Boston ? Carmelo Anthony rescued the travel-weary Denver Nuggets with just seconds to spare.
Anthony’s 15-foot jumper with 3.6 seconds remaining gave the Nuggets a 100-99 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, the fifth stop on Denver’s seven-game road trip.
“It was nice to bounce back from last night’s defeat,” Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “It really stung us and, after being on the road for a long time, I was really proud of how we responded.”
Anthony scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won seven of their last 10 games, including three of five during their East Coast trek.
“They were double-teaming me the whole game and all five guys were being real physical with me,” Anthony said. “But in a situation like tonight, my teammates and coach know I want the ball.”
Paul Pierce had 31 to lead the Celtics, including two free throws with 10.7 seconds to give Boston a 99-98 lead. He had a chance to win it, but his jumper at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Marcus Camby added 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time against the Celtics since the 1991-92 season and snapped a seven-game losing streak in Boston.
Kenyon Martin also had a double-double for Denver, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Boston erased a 98-93 deficit with 1:21 remaining to take the lead, but still lost for the fourth time in six games.
“We just couldn’t get the key stop,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We knew what was coming with that last play with Carmelo but we just didn’t execute our defense very well.”
Ricky Davis had 13 fourth-quarter points following his 19-point fourth quarter against the Clippers on Monday night. Raef LaFrentz finished with eight points and 15 rebounds, while Gary Payton had 11 points with 10 assists.
Earl Boykins helped Denver build a 39-27 lead when his layup capped a 15-1 run with 7:06 remaining in the first half. Pierce scored Boston’s first basket of the second quarter 4:40 before the break.
Andre Miller had 16 points in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting and finished with 19, rebounding from two poor games against New York and Philadelphia when he combined to go 5-of-19 from the field with 10 turnovers.
Notes: Camby has 53 points and 33 rebounds over the last three games. … Nene missed his second straight game with a bruised right hip for Denver. … LaFrentz was drafted by the Nuggets in 1998 with their third pick. … Pierce had 20 points at halftime and led the Celtics in scoring for only the third time in the last eight games. … Denver is 9-3 against Eastern Conference teams. … Miller had two steals to give him 600 for his career.
