Nuggets pound Thunder

at Denver 119, Oklahoma City 90: Carmelo Anthony outplayed Kevin Durant, scoring 30 points to the Thunder star’s 19, and the Nuggets took control with a big third quarter. Nene added 20 points and J.R. Smith had 18 for the Nuggets, who averted a third consecutive loss.

at Orlando 117, Golden State 90: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 12 rebounds against the undermanned Warriors, who dressed the NBA minimum eight players. And that came after they signed Development League player Reggie Williams a day earlier, the fourth former player from the NBA’s version of the minors on Golden State’s active roster.

at Atlanta 112, Philadelphia 93: Marvin Williams scored 21 points and Jamal Crawford added 20 to power the Hawks over the struggling 76ers, who have lost four in a row and seven of nine.

Cleveland 111, at New Jersey 92: LeBron James had 26 points and 14 assists and the Cavaliers opened a 20-point first-quarter lead to cruise past the hapless Nets (6-54).

at New York 128, Detroit 104: Bill Walker was one of four Knicks with 20-plus points, scoring a career-high 22 in his first career start, and New York handed the Pistons their fifth straight loss. Al Harrington scored 26 for the Knicks, who won for just the second time in 12 games and clinched the season series for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Humiliated while trailing by as much as 49 points in a loss at Cleveland on Monday, New York was the team having fun this time. David Lee had 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, and Tracy McGrady finished with 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

at Boston 104, Charlotte 80: Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Nate Robinson led a key spurt against the Bobcats. Robinson had 16 points, including three three-pointers in a 90-second span bridging the first and second quarters to key a 16-0 run for the Celtics.

at Milwaukee 100, Washington 87: John Salmons scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and the Bucks continued their post-All-Star break surge. Salmons is averaging 20.4 points and has scored in double figures in all eight games he’s played in since a trade deadline deal with Chicago, and the Bucks are 7-1 in that span.

Memphis 104, at New Orleans 100: Mike Conley scored a season-high 26 points and the Grizzlies won their franchise-record fifth-straight road game,. Conley scored nine point in the final quarter as the Grizzlies overcame a nine-point deficit.

Sacramento 84, at Houston 81: Carl Landry had 22 points and 10 rebounds against his former team to lead the Kings.

at Portland 102, Indiana 79: The Pacers lost by 23 points for the second night in row despite getting 30 points from Danny Granger. Brandon Roy scored 22 for the Trail Blazers.

Associated Press