Nuggets 117, Knicks 94
DENVER -- Carmelo Anthony scored just nine points in his first game in Denver since being traded to New York, and the Nuggets routed the Knicks 117-94 on Wednesday night.
Anthony, hobbled by an ailing right knee, was 3 for 12 from the field and 0 for 5 from 3-point range. He played the first 2:15 of the third quarter before coming out of the game for good.
Wilson Chandler scored 24 points and Danilo Gallinari had 16 points for the Nuggets, who have won 10 straight and 14 in a row at home.
Denver moved within a game of the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference with the win. The Nuggets remained 1 1/2 games behind Memphis, which beat the Clippers on Wednesday.
They kept pace with a dominating performance against a bevy of former teammates, but none more recognizable than Anthony.
Anthony got a cold reception from a building that used to loudly cheer his name. He averaged 24.5 points in more than seven seasons with Denver but the crowd was clearly angry at him for forcing a trade to the Knicks two years ago.
He was booed when his name was called during the starting lineups and then again the first few times he touched the ball. He wasn't able to silence the crowd, suffering through another poor shooting effort.
In the second quarter, all of the Knicks went cold and the Nuggets took advantage. The Knicks missed nine straight shots and sent 7:22 without a bucket, and the Nuggets capitalized with a 25-3 run to take a 58-33 lead late in the first half.
Things got worse for New York when center Tyson Chandler suffered a left knee contusion on a collision under the Knicks bucket with 1:28 left in the second quarter. Chandler collided with Corey Brewer and his knee buckled. He was helped to the locker room and did not return.
The lead grew to 34 after two 3-pointers by Lawson and another by Andre Iguodala early in the third quarter.
The crowd started chanting "Who needs Melo?" in the final minutes.
NOTES: The Nuggets have shot better than 50 percent eight times during their 10-game winnings streak. ... In the 157 games prior to trading Anthony the Nuggets were 99-58. In the 157 games since they were 100-57. ... Nuggets coach George Karl praised Knicks center Tyson Chandler's play on the pick-and-roll, saying he's one of the best in the league. "I still think Tim Duncan is the best," Karl said. "Chandler does so many cute, little things that makes his team win games. As much as it is Melo, Raymond Felton, J.R., you have to remember they have Jason Kidd and Chandler that just know how to win games." ... In the first quarter, the Nuggets showed highlights on the jumbo screen of all the former players now on the Knicks -- Anthony, J.R. Smith, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin. ... Gallinari's 3-pointer with 3:28 left in the first quarter was the 500th of his career.
