NBA: Nuggets clinical in San Antonio, Raps win again

All the talk pre-season suggested that the San Antonio Spurs had taken huge strides forward over the summer and the Denver Nuggets had gone nowhere.

Saturday night said otherwise.

Carmelo Anthony took centre stage with 34 points as the Nuggets improved to 15-4 with a 106-99 victory, despite trailing for three quarters of the game.

Chauncey Billups made a fast start on the way to 18 points and five assists while JR Smith had 17 off the bench.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 27 points and Tim Duncan went 10 of 12 for 26 points - but the Nuggets had the cool heads down the stretch.

Anthony made a slow start, going 2 of 7 early, as the Spurs led by seven at the end of the first quarter, thanks to George Hill's buzzer-beating three.

With their bench scoring 25 first half points and Duncan proving unstoppable in the low post, San Antonio kept the Nuggets in check and secured a 59-53 half-time lead.

But last season's run to the Western Conference finals has strengthened the Nuggets as a group and they seem to thrive on the big game atmosphere. George Karl's team cranked up their defense and Melo started to heat up.

The Spurs committed 19 turnovers on the night and Denver made them pay. Anthony, who went 14 for 27 and 10 for 16 in the second half, continued to sink jumpers - no matter who was guarding him. He had as many second half field goals as the entire Spurs team.

After three quarters, the Nuggets were within one and they took the lead on Smith's three-pointer at 78-76. From there, they rode Anthony and relied on a pumped up defense, led superbly by Kenyon Martin.

Maintaining a slender lead throughout the fourth quarter, Billups extended it to a six-point advantage with a clutch jumper and then sunk the free throws that put the game to bed.

For the Spurs, it was a second straight loss to a division leader and questions will be asked about their offense. New faces Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess are not shooting well and Parker had no assists in the second half.

San Antonio will bounce back but thus far the Nuggets, who have won seven of their last eight, certainly look the likeliest threat to the Lakers' domination in the West.

Over in the East, the Toronto Raptors have regained some belief. One night on from a big overtime win in Washington, Chris Bosh and company hammered the Bulls 110-78 in Chicago.

Toronto used a lightning start to establish a 21-point first quarter lead. Bosh had a game-high 25 points while four other Raptors got into double figures.

The Bulls shot a miserable 39% from the field but credit must go to a vastly-improved Toronto defense, which grabbed loose balls and challenged every shot. Players are taking more responsibility and a run of victories will follow if they can keep up this intensity.