Nuggets’ Energy Helps Beat Heat

Denver’s Carmelo Anthony was back to normal, and Miami paid for it.

“I had some energy and it showed tonight,” said Anthony, who two days earlier had been badly outplayed by LeBron James. “The loss to Cleveland gave us energy and we showed this wasn’t the same team that lost.”

Anthony scored 28 points to surpass 2,000 for his career, and the Nuggets controlled Shaquille O’Neal with constant double-teams to win, 104-95, Saturday night at home.

Anthony shot 12 for 19 with five assists and four steals, Earl Boykins added 16 points, six assists and five steals, and Kenyon Martin had 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

O’Neal, defended by Marcus Camby and Martin, was five for 10 from the field and two for eight from the free throw line for 12 points. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 26 points.

“We didn’t come out and have a lot of energy and match the other team’s energy,” O’Neal said.

Cleveland 105, Toronto 97 -- At Cleveland, the Cavaliers’ Drew Gooden scored 27 points and LeBron James had 27, his final field goal coming on a monstrous dunk. The Raptors played without Vince Carter, who had food poisoning.

New Jersey 109, Atlanta 88 -- Eric Williams scored 21 points and the Nets shot a season-high 54.4% at East Rutherford, N.J. It was the Hawks’ ninth straight loss.

Charlotte 107, New York 101 -- Steve Smith scored 20 points and hit two clutch shots in the final three minutes at Charlotte as the Bobcats overcame a 41-point performance from the Knicks’ Jamal Crawford.

Crawford shot 17 of 25 but managed just four points in the final quarter and missed his last five shots.

Orlando 96, Memphis 91 -- Grant Hill had 23 points and seven assists as the Magic took advantage of the Grizzlies’ sloppiness at Orlando, Fla.

Hedo Turkoglu and Steve Francis each scored 16 points, with Francis adding eight assists, five rebounds and five steals. Dwight Howard blocked four shots to go with his nine points and six rebounds.

Undone by a season-worst 23 turnovers, the Grizzlies lost for the sixth time in seven games.

Detroit 92, New Orleans 69 -- Ben Wallace made nine of his first 10 shots and finished with 22 points to lead the Pistons.

Wallace had 11 first-quarter points, including a pair of alley-oop dunks, as Detroit took an early double-digit lead and never looked back.

The Hornets have yet to win at home in eight tries.

Washington 95, Chicago 88 -- Gilbert Arenas scored a season-high 34 points, and Larry Hughes padded his NBA lead with seven of the Wizards’ 17 steals at Washington.

The Bulls led most of the game despite committing a season-high 29 turnovers.

The Wizards shot just 35% and were outrebounded, 50-35, but they closed the game with an 18-9 run for their fourth straight win and seventh in eight games.

San Antonio 104, Milwaukee 83 -- Tim Duncan’s 20 points led the Spurs at Milwaukee as they improved to 15-3, the best start in franchise history. The Bucks lost for the ninth time in 10 games despite the return of Joe Smith from a three-game absence.

Dallas 109, Utah 86 -- Dirk Nowitzki followed up his 53-point outburst with 30 points and seven rebounds at Dallas. Matt Harpring’s 22 points paced the Jazz, who have lost four straight and five of six.

Houston 77, Philadelphia 76 -- Tracy McGrady had 17 points at Houston, including the winning basket with 25 seconds left, as the Rockets ended a five-game losing streak.

Marc Jackson, who scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, hit two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the 76ers ahead. McGrady then hit a 20-foot jumper from above the left of the key to give Houston the final lead.

Seattle 99, Portland 89 -- Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic each scored 20 points for the Supersonics, who improved to 15-3 overall and 9-0 at home.

Golden State 104, Indiana 96 -- Mickael Pietrus contributed 15 points and six rebounds off the bench at Oakland as the Warriors ended a four-game losing streak.

Reggie Miller had 23 points for the Pacers in his season debut after recovering from a broken hand, but it wasn’t enough to keep the suspension-depleted team from notching its fourth consecutive loss.