Anthony erupts for 36 as Nuggets pay back Pacers

Carmelo Anthony

DENVER, (Reuters) – Carmelo Anthony got off to a  sluggish start but caught fire in the third quarter as the  Denver Nuggets crushed the Indiana Pacers 121-107 on Sunday.

The Pacers had blown out the Nuggets 144-113 on Nov. 9 but  on Sunday it was Denver (25-18) dishing out the damage, earning  their fifth win in their last seven games.

Carmelo Anthony

Anthony, who had recently been booed by his home crowd as  trade rumours swirled, missed his first six shots but wound up  making 14 of 27 and finishing with 36 points. He made a career-best six three-pointers in the third  quarter alone, where he tallied 23 points, to put his team in  control.

“Regardless if I start off slow , 0-for-4, 0-for-5, that’s  just getting warmed up for me,” Anthony told reporters. “As the  game went on things started to open up for me.”

Denver seized an eight-point lead at halftime and led by 15  after three quarters as Anthony found his range.    “There is no  question he had it rolling,” said Nuggets coach George Karl. “I  thought the passing found him a lot. It would be great if we  could find him on the weak side a little more often.”

Al Harrington had 16 points off the bench and Nene chipped  in 15 and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets got a home win before  heading off for a five-game road trip. Tyler Hansbrough led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers (16-25),  who lost their fifth in a row.