158 (Carter 1-3, House 1-3, Jefferson 1-5, Williams 0-1, Kidd 0-3, Nachbar 0-4). Team rebounds - 13. Team turnovers - 15 (16 pts.). Blocked shots - 4 (Moore 4). Turnovers - 14 (Carter 4, Jefferson 4, Kidd 3, Nachbar, Boone, Moore). Steals - 6 (Kidd 3, Moore 2, Carter). Technical - Defensive three second, 8:59 first.

Denver ......20	22	31	21	-	94
New Jersey ......20	29	16	25	-	90

A - 20,032 (20,098). T - 2:29. Officials - Eddie F. Rush, Scott Foster, Ed Malloy.

SCORING RACE

Player, team Tue. G Pts. Avg.

Bryant, LAL DNP 62 1,860 30.0

Anthony, Den. 30 49 1,458 29.8

Wade, Miami DNP 46 1,324 28.8

Arenas, Wash. 19 65 1,866 28.7

Iverson, Den. 20 49 1,362 27.8

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com

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