NBA Game Summary - Memphis at Denver

Denver, CO (Basketball News) - Sharp-shooting Carmelo Anthony poured in 35 points to lead Denver to a 115-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Anthony went 15-of-22 from the field, as the Nuggets hit on a Pepsi Center-record 64 percent of their shots from the field.

"For two days, coach Karl has been stressing if the playoffs started tomorrow, this is the team we would be playing against," Anthony said. "I don’t know what it is, we come out and play well against Memphis."

Ruben Patterson added 16 points and Earl Boykins tallied 15 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who led the entire way and picked up their seventh victory in 10 games. Andre Miller also had a strong showing with 14 points and 11 assists, as Denver built a 26-point cushion in the third quarter and cruised to its sixth straight win over the Grizzlies.

Marcus Camby ended with 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for Denver. He nearly completely shut down Memphis leading scorer Pau Gasol, who is averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds this season. Gasol was limited to 10 points and one rebound Monday.

"Carmelo had an incredible shooting night tonight and Marcus Camby was sort of on a mission to stop Gasol," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "He (Camby) was probably the MVP with his presence in the middle."

Bobby Jackson ended with 22 points and Mike Miller scored 15 for Memphis, which lost for a 17th straight time at Denver. The Grizzlies, who had a three- game overall winning streak broken, haven’t won in the Mile High City since November 18, 1997. The Grizzlies (0-14) are the only team in the league never to win at the Pepsi Center.

"They obviously controlled the entire game," Memphis head coach Mike Fratello said. "They just executed better. They just beat us, bottom line."

The Nuggets scored seven of the game’s opening nine points and led 25-17 after one quarter. An 11-2 spurt, bridging the end of the first into the second, opened a 32-19 cushion for Denver. Miller’s layup capped the rally and the Nuggets extended to a 57-40 lead at the half.

The advantage grew to 26 points at 78-52 on Patterson’s layup with 4:40 remaining in the third, and Denver coasted after that, on the way to its third straight home victory.

Hakim Warrick ended with 14 points for the Grizzlies, who shot 46.2 percent.