Carmelo Anthony is finding it easier to carry the Denver Nuggets now that he's not burdened with so much personal baggage.
Anthony's name kept showing up in the headlines for all the wrong reasons last season: A bar fight in New York City; a bag of marijuana found in his backpack at the airport; showing up on a bootleg DVD in Baltimore in which a man threatened to kill drug snitches.
Now he's making all his noise on the court.
He's averaging a career-best 25.5 points and has led the Nuggets to the top of the Northwest Division despite a rash of injuries to the frontcourt. At 21, he's turned into the star everybody predicted he'd become when he left college after leading Syracuse to the national championship as a freshman in 2003.
Earlier this week, Cleveland limited him to 17 points, his lowest output in a full game since Nov. 23, but he still hit the clutch shot in the closing seconds and played admirable defense on LeBron James in Denver's 90-89 win.
"The way he's playing right now, he should be a lock" for the All-Star Game, marveled James. "He's playing like an All-Star. He's playing like a superstar."
And acting like one, too.
After all his off-court troubles last year, Anthony said he dedicated himself last summer to becoming a better person and a better player. He showed up at camp in top shape and quickly proved that coach George Karl's two-year blueprint for him to reach NBA stardom was twice as long as needed. He also decided to spend his off-time doing more community and charity work.
"This season I came in with a clean slate," Anthony said. "I didn't have any off-court issues to worry about. I was able to get focused on basketball. Everybody in my circle, I told them I was on a mission this year."
To clean up his act on and off the court.
"If I still had stuff on my mind, off-the-court issues, I probably wouldn't be able to come out onto the court and do what I'm doing now," Anthony said.
The more mature 'Melo has hit two game-winning shots this month, giving him five for his career -- Michael Jordan had 11 in 15 NBA seasons -- and he sent another game into overtime with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"It's been awesome. He's been pretty much carrying the whole organization on his back," injured center Marcus Camby said. "He's doing a terrific job. He's been coming early, staying late, working on his game and that goes to show you how much he's maturing."
What's most impressive about his improvement is that it hasn't come at the expense of others.
"That's what I love about what 'Melo's doing. He's doing it with the respect of our team and within the team framework, with efficiency," Karl said. "I really think his development has been spectacular because it's lifted the team, it hasn't drained the team. I think sometimes individuals can suck the energy out of a team."
Karl is trying to convince Anthony that if he can double his assists average to five per game his teammates will get the ball to him more often.
But a ball hog or stats freak Anthony is not. He's not just putting up the points, he's coming through in the clutch.
"My confidence level is out of this world right now," Anthony said. "I feel every shot I put up there is going in."
It was two games the Nuggets actually lost that Anthony points to as the most important in his growth so far. One came Nov. 30, when he sat out a loss to New Orleans with a sprained left ankle and realized how badly his team needed him. He hasn't missed a game since, despite a dislocated finger, bruised ribs and a sore back. Then there was a two-point loss to Philadelphia on Dec. 27 in which he was double-teamed on the final inbounds and dished to guard Earl Watson, who missed the 3-pointer.
"I think in certain situations last year and the year before last I would have tried to take that shot with three people on me," Anthony said. "But I've seen even if I don't shoot the ball to win the game, I can win the game by passing it out of a double team."
Anthony said he realized last year that off-the-court problems seeped into his play on the court and that if he stayed away from trouble, adversity would keep its distance, too:
"When you know things are good off the court, you've got nothing to worry about on the court."
Allen Iverson hit the tying jumper with 3.2 seconds left in regulation and scored 30 points to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-86 overtime victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.
Chris Webber opened overtime with a three-point play, Kyle Korver sank a 3-pointer and Samuel Dalembert had two clutch blocked shots on Pau Gasol that gave the Sixers a four-point lead.
The Grizzlies lost their fourth straight game.
Webber finished with 29 points and Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds.
Eddie Jones led Memphis with 22 points, Lorenzen Wright had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Jackson had 14 points.
Spurs 101, Heat 94
At Miami, Tony Parker scored a career-high 38 points, including a game-clinching jumper with 38 seconds left, as San Antonio rallied to beat Miami.
The Spurs blew a 15-point third-quarter lead and had to escape a four-point deficit midway through the fourth, but won to match their best 40-game start (31-9) in franchise history. San Antonio had the same record last year on the way to winning the NBA championship.
Parker hit 13 of 18 shots from the floor and surpassed his previous career best of 35. Tim Duncan added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs.
Dwyane Wade scored 36 points for Miami (23-17), which played at home for the first time since Jan. 1. Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points and Jason Williams added 18 for Miami, which has lost eight of its last nine games against San Antonio.
Rockets 109, Bulls 108, 2OT
At Chicago, Tracy McGrady scored 35 points, including the tying shot at the end of regulation and the go-ahead 3-pointer in the second overtime, to lead Houston.
After missing five games with back spasms, McGrady hit a 3 with 42 seconds left in the second overtime to break a 106-all tie.
Two nights after New York's Antonio Davis climbed into the stands at the United Center, fearing for his wife's safety, the drama stayed on the court and there were no apparent confrontations.
McGrady was 13-of-29 as the Rockets (13-25) snapped a seven-game losing streak. Juwan Howard scored a season-high 30 points on 15 of 29 shooting and David Wesley added 17 points.
Luol Deng led the Bulls (16-23) with 19 points. Ben Gordon scored 18, two nights after hitting the winning jumper and scoring 32 in the overtime victory over New York.
Wizards 110, Hornets 99
At Washington, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler each topped 20 points, and Washington pulled away early in the fourth quarter.
