Nuggets report: Anthony-James, round 10
By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 13, 2008 at 7:38 a.m.
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When: 6 p.m. Thursday.
Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland.
TV/radio: Altitude, TNT; KCKK-AM (1510).
Probable starting lineups
| Denver (4-3) | Pos. | Ht. | Pts. |
| 15 Carmelo Anthony | F | 6-8 | 23.6 |
| 4 Kenyon Martin | F | 6-9 | 13.6 |
| 31 Nene | C | 6-11 | 15.6 |
| 7 Chauncey Billups | G | 6-3 | 14.4 |
| 30 Dahntay Jones | G | 6-6 | 8.0 |
Coach: George Karl
| Cleveland (5-2) | Pos. | Ht. | Pts. |
| 23 LeBron James | F | 6-8 | 29.8 |
| 4 Ben Wallace | F | 6-9 | 1.9 |
| 11 Zydrunas Ilgauskas | C | 7-3 | 15.5 |
| 13 Delonte West | G | 6-3 | 10.3 |
| 2 Mo Williams | G | 6-1 | 14.4 |
Coach: Mike Brown
Injuries: Denver - F Chris Andersen (broken rib), G Chucky Atkins (right knee surgery), C Steven Hunter (sore right knee) and G-F Sonny Weems (groin strain) are out; Martin (sprained left wrist) is questionable; Cleveland - F Darnell Jackson (left wrist fracture) and G Eric Snow (left knee) are out.
* Notes: Billups, acquired Nov. 3 from Detroit, said "it'll be a lot different" facing one of the Pistons' biggest rivals wearing a different uniform. Asked about Cleveland fans, Billups said, "They hated me here," before calling the word a bit strong. . . . Cleveland has won four straight. . . . James leads the NBA in scoring and has scored 41 points in three of his past four games. . . . After not playing in three of four games, Nuggets forward Renaldo Balkman has averaged 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and two steals in 26.5 minutes during his past two.
Drew on the NBA
Scores and statistics
It's Round 10 of Melo vs. LeBron.
So far, it has been a unanimous decision.
Since Cleveland took forward LeBron James with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft and the Nuggets tabbed Anthony at No. 3, Denver has won eight of 10 meetings. But Anthony missed one win two years ago because of suspension, meaning he has a 7-2 edge against James.
"Everything is cool," said Anthony, who added he never boasts to James about the Nuggets' lopsided mark in the series. "That's my guy over the years."
Anthony should get ample minutes tonight against James. But guard Dahntay Jones will start out against James.
"If we start (Jones), we might as well use his strength against LeBron," said Karl, who expects Jones to be on James 20 to 25 minutes.
Martin hopeful
Martin said he's "optimistic" about returning tonight. But he's not going to take any unnecessary chances.
"I feel better every day, but I don't want to jeopardize the progress that I've made," said Martin, who didn't do much defensive work in practice Wednesday in order to protect his hand.
Karl also expressed confidence Martin will be back. If he can't go, Linas Kleiza would start again at power forward.
He Said it
"I'm not surprised it didn't work out. It's tough to have two dominant scorers that need the ball in their hands to make plays happen. . . . Chauncey is a great complement for Carmelo. He's going to make it a lot easier on him."
LeBron James, on his belief guard Chauncey Billups will mesh better with Anthony than Allen Iverson, who was traded to the Detroit Pistons last week.
Numbers game
5 wins without a loss for Billups this season. Detroit was 2-0 before dealing Billups, and he has gone 3-0 since donning No. 7 for the Nuggets.
Etc.
* Antonio McDyess, waived by the Nuggets on Monday after they bought out his contract following his inclusion in the Nov. 3 trade with Detroit, cleared waivers Wednesday and became a free agent. He can sign with any team except Detroit, which can't sign him until Dec. 7, though he's expected to land there.
* Anthony's latest shoe, the Brand Jordan Melo M5, goes on sale Nov. 21. The shoe, designed by Anthony, features dozens of Anthony's yellow CA initials on its side that he called "similar to the Gucci link." "They're comfortable," Anthony said. "They look good. They look good on women, too."
* Kleiza is averaging only 7.7 points and shooting 32.1 percent but still has averaged 24.1 minutes. "The thing L.K. is probably doing better than he's done in the past is he's playing well enough to stay on the court when he's not scoring," Karl said.
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