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Martin, Nuggets rout Grizzlies

Mar 13, 2008 - 4:48 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- After a slow start, the Denver Nuggets had no problem adding to the Memphis Grizzlies' road woes.

Kenyon Martin scored 23 points and Linas Kleiza added 19 off the bench as Denver cruised past Memphis, 108-86, on Wednesday.

Carmelo Anthony added 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Nuggets extended the Grizzlies' road losing streak to 16 games.

Martin shot 9-of-11 from the field and added seven rebounds.

"It's good to get a win after losing two straight," Martin said. "We did an excellent job of coming out in the third quarter and playing aggressively."

Denver, which had allowed 119.5 points in losing its past two games, held Memphis to just 36 percent shooting (32-of-90), including a dismal 6-of-30 from the arc.

"These are tough times for us right now," Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni said. "We are going through a tough stretch. Right now, it is hard to put the ball in the basket."

Memphis had control early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead less than two minutes into the game, but the Nuggets dominated from there.

Denver fought back and led by one at the end of the first quarter, and then opened up the second on a 14-2 run to take a 37-24 advantage with 7:09 left in the quarter. The Nuggets held a 10-point lead at the break.

They blew the game open in the third quarter, using a 19-5 run midway through the third to take a 67-45 bulge with 4:39 left in the third. Martin had 10 points during the run.

"I think he is getting better every week," Nuggets coach George Karl said of Martin. "He is getting stronger and he seems to have gotten his explosiveness back. He is a real competitor."

Anthony's layup ended the third quarter with Denver in front, 84-58, and the Nuggets led by as many as 32 with 7:29 left in the fourth.

Allen Iverson, who fractured the tip of his ring finger on Friday, scored a season-low eight points on 2-of-12 shooting, but had eight assists.

"He played hard out there," Karl said of Iverson. "We need to treat him and rehab him and, hopefully, Superman heals quickly."

Rookie Juan Carlos Navarro scored 16 points to lead Memphis, which has lost three straight games by an average of 24.3 points.