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Anthony leads Nuggets over Warriors

Nov 23, 2010 - 8:03 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony rose to the occasion with 39 points, nine rebounds and five assists, as Denver downed Golden State, 106-89, at ORACLE Arena.

Al Harrington added 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Arron Afflalo donated 15 points and nine rebounds and Ty Lawson contributed 14 points for Denver, which has won three of four overall.

"I think a big key to our success over the years has been we've been a big free throw line team," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "We made the three ball and also outscored them at the free throw line."

Monta Ellis paced Golden State with 20 points, but he needed 22 shots to reach that total. Stephen Curry contributed 17 points, but needed 21 shots, while Reggie Williams and Rodney Carney donated 16 points apiece for the Warriors, who have dropped three consecutive games.

Golden State led 24-21 after one quarter and went into the locker with a 52-51 lead. Five straight points by Anthony opened a 61-58 edge for the visitors, but Carney quickly answered with a game-tying trey. Anthony's driving layup opened a four-point lead, 69-65, but the homestanding Warriors drew back within two on Williams' finger roll. Denver scored the third quarter's final six points with Chris Andersen's layup making the score 79-71 with 12 minutes of game action remaining.

Afflalo's three-pointer just over one minute into the fourth period opened a double-digit lead at 84-73, but Golden State rallied with eight points in a row capped by Lin's bank shot. Denver maintained its edge and ventured on a back-breaking 7-0 spurt capped by Anthony's three-point play to open a 95-83 margin.

Golden State never got closer the rest of the way as Denver scored nine points in succession down the stretch to open a 19-point edge in the final minute.

"We just have to keep at it. The last two games have been rough for us," Ellis said. "It's the NBA. We have to move past that and stay together as a team. We have to move on. We were missing layups. The ball was going in and out. I didn't have a great game. It will be like that some days. The only thing we can do now is stay focused and stay together."

Game Notes

Denver has won seven straight and nine of the last 10 meetings in the series...The Nuggets made 46.7 percent of their shots, including an impressive 12-of-21 showing from beyond the arc. Harrington made five of those three- pointers...Golden State connected on 40.2 percent of its shots, but made only 6-of-26 three-pointers...Ellis and Curry were a combined 15-of-43 from the floor.