Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and came up with a blocked shot on the game's final play, as the Denver Nuggets held on for a 98-96 win over the short-handed Lakers.
Melo Does It At Both Ends Of Court As Nuggets Hold Off Lakers
Los Angeles played without Kobe Bryant (swollen right knee) and Andrew Bynum (strained left Achilles' tendon).
J.R. Smith had 26 points as the Nuggets moved into second place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of Dallas and Phoenix.
Chauncey Billups totaled 12 points and Nene added 11 for Denver, which has won four in a row since dropping five of six. The latest push has the Nuggets in position to also grab the Northwest Division title as they're a game ahead of Utah. The Nuggets have three games remaining in the regular season - home games against San Antonio and Memphis and a road contest against the Suns.
Pau Gasol ended with 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Pacific Division- champion Lakers, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Ron Artest scored 22 in defeat, but the Lakers need just one more victory in their final four games to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the West.
With Bryant out, the Lakers went to Derek Fisher at the end to try and win the game, but Anthony came up big when it counted.
Fisher made two foul shots to get LA within 97-96 with 32.4 seconds left.
Smith then drove along the right baseline, but Shannon Brown came up with a block. Brown's quick outlet pass was tipped by Billups and then by Fisher as the ball went out of bounds with 14 seconds left.
Replays confirmed Fisher touched the ball last, and Smith then went to the charity stripe with 12.7 on the clock and made 1-of-2 attempts. Instead of calling a timeout, Fisher took the ball and stepped back for a three-point try, but Anthony extended his hand for the block before landing awkwardly on his ankle.
Denver held a 22-20 lead after one quarter, then used a 19-5 push late in the second to take a 50-38 lead. The Nuggets held a 57-47 edge after 24 minutes.
Arron Afflalo’s three-pointer extended Denver’s cushion to 62-47, but the Lakers rallied and eventually went ahead 69-67 on a pair of Gasol foul shots with 2:16 left. The visitors were in front, 74-73, going to the fourth quarter and Los Angeles widened its lead to as many as seven before faltering.
A 15-5 Nuggets run gave them a 97-94 edge.
Smith became the franchise leader in three-pointers made, passing Michael Adams’ previous record of 630. Smith needed four to achieve the feat and went 5-of-11 from beyond the arc Thursday...Lamar Odom had 13 rebounds and Brown finished with 12 points for the Lakers...Denver won the season series, 3-1...Fisher had 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
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