’Melo and Nuggets snap five-game slide

Denver, CO (Basketball News) - Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Denver Nuggets over the New York Knicks, 107-96, at the Pepsi Center.

Voshon Lenard added 16 points and Francisco Elson scored 12 points after being activated from the injured list, as the Nuggets snapped a season-high five- game losing streak by hitting 50 percent of their shots.

"It felt good to win again," Denver head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "The team did a lot of good things out there."

The Knicks also got good injury news before the game, activating starting guard Allan Houston from the IL. Houston scored 13 points for New York, which has dropped six straight — including all four on a just-completed four-game road trip.

Kurt Thomas led the Knicks with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Shandon Anderson added 17 off the bench.

The Nuggets, who led by 10 or more points for much of the game, grabbed their first double-digit lead after a 15-4 run in the first quarter. Lenard capped the spurt and gave Denver a 25-15 advantage around the 3:00 mark.

New York cut its deficit to six briefly, but the Nuggets carried a 31-21 lead into the second quarter and led by as many as 13 points before halftime.

Led by Anthony’s 16 points and 5-of-9 shooting performance, Denver carried a 52-43 cushion into the break on the strength of 50 percent shooting. The Knicks hit on 44 percent of their first-half shots and committed 17 turnovers.

"We’re killing ourselves with turnovers," New York coach Lenny Wilkens. "We had 17 in the first half, and many of them were unforced."

The Nuggets’ lead reached as high as 18 points at one point during the third quarter when Nene’s free throws made it 76-58 with just over four minutes remaining in the period.

The Knicks were able to trim their deficit to 12 and headed into the fourth quarter trailing 84-72, but they only got as close as nine before the end of the game.

The first time came on Thomas’ bucket inside the 3:00 mark, which pulled New York within 99-90. The Knicks were that close again with a minute to play, but Denver guard Andre Miller closed out the game at the free throw line.