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Credits to gearmast3r*
George Karl called being on the court his sanctuary.
Carmelo Anthony answered his coach's prayer.
Anthony scored 40 points, including the winning basket, and
Denver overcame
LeBron James' monstrous night to end the Cavaliers' 13-game winning streak with a 118-116 victory in overtime in
Karl's first game since revealing he has neck and throat cancer.
"I think he's happy," Anthony said of his coach. "This boosted his spirit up a lot
. In the back of our mind, we know his situation. We're playing for him."
James had his triple-double by the end of regulation, and became the first
NBA player with at least 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks, according to the
Elias Sports Bureau.
James' triple-double came in front of
Oscar Robertson, who averaged a triple-double during the 1961-62 season. He was honored before the game along with
Jerry West, James and Anthony as co-captains of
U.S. Olympic gold medal basketball teams.
Robertson and
West captained the
Americans' gold medal in
1960, while James and Anthony were the co-captains in 2008.
James is also the first player to have at least 40 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in a game since Robertson had 42 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds on Feb. 13, 1962.
"In that sense, it's huge because of what he was able to do," James said. "But in the sense of us losing the ball game, it means nothing."
Anthony matched him shot for shot, hitting the winner on a deep jumper over an outstretched James with 1.9 seconds left.
"
It's finally me being on the other end I guess," James said. "I'm so used to being on the other end making shots and looking at guys. It's a great player and a great shot.
If I got any closer, I was going to foul him.
Big shot."
Anthony jogged to the other end of the floor after hitting the shot, nodding his head and shouting to no one in particular as the Cavaliers called timeout.
"A lot of people got some good pictures out of that moment," Anthony said. "I wanted the ball. I made the shot."
Cleveland had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but James slipped while receiving the inbound pass and his
3-pointer rattled off the rim.
James, who played 47 minutes, missed his final four shots. Anthony, who played 48 minutes, made 7 of his last 8. Anthony and the Nuggets have now won 10 of 14 games against James and the Cavaliers since the two superstars entered the league.
"It was a great game to watch, but I'm not sure it will go on my coaching resume as very polished," Karl said. "We probably should have won the game a little easier. We kept giving them chances and they kept taking advantage of them."
Anthony added seven assists and six rebounds for the Nuggets. James' triple-double was his third of the season and 27th of his career. He scored 18 of Cleveland's 27 points in the fourth quarter and his 15 assists tied a career high.
James and Anthony entered first and third in the league in scoring, just as they entered the league in
2003 as the
No. 1 and
No. 3 overall picks. Neither disappointed on Thursday. The two combined to make just 4 of 20 shots in the first quarter, then spent the rest of the night hitting huge shots in each other's face.
"You want to play against the best on the biggest stage," James said. "
Tonight was a big stage and we both did what we had to do to put our teams in position to win. He just made one more play."
- published: 11 Jun 2014
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