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Anthony, Iverson help Nuggets rout hapless Knicks

Nov 18, 2007 - 5:41 AM By Blake Redabaugh PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Starting or sitting Stephon Marbury appears to not have much influence on the outcome of recent games for the New York Knicks.

Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points and Allen Iverson added 23 as the Denver Nuggets secured their fifth straight win, a 115-83 drubbing of the struggling Knicks on Saturday night.

Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby added six points, 20 rebounds, six assists and five blocks for the Nuggets, who have emphasized defense during their win streak.

"Marcus really put on a show tonight," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "I think the professionalism is growing on this team."

"This last week we have been showing teams that we can buckle down on defense," Anthony said. "Tonight we could take advantage of getting up and down the court and our transition tonight was there and we made shots."

New York, which concluded a winless four-game road swing and lost its sixth consecutive game overall, brought Marbury off the bench for the third straight game as coach Isiah Thomas chose to start Mardy Collins at point guard.

Marbury, who scored five points on 1-for-6 shooting, has been in a feud with Thomas over the past week after the coach and team chairman James Dolan reportedly are considering options for the controversial point guard - including a move to the bench, a trade or a buyout of his contract.

In response, the veteran guard skipped Monday's practice prior to Tuesday's game against the Phoenix Suns. He flew home to New York in a huff but returned to play on Wednesday vs. the Los Angeles Clippers and Friday vs. the Sacramento Kings.

But it hasn't mattered as the Knicks have lost all three contests since his return.

"It was a bad one," Marbury said. "We just couldn't get it together defensively and offensively. We just weren't doing the things we needed to do to win the game. We need to work on a lot things."

"It was a tough night for us," Thomas said. "We had a lot of unfortunate things happen to us in the past week. We got a little work to do and the season is still young."

The Nuggets raced out to a 30-22 first-quarter lead behind 13 points each from Anthony and Iverson. The dynamic duo combined to shoot 10-of-14 from the floor in the quarter.

J.R. Smith provided a spark off the bench for Denver during a 14-6 run to open up the second. Smith connected on two 3-pointers and scored eight points during the burst.

"We have so much individual talent on this team," Iverson said. "I don't think any of the guys think about that. We ride the momentum of whatever guy is playing well and a lot of these wins have been from everybody playing well."

Denver, which never trailed and shot 49 percent (43-of-88) from the floor in the game, took a 58-40 lead into the half. It built the lead up to 34 points and never let New York get any closer than 16 in the second half.

The Knicks, who have not won since November 6 when they beat the Nuggets by seven points in New York, were led by Zach Randolph with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Randolph was making his return after missing Friday's game vs. the Kings to attend his grandmother's funeral.

"I was kind of winded," Randolph said. "I've been flying all day. It's been an emotional week and I'm glad it's over with. I can get back in my rhythm and get my wind back."