Carmelo Anthony has a chance to become a matinee idol.

After missing three games to rest his ailing right elbow, the Nuggets forward said Friday he expects to return Sunday against the New York Knicks. Tipoff at Madison Square Garden is set for about 11 a.m. MST.

"I'm going to try to (play)," Anthony said.

Anthony, Denver's leading scorer (20.5), was eager to play Friday night against Philadelphia, but he and the athletic training staff felt it was best to hold him out one more game.

COMMANDER KARL

Nuggets coach George Karl was able to go retro this Christmas when his son, Coby, bought him the arcade-style Missile Command game from the 1980s.

"Got 12,000 last night," Karl said after a shootaround Friday morning."My high score ever was like 90,000, so I've lost my talent. I'm losing a lot of cities early in the game."

Coby Karl, who earned a championship ring while playing with the Los Angeles Lakers, surprised his dad on Christmas Eve but had to leave Christmas Day because he had a game Friday with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League.