Carmelo Anthony showed why not all high-scoring wings are created equally. The highly desired 'Melo scored 36 points in helping his Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 121-107 in the NBA's only Sunday game. 'Melo shot 14-27 overall, including 6-8 from beyond the arc. He also pulled in eight assists for the Nuggets. It was Anthony's 11th 30-point game of the season.
Pacers Vs. Nuggets: Carmelo Anthony, Denver Rip Through Indiana
Indiana's scoring small forward, Danny Granger, didn't fare so well. He shot just 2-10 in a season-low 25 minutes, and scored only eight points with two rebounds and three assists. Tyler Hansbrough helped keep the Pacers in the game, scoring a career high 27 points and adding 10 rebounds. Rookie Paul George, perhaps Granger's replacement at some point, added a career high 17 off the bench.
‘Melo started the game 0-6, but kept gunning and finished the first quarter 3-10 with seven points as the Nuggets trailed 30-27. From there, Denver’s defense stiffened up dramatically -- Indiana shot just 14-40 (35 percent) in the second and third quarters -- and Anthony’s shots began to fall. ‘Melo scored 23 in the third quarter alone, hitting eight of 11 shots, including six of seven threes.
It ended up as the best three-point shooting performance of Anthony's career; 'Melo had never hit more than five in one game. In 'Melo's 50-point game against the New York Knicks early last season, Anthony did more of what you'd expect from him: he hit just one of four threes but 15 of 16 from the line. 'Melo is just 30.8 percent from long-range for his career, and has remained fairly shy (considering his scoring prowess) from downtown, attempting 2.3 per game.
Hansbrough gave the Pacers great production at power forward, something the team’s been looking for all season long. But the Tar Heel legend hasn’t been consistent at all this season (or ever, in the NBA), and it remains to be seen whether he can really help the Pacers get back on track.
Indy Cornrows, sobered by a five-game losing streak, looks forward to an upcoming string of more winnable games. Denver Stiffs explains the formula for beating teams on no rest at the Pepsi Center.
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