Arenas finished with 33 points, giving him at least 30 in exactly half of Washington's 38 games. Butler scored 24, and Jamison added 20 points and 11 rebounds for his third consecutive 20-10 game.
Washington has won five of its last six games and improved to 9-6 since Butler moved into the starting lineup. The Wizards were 9-14 with him as their sixth man.
Chris Paul, the Hornets' first-round pick from Wake Forest, recorded his 11th double-double with 28 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds. But he didn't get a whole lot of help as the Hornets' four-game winning streak ended.
Bucks 118, Hawks 102
At Atlanta, Michael Redd scored 28 points and Bobby Simmons chipped in with 25, helping Milwaukee snap a three-game losing streak.
The Bucks played without guard T.J. Ford, who stayed home with a strained left hamstring. It didn't matter against the listless Hawks, whose NBA-worst record slipped to 10-28.
Salim Stoudamire led Atlanta with 23 points. The Hawks didn't fare well against former coach Terry Stotts, who took over the Bucks this season. He coached in Atlanta for nearly two years, but was let go after the team got new owners in 2004.
It was the first matchup between the top two picks in this season's draft. Milwaukee's Andruw Bogut, who went No. 1 overall, had only five points but led the Bucks with 13 rebounds. Marvin Williams, taken by Atlanta with the second pick, managed nine points.
Magic 104, Bobcats 93
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Dwight Howard had 19 points and a career-high 21 rebounds, Hedo Turkoglu scored 24 points, and Orlando beat injury-riddled Charlotte.
Already without Emeka Okafor (ankle), Kareem Rush (finger), Melvin Ely (ankle) and Sean May (knee surgery), the Bobcats lost leading scorer Gerald Wallace to a knee injury in the third quarter.
Steve Francis, back in the starting lineup in his second game back from a team suspension, added 13 points and six assists as the Magic won their second straight game and snapped an eight-game road losing streak.
Keith Bogans scored 19 points, Brevin Knight added 17 and Wallace scored 12 before the injury for the Bobcats, who lost their sixth straight game.
Celtics 99, Nets 96
At Boston, Ricky Davis scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter as Boston held on to beat New Jersey.
Paul Pierce had 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Boston. Delonte West added 12 points and Kendrick Perkins had 11.
Jason Kidd had 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Nets, who host the Celtics on Saturday night in their second matchup this season. Vince Carter added 20 points and Richard Jefferson 16.
Timberwolves 90, Pacers 85
At Minneapolis, Wally Szczerbiak scored 20 points and Eddie Griffin had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks to lead Minnesota over Indiana.
Minnesota shot 75 percent in the first period of its fourth victory in five games and had all five starters finish in double figures.
Kevin Garnett added 17 points and eight rebounds and Szczerbiak was 12-for-12 on free throws.
Fred Jones scored 19 points and Austin Croshere added 18 points and six rebounds for the Pacers, who shot 39 percent and desperately missed star forward Jermaine O'Neal.
Griffin was 7-for-11 and Marko Jaric had 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Nuggets 113, Jazz 83
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony continued his surge with 31 points and Denver beat Utah for its fourth straight win.
Anthony made 11 of 22 shots from the field and nine of 10 free throws. He is averaging 31.3 points in his last four games.
Kenyon Martin added 16 points and six rebounds as Denver increased its lead to 1{ games over the Jazz in the Northwest Division.
Devin Brown had 23 points for Utah, which has lost three of its last four. Andrei Kirilenko had 11 points.
Suns 106, Lakers 93
At Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 22 points and 16 rebounds to go with Steve Nash's 17 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, and Phoenix beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the sixth straight time.
Kobe Bryant, coming off a 51-point game in an overtime loss at Sacramento on Thursday, scored 20 of his 37 in the fourth quarter.
Five Suns scored in double figures. Eddie House had 19 points off the bench, 12 in the second quarter when Phoenix took the lead for good.
Bryant made 12 of 33 shots. Lamar Odom had 15 points and 12 rebounds and Smush Parker scored 12 in the Lakers' third loss in nine games. Phoenix is 11-3 since Christmas.
Mavericks 101, Clippers 81
At Los Angeles, Dirk Nowitzki had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Dallas got Los Angles Clippers leading scorer Elton Brand in early foul trouble.
Six players scored in double figures for the Mavericks, who extended their winning streak to four games. They also improved their road record to 15-6 after setting a franchise record last season with a 29-12 road mark.
Sam Cassell scored 23 points for the Clippers, who went 7 minutes, 6 seconds between field goals in the fourth quarter. Brand, who came in as the only player in the league among the top 10 in scoring and rebounding, finished with 19 points and 10 boards.
Warriors 99, Cavaliers 79
At Oakland, California, Jason Richardson scored 22 points on his 25th birthday and Golden State thrived without suspended guard Baron Davis.
Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points and Troy Murphy added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who won their second straight following a five-game losing streak. They also handed Cleveland its sixth straight loss. Golden State held LeBron James to 14 points, matching his lowest total of the season, on 5-of-22 shooting.
Raptors 121, SuperSonics 113
At Seattle, Chris Bosh made a team-record 17 free throws without a miss and finished with 29 points to lead Toronto.
Bosh added 13 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season. His 17 consecutive free throws in a game without a miss broke Vince Carter's team record of 13. The 17-for-17 performance was the best in the NBA this season, besting Dirk Nowitzki's 15-for-15.
Jalen Rose continued his scoring surge with 28 points in his first start since Dec. 3. Coach Sam Mitchell inserted Rose into the starting lineup in place of rookie Joey Graham.
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