Anthony leads Nuggets over Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony put up 32 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Denver pulled away late for a 102-95 win over New Orleans.

Chauncey Billups recorded 21 points and seven assists for the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets, winners of five straight.

Nene had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Johan Petro chipped in 10 and 10 to help the visitors win a game that featured 19 lead changes and 21 ties.

David West and Marcus Thornton led New Orleans with 30 and 23 points, respectively. Darren Collison accounted for 17 points and 10 assists in the loss, the sixth in the last seven games for the playoff-chasing Hornets.

Collison's reverse layup had the Hornets within 90-88 with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the fourth, but Emeka Okafor turned the ball over after consecutive buckets by Anthony.

The veteran Billups came up with the steal in the backcourt and sank two free throws with 3:29 left for a 96-88 Nuggets lead.

Nene threw down a dunk the next time down to cap the game-altering 8-0 run.

Down 100-93 with under two minutes to go, Collison and Thornton each missed three-pointers. Julian Wright's alley-oop slam made it a five-point game, 100-95, with 26.9 seconds left, but the Nuggets made enough free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.

The score was close throughout the game. It was tied 29-all after 12 minutes, New Orleans took a slim 52-51 lead after two quarters of play, and a similarly-played third frame ended with the hosts on top, 75-73.

The largest lead for either team in the first three quarter was six.

Game Notes

The Hornets played without forward James Posey, who was experiencing flu-like symptoms...Anthony has scored at least 30 points 27 times this season...Denver had scored at least 110 points in its previous four games...Denver overcame 19 turnovers by owning the glass, 49-36, and making 25-of-28 free throws... Nuggets sharpshooter J.R. Smith made just 1-of-12 from the floor for three points...Wright had 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals in defeat.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.