Nuggets enter Charlotte in search of elusive win streak

Denver dropped its first three games of the season, but got back on track in the opener of its current four-game road trip. Carmelo Anthony netted a game- high 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting as the Nuggets downed Philadelphia, 108-101, Friday at the Wachovia Center.

Andre Miller scored 18 points and dished out nine assists for the Nuggets, who became the final NBA team to win a game this season. J.R. Smith contributed 16 points and Marcus Camby added 10 with 11 rebounds in the victory.

Denver will next play Tuesday at defending world champion Miami before concluding the swing Wednesday against Orlando.

The Bobcats come in having lost their last two games, most recently a 99-85 setback to Seattle on Friday.

Emeka Okafor led Charlotte with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Brevin Knight added 19 points and seven assists, while Gerald Wallace had 14 points in the losing effort.

Charlotte point guard Raymond Felton sat out the contest with bruised ribs, which could keep him out of the lineup again tonight. Adam Morrison, the Bobcats’ first-round selection of the 2006 draft, made his first career start in Felton’s place.

The Bobcats will play their following three games on the road, beginning with Tuesday’s test with the Hornets in Oklahoma City.

Denver has won three of the four lifetime meetings between the clubs, with the Bobcats’ lone victory in the series coming in Charlotte on February 16, 2005.