Denver’s Anthony returns to the court against Grizzlies

01.22.2007

(Basketball News) - Carmelo Anthony returns from his 15-game suspension, as the streaking Denver Nuggets welcome the Memphis Grizzlies tonight to the Pepsi Center.

Anthony served the suspension for his participation in the infamous brawl with the New York Knicks on December 16th at Madison Square Garden. The Syracuse product is averaging a league-best 31.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.

Tonight’s game will also be the first time that Anthony and Allen Iverson play together since the Nuggets acquired the All-Star guard from the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster trade on December 19th. Denver was 7-8 without Anthony and is 6-8 with Iverson in the lineup.

Denver enters tonight’s contest on a three-game winning streak. Iverson scored 36 points and dished out 10 assists, leading a late Denver charge, on the way to a 121-113 overtime win for the Nuggets over the Houston Rockets on Saturday at the Toyota Center.

J.R. Smith finished with 24 points in the win over the Rockets for Denver, while center Marcus Camby ended with 12 points and 22 rebounds fin the victory.

The Nuggets are 11-10 at home this season. They will visit the Seattle SuperSonics on Tuesday and the Utah Jazz on Friday.

Memphis plays the second of a four-game road trip. Elton Brand scored 34 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Grizzlies, 112-91, on Saturday at the Staples Center.

Pau Gasol scored 27 points and grabbed seven boards in the loss to the Clippers for Memphis, which has lost four of its last five games overall. Rookie Rudy Gay scored 17 points, and Mike Miller netted 13 points in defeat.

The Grizzlies, who have lost nine in a row as the visitor, are 2-18 on the road this season. They will also visit Utah and San Antonio on the swing. Memphis’ last road win was on December 6th at Boston.

This is the second of four meetings this season between the squads. The Nuggets defeated Memphis, 108-96, on November 28th at the Pepsi Center.

Memphis has won two in a row in the series. The Grizzlies have still lost 19 of their last 21 at Denver.

The Grizzlies are scheduled to host Denver on February 26th and April 14th at the FedExForum.

DEN MEM

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