CLEVELAND - After the morning shootaround, Nuggets coach George Karl was looking for a volunteer. Who wanted to guard LeBron James?

Carmelo Anthony didn't hesitate.

"George asked me what I wanted to do," the Nuggets forward said. "I knew we needed some type of spark on the defensive end, so I told coach that I wanted to guard him and take that challenge."

Did he ever. Anthony helped shut down the Cleveland Cavaliers forward, and the Nuggets got a much-needed 105-93 win Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena.

James scored only 18 points, nine below his average. He didn't score in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets closed with a 22-10 run after the score was tied 83-83 with 9 minutes to play.

"You've got to tip your hat to Melo," Karl said. "I think Melo did a good job and was conscientious of what we wanted to do with him and where we wanted to send him."

Anthony, while looking like Bruce Bowen on one end, also scored a game-high 27 points.

"It just feels good," said Anthony, who made 12-of-19 shots, better than the season-high 59.7 percent managed by the Nuggets.

So did the victory for the Nuggets (35-33), who had 32 fast- break points to 12 for the Cavaliers. After winning five straight games, the Nuggets had lost two in a row, the latter 121-94 on Friday in Toronto.

It's a good thing the game the Nuggets displayed that night wasn't allowed in by customs.

"We had to prove to ourselves that was out of our system and . . . leave that game in Toronto," guard Allen Iverson said.

Iverson handed out 12 assists while scoring a modest 18 points. Also scoring in the balanced offense was forward Nene (21) and swingmen Linas Kleiza (14) and J.R. Smith (13).

"It's killer duo No. 2," said Kleiza, joking he and Smith being potent reserves behind Iverson and Anthony.

Anthony said the team has nicknamed Kleiza "TVL" because of his prowess on national television. The game was on ESPN; Kleiza had games earlier this month of 29 points on TNT and 24 on ABC.

Karl said Smith played his best game since he returned after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery Feb. 21. Smith, in his eighth game back, made 3-of-6 three-pointers and totaled five rebounds, four assists and three steals in nearly 24 minutes.

"I had an all-around game," said Smith, whose three-pointer with 8:52 to play gave the Nuggets the lead for good, 86-83. "I rebounded the ball. I played probably the best defense I ever played."

But the game ball for defense went to Anthony, who has been on the winning side in five of seven games against James. James made 8-of-19 shots and his only free throw.

"We definitely need to figure this out," said James, whose team has lost three of four after an eight-game win streak. "There's no panic from us players at all."

There was no panic from the Nuggets when they trailed 5-0. Some might have wondered if there would be a repeat of Friday, when the Nuggets trailed 12-0 and missed their first 15 shots.

"We bounced back the way we're supposed to bounce back from a poor performance," Nuggets center Marcus Camby said.

Camby did not play against the Raptors because of back spasms but returned against the Cavaliers (42-28).

Camby, who said he had to "fight through" the pain, wasn't his usual self, totaling four points and six rebounds in 34 1/2 minutes.

While Camby usually is the Nuggets' defensive stopper, Anthony was content to assume that role Sunday.

ETC.: Warren Buffett, the second- richest man in the world, with an estimated wealth of $52 billion, sat courtside near the Cavaliers bench. Buffett was a guest of James, who admires him and had lunch with him during the summer. . . . The NBA won't take any additional action against the Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic for a flagrant foul when he hit the Nuggets' Reggie Evans in the face. Evans, who said the foul was intentional, believed Nesterovic should have been fined. . . . Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera, who suffered a left tibia contusion against the Raptors, was in uniform but didn't play. Athletic trainer Jim Gillen said Najera will try to play tonight. . . . Iverson, who played for Georgetown, said he ribbed Karl, a North Carolina alumnus, after the Hoyas beat the Tar Heels in the men's NCAA basketball tournament. They said they had a bet for a "few bucks."

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	39:16	12-19	3-6	0-5	2	4	27
Nene	31:56	9-12	3-7	0-9	0	1	21
Camby	34:33	1-3	2-2	0-6	6	2	4
Blake	31:04	3-6	1-2	1-3	4	1	7
Iverson	46:09	7-13	4-6	0-4	12	1	18
Kleiza	26:11	6-10	0-0	0-1	1	1	14
Smith	23:43	5-9	0-0	1-5	4	0	13
Evans	7:08	0-0	1-2	0-4	0	0	1
Totals	240	43-72	14-25	2-37	29	10	105

Percentages - FG .597, FT .560. Three-point goals - 5-14, .357 (Smith 3-6, Kleiza 2-4, Iverson 0-2, Blake 0-2). Team rebounds - 12. Team turnovers - 14 (16 pts.). Blocked shots - 3 (Camby 2, Nene). Turnovers - 12 (Camby 3, Blake 3, Iverson 2, Nene 2, Anthony, Evans). Steals - 7 (Smith 3, Nene 2, Camby, Evans). Technicals - None.

		FG	FT	Reb
CLE.	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
James	40:49	8-19	1-1	0-3	8	4	18
Gooden	26:57	6-11	0-0	4-10	3	1	12
Ilgauskas	32:50	8-16	2-2	3-9	3	3	18
Pavlovic	28:54	4-11	0-0	0-3	4	1	9
Hughes	41:24	7-15	3-4	0-5	2	1	17
Snow	17:26	3-6	0-0	0-1	4	3	6
Varejao	21:47	2-2	0-0	1-4	0	2	4
Marshall	5:48	1-3	2-3	0-0	0	0	4
Newble	10:33	1-4	0-0	1-2	0	1	2
Gibson	13:32	1-4	0-0	2-2	0	1	3
Totals	240	41-91	8-10	11-39	24	17	93

Percentages - FG .451, FT .800. Three-point goals - 3-20, .150 (Pavlovic 1-4, Gibson 1-4, James 1-6, Marshall 0-1, Hughes 0-5). Team rebounds - 4. Team turnovers - 12 (17 pts.). Blocked shots - 2 (Hughes, Ilgauskas). Turnovers - 12 (James 5, Ilgauskas 4, Hughes 2, Marshall). Steals - 7 (Pavlovic 3, Hughes 2, James, Varejao). Technicals - None.

Denver ......23	32	26	24	-	105
Cleveland ......26	27	22	18	-	93

A - 20,562 (20,562). T - 2:15. Officials - Joe DeRosa, Derrick Stafford, Sean Wright.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com Nuggets 105, Cavaliers 93

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