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Nuggets dominate injury-riddled Knicks in Carmelo's return

Mar 14, 2013 - 7:05 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - The Nuggets fans booed Carmelo Anthony when he was on the court and derisively asked where he was in the fourth quarter.

Anthony, in his first game in Denver since orchestrating a trade to New York two years ago, gingerly limped to the locker room in the third quarter with the Nuggets already cruising to their 10th straight victory, this one a 117-94 shellacking of a Knicks club that suffered another blow to their already depleted roster.

Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, two of the four players Denver received in the epic Anthony trade, fittingly led the Nuggets with 24 and 16 points, respectively.

Andre Iguodala checked in with 14 points, Ty Lawson added 13 and Kenneth Faried totaled 11 with 10 rebounds in the lopsided win -- Denver's 14th straight at home.

The Nuggets outscored New York in the paint, 62-24 and had 10 more second- chance points.

"We gave up too many buckets at the rim. They were pushing it and we were terrible in getting back," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said.

One of the reasons behind the discrepancy in the post came late in the first half when Knicks All-Star center Tyson Chandler suffered a knee contusion and did not return.

The Knicks, already without injured star Amar'e Stoudemire for six weeks, opened their five-road road trip with Monday's 29-point loss at Golden State and were just as overmatched in the mile-high air on Wednesday.

Anthony, who is dealing with his own knee issues that recently sidelined him three games, scored only nine points on 3-of-12 shooting in front of a hostile crowd.

By the time he exited, the Nuggets were in control, scoring at least 31 points in each of the first three frames.

Gallinari scored 10 points in a fast-paced first quarter that ended with Denver holding a 31-26 edge.

Seventeen consecutive points in the second turned a three-point lead into a 50-30 cushion with 4 1/2 minutes left in the half. Wilson Chandler scored on three straight possessions during the six-minute stretch, finishing off the string with an alley-oop slam off a pass from Iguodala.

Tyson Chandler was helped to the locker room shortly thereafter following a collision with Denver's Corey Brewer under the basket.

The difference was 64-42 at halftime and ballooned to 73-44 early in the third quarter following a 3-pointer from Iguodala and two from Lawson.

The high-water mark was 34 points in the stanza, and it was 97-69 entering the fourth.

The Pepsi Center crowd spent an otherwise uneventful fourth quarter serenading Anthony with contemptuous chants.

Nuggets head coach George Karl took the high road after the game.

"I think it's time to let everything go," Karl said. "There's a portion (of fans) that's going to dislike 'Melo and there's a portion that's going to love 'Melo, but the majority people hopefully are excited about the team we have at hand."

Game Notes

The Nuggets have scored 100 or more points in 24 of their last 25 games ... Denver held a 53-33 edge in rebounds ... Anthony was selected third overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Nuggets ... New York is winless in five straight trips to the Rockies ... Iman Shumpert paced the Knicks with 20 points.