Magic vs. Nuggets Preview
Denver, CO (AP) – The Denver Nuggets are back home, where they’ve won nine straight games and will play 11 of their next 16.
Whether Carmelo Anthony will still be with them by the end of that stretch is anyone’s guess.
Concluding a 1-3 road trip in New York only fueled speculation of Anthony’s desire for a trade, a distraction the Nuggets will try to put behind them Tuesday night as they look to extend their home winning streak against the Orlando Magic.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Nuggets 1-point spread favorites for Tuesday’s game against the Magic. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 68% of more than 961 bets for this game have been placed on the Magic +1.
Denver (14-9) entered its trip east having won seven straight games, but stumbled in Charlotte last Tuesday before Anthony sat out a loss to Boston and a win at Toronto with a balky right knee.
Anthony returned Sunday and had 31 points and 13 rebounds against the red-hot Knicks, but that wasn’t enough for the Nuggets to salvage a .500 trip as they lost 129-125.
New York has long been the rumored favorite to land Anthony, who can become a free agent next summer. The three-time All-Star stressed Sunday the importance of being offered a contract extension by any prospective suitor. He refused a three-year, $65 million offer from Denver in the offseason.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that Anthony informed the Nuggets that the Knicks were the only team with which he’d sign an extension, but Anthony insisted Monday that wasn’t the case.
“More of the drama, man,” Anthony said. “I was there and so it was a hot topic to talk about it. I’m not worrying about it. That’s not my focus right now. My focus is to try to get some wins back home.
“I just really want to focus on basketball right now – let the business take care of business when that time comes. My goal is to go out there every night on the court and continue doing what I’m doing.”
Karl is avoiding the rumor mill, instead focusing on helping the Nuggets continue their home success. Denver has averaged 112.7 points during its nine consecutive victories at the Pepsi Center.
“Melo’s not going to bring my Christmas down,” Karl said. “He’s been a blessing in my career. He’s been a great player for me. We need him to play really well this week for us to have a great week.”
The Magic (16-8) weren’t having a very good week before visiting the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. They’d averaged 86.8 points while losing four straight, including the first two stops on a four-game trip.
Facing the league-worst Clippers got Orlando headed in the right direction. The Magic built a 26-point second-quarter lead en route to a 94-85 victory behind 22 points from Dwight Howard.
“There are going to be tough times and tough stretches in the season and it’s just about how you get out of it,” guard Jameer Nelson told the team’s official website. “This is just one game and we’re happy to have it, but we have to build from it. Hopefully it’s the start of another winning streak.”
That won’t be easy in Denver, where Orlando has lost six of seven visits since Anthony entered the league – including all six Anthony when has played. The Magic have averaged 18.1 turnovers in those defeats, with Howard accounting for 4.3 per game in his six trips there.
Chauncey Billups, who’s shooting 31.8 percent in December, has scored 20.9 points per game against Orlando since 2005-06 – his highest average against any team he’s faced at least seven times.
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