Carmelo Anthony and the high-flying Denver Nuggets will
resume their six-game road trip tonight against the winless New Jersey Nets
from the IZOD Center.
Anthony leads the NBA with 34.5 points per game for the 4-0 Nuggets, who are
second in the league in scoring so far this season. Anthony scored a game-high
25 points in Tuesday's 111-93 victory at Indiana to kick off the trek, while
Chauncey Billups recorded 24 points, as Denver improved to 4-0 to start a
season for the first time since the 1985-86 squad won its first six contests.
"It's been a very good start for us," said Billups. "This was a big, big win
for us."
The best start in Nuggets history is when the 1976-77 team won its first eight
games. Nene ended with 16 points and 13 rebounds in a winning effort. Denver
will also visit the Heat, Hawks, Bulls and Bucks on the road trip.
New Jersey is still searching for its first victory of the season and fell to
0-4 following Monday's 79-68 loss at Charlotte.
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 20 points, Brook Lopez ended with 18 and Courtney
Lee and Terrence Williams scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Nets,
who committed 26 turnovers. The last time the Nets opened a season with four
consecutive losses was when they kicked off the 1996-97 campaign under John
Calipari with five straight defeats.
"You combine 26 turnovers and the offensive rebounds, we didn't do enough to
get it done," said Nets head coach Lawrence Frank.
The Nets were outrebounded, 19-8, on the offensive side of the glass. In
injury news for New Jersey, forward Yi Jianlian left Monday's game with a
sprained MCL in his right knee and is out indefinitely.
Denver and New Jersey split a pair of meetings a year ago, with each team
winning on its home court. The Nets are 10-5 in the past 15 matchups with the
Nuggets, who have dropped 15 of the past 18 trips to the Meadowlands.
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