Defense was optional in this one, and the Sacramento Kings’ defense was a little worse than the Denver Nuggets as Carmelo Anthony and Nikola Jokic propelled the Nuggets to a 124-116 victory. The Kings (3-5) lost their fourth in a row.
Anthony scored 37 points, while Jokic had 27 points and 11 rebounds. The Nuggets shot 53.3% from the field, the second-best performance by a Kings opponent through the gauntlet.
Oscar Robertson scored a season-high 25 points for the Kings and made 11 of 12 free throws along with six rebounds and six assists.
Both teams had six players score in double-figures.
The Nuggets jumped out to an 11-5 lead, though the Kings rallied to take their first lead at 16-15 after two Robertson free throws. Sacramento built a three-point lead on three occasions, last at 31-28 after a Doug Christie basket. That would turn out to be the Kings’ last lead of the game, however. Denver scored the final four points of the quarter and led 32-31 at the break.
Anthony and Jokic extended the run to 10-0 as they opened the second quarter with three-pointers, taking a 38-31 lead. Denver took its first double-digit lead at 52-42 after Anthony make two free throws, and the lead grew to 14 points at 62-48 after Fat Lever scored. The Kings rallied, as Nate Archibald had six points in a 12-2 run that cut the deficit to four at 64-60. The Nuggets went into halftime with a 69-62 advantage. Anthony had 24 and Jokic had 18 at the break.
The Kings got off to a good start in the third quarter, scoring seven of the first nine points to make it a two-point game at 71-69. But Anthony and Jokic each scored five points in a 10-0 Denver run to push the lead back up to 81-69. The Nuggets maintained a healthy lead for the rest of the quarter, and Dan Issel’s basket at the buzzer let Denver hit the century mark and take a 100-85 lead going into the final quarter.
The Kings gave themselves a chance by cutting the deficit to seven at 106-99, but Alex English scored twice in an 8-0 run as the Nuggets went up 114-99. There was no coming back from that deficit, although the Kings got the final score into single-digits.
Next up: the Detroit Pistons.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 