Nuggets’ Big Rally Is Fueled by Anthony

The Dallas Mavericks apparently thought the game was over, but the Denver Nuggets did not give up despite trailing by 20 points.

Carmelo Anthony made the go-ahead 22-foot basket with 2:22 left, then the rookie added four consecutive free throws in the closing seconds to help the Nuggets finish one of their biggest comebacks ever in a 107-102 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday at Dallas.

“We kept our focus. We buckled down defensively and tried to get a basket every time down the court,” Anthony said. “They left us open. NBA players are supposed to make those.”

After trailing at halftime, 53-37, Denver scored 70 points for the fourth-biggest comeback in team history. The Nuggets had 38 shots in each half, making 13 before halftime and 25 after.

“That’s the best win I’ve been a part of in Denver,” the Nuggets’ Marcus Camby said. “We kept fighting. We had the whole arena against us, but we weathered the storm.”

Dallas has lost consecutive games since a season-best nine-game winning streak. That streak ended with a 91-88 loss at Utah on Wednesday.

“I guess you have to take some bad with the good,” Dallas Coach Don Nelson said. “We’ve been good for a long time. We let our guard down in the second half.”

Sacramento 110, Seattle 103 -- Peja Stojakovic scored 29 points, making two key free throws with 11.7 seconds to play, and Brad Miller added 28 points and 17 rebounds as the Kings defeated the SuperSonics at Seattle.

Stojakovic, the league’s top free-throw shooter at 92%, made both shots for a 106-103 lead. The SuperSonics inbounded to Ray Allen, who missed a three-point try from the left corner.

Portland 102, Chicago 95 -- Rasheed Wallace had 29 points, including a three-point basket and an alley-oop slam in overtime, to lead the Trail Blazers past the Bulls at Portland, Ore.

Eddy Curry had 27 points for the Bulls, who have lost 10 of 11 games, including eight in a row on the road. Portland won its fourth in a row.

San Antonio 85, Utah 81 -- Tim Duncan had 33 points and 14 rebounds at San Antonio to help the Spurs win for the 15th consecutive time against the Jazz. San Antonio has not lost to Utah since Feb. 6, 2000.

Indiana 99, Boston 98 -- Ron Artest had 23 points, five steals and a late stop on Paul Pierce to lift the Pacers to victory at Indianapolis.

Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal left in the second quarter with a neck strain.

Miami 94, New Orleans 70 -- Eddie Jones scored 24 points to lead the Heat to a rout of the Hornets at New Orleans.

The Heat finished with a 22-4 run and held the Hornets to their lowest point total of the season.

New York 110, Phoenix 105 -- Stephon Marbury scored 33 of his 35 points in the first three quarters against his former team, and some untimely missed free throws by Phoenix helped the Knicks win at New York.

New Jersey 88, Houston 77 -- Kenyon Martin scored 21 of his 27 points in the second half to help the Nets overcome a slow start at Houston, giving Lawrence Frank a 3-0 record as interim coach.

Atlanta 93, Milwaukee 83 -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 21 points, Jason Terry added 19 and the Hawks held off the Bucks at Atlanta.

Detroit 80, Memphis 78 -- Chauncey Billups made two free throws with 0.4 seconds left to give the Pistons the victory at Auburn Hills, Mich.