PHILADELPHIA — Nuggets coach George Karl didn't need a halftime speech Wednesday night. He would have been better off with an economy-sized can of WD-40 or a gallon of CLR.

In their first game after the All-Star break, his players looked like a battalion of tin men left out during monsoon season.

"We just was rusty," Nuggets power forward Carmelo Anthony said.

After scoring only 13 points in the first quarter and 37 in the first half, Anthony and his teammates finally greased the wheels and cruised to a 101-89 win against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.

"Guys did an excellent job of not getting frustrated," forward Kenyon Martin said. "It's a long game. It's 48 minutes. If the game was over after the first quarter, yeah, they would have won. That's not the case."

After playing what Anthony called "some of the worst basketball that we played all season," the Nuggets erased a 10-point halftime deficit behind solid defense and the aggressive play of point guard Chauncey Billups.

Driving to the basket and hitting open shots, Billups scored 11 of the Nuggets' first 15 points to start the third quarter. His aggressive mentality triggered a 19-2 run that seemed to deflate the 76ers, who had lost at Indiana on Tuesday night.

"Halftime is always a time when you can come in and make adjustments," Billups said. "We just said, 'Let's pick it up.' At some point when you're getting your butt kicked like that, pride kicks in and you just compete."

Billups finished with 17 points in the third quarter and 22 for the game.

Anthony, despite playing with a bruised left knee, added 26 points and 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets win for the 10th time in 12 games.

"If we want to be one of the best teams in the NBA, we've got to win games like this," he said.

Anthony was wincing in pain after bumping knees with Philadelphia center Samuel Dalembert in the second quarter.

X-rays taken after the game were negative, and Anthony said he will be ready for Friday's game at Chicago.

"I couldn't even bend my legs out there," he said. "I fought through it and we came out with a victory."

The 76ers weren't as fortunate.

Already reeling from the Nuggets' big run to start the second half, they lost point guard Andre Miller to a strained right calf 4:37 into the third quarter.

Miller, who had 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, did not return and is scheduled to have a magnetic resonance imaging exam today.

"When you're playing without your quarterback, it's going to be a little difficult," Billups said.

"(Miller) was playing really well, but I think with the mind-set that we had at that point, it didn't matter who was out there."

Without its floor leader, the 76ers looked disjointed and settled for jump shots, while the Nuggets attacked the basket and pushed the lead to as many as 15 in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers never got closer than seven points in the game's final six minutes as the Nuggets (37-17) moved one game in front of San Antonio for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

"At some point, teams just start clicking," Billups said. "We got clicking at the right time and turned the game around, and we were able to keep the pedal down on them."

After recovering for a win against the 76ers, the Nuggets' road map now points to Chicago. They are 5-1 on an extended trip, with games against the Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks before returning home next week.

ETC: Anthony went in for X-rays on the broken bone in his right hand before the team left for Philadelphia this week. He said the fracture isn't completely healed, "but it's getting better." Anthony missed 10 games after breaking the bone Jan. 5. He is averaging 24.8 points in eight games since his return. . . . Nuggets forward Chris Andersen returned to the lineup after missing one game because of a sprained left wrist and bruised hip. . . . Karl was called for his 10th technical foul this season. NBA rules call for a one-game suspension when a player or coach reaches 16. . . . Martin has made 10-of-10 free throws in the past two games.

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