• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Anthony scores 32 as Nuggets crush Wizards

Nov 10, 2007 - 5:07 AM By Rich Dubroff PA Sportsticker Contributing Writer

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points, including 12 straight in the third quarter, as the Denver Nuggets cruised to a 118-92 triumph over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.

With the Nuggets leading 60-51 at halftime, Anthony began the third quarter by hitting a jump shot, and a minute later, hit another - giving Denver a 66-52 lead.

With 8:51 to play in the third, he hit a 3-pointer to start his run, and by the time he finished his barrage, the Nuggets led by 22 points with 4:13 to play in the quarter.

Anthony scored 16 points in the third and shot 13-of-23 from the floor on the night.

"I didn't want to take any crazy shots," Anthony said. "I was just taking what they were giving me."

Allen Iverson hit two free throws with 3:50 remaining in the second quarter to snap a 46-46 tie. Over the next 16 minutes, Denver outscored Washington by an incredible 44-16 margin.

"When we play defense, we know we can stop teams," Anthony said. "We know with our offense around, we're going to score lots of points. We just got to stop teams on the defensive end. In the third quarter, that's what we did."

The win broke the Nuggets' three-game losing streak, and gave the Wizards an 0-5 start - their worst since they were the Baltimore Bullets in the 1966-67 season.

Marcus Camby added 13 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Iverson had 15 points and eight assists for Denver, which outscored Washington, 33-11, in the third quarter.

Not only were the Wizards badly outscored in the third, but they committed 11 turnovers on their way to 26 in the contest.

"Melo (Anthony) led us tonight. He caught fire. We just rode his coattails all the way in," Iverson said. "He did a great job scoring the basketball. All we had to do was play defense. It was fun just seeing him go off like that. For me, just having a teammate who can do that is just fun to watch."

Washington was led by Caron Butler, who finished with 21 points. He had 14 in the first quarter, but was scoreless until early in the fourth.

Gilbert Arenas had 18 points and Antawn Jamison added 19 and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who shot just 36 percent (31-of-86) from the field.

"We just weren't disciplined," Washington coach Eddie Jordan said. "We didn't stay organized. We didn't rebound. We didn't share the ball. We didn't execute. The night was just tailor-made for us to get smacked in the face."

Arenas did not speak after the game. He spent an extended time in the training room receiving treatment on his left knee - the one that was operated on in April.

"You really have to be concerned after losing the way we did tonight. We have to put it behind us," Jamison said. We aren't pushing the panic button, but we need to find a way to get a win."

It could have been even worse - far worse - for the Wizards. The Nuggets missed three alley-oops dunk opportunities in the second quarter before they took the decisive lead.

"We scored 118. We threw away 20," Denver coach George Karl said. "We play a style where I know we're going to have mistakes, but sometimes, we make the mistakes and don't make the defensive plays. It will be interesting, the film we'll put together. Maybe we'll (send) it to (famous comedians) Abbott and Costello."

Denver's team bus with coach George Karl and four of its starters arrived about 45 minutes before gametime. The bus left the team's hotel at 6 p.m., and it took 75 minutes to travel the 2 1/2 miles to Verizon Center.

"Fortunately, I'm 56 years old. I've been on that bus before," Karl said. "I was stressed out. It's uncomfortable not being in your routine before the game. I don't think we were ever worried about missing the game."