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DENVER (AP) - Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points in his return from an ankle injury and the Denver Nuggets had their biggest win of the season, routing the Dallas Mavericks 127-91 on Tuesday night.
Anthony, the NBA's second-leading scorer, returned after missing eight consecutive games with a left ankle sprain. However, the Nuggets were without Kenyon Martin, who missed the game because of tendinitis in his left knee.
The 36-point victory margin against a Dallas team Denver eliminated in last season's semifinal round of the playoffs surpassed the Nuggets' previous high of 28 points, which they achieved twice in wins against Toronto and New Jersey in November.
Nene led Denver with 21 points, Chauncey Billups added 16 and Chris Andersen had 14 points to go with 10 rebounds. The Nuggets won at home for the 23rd time in 27 games.
Dallas, losing to Denver for the sixth time in the last seven meetings, was led by Dirk Nowitzki, who had 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting from the floor. Jason Terry had 16 points and Josh Howard 14 for Dallas.
Up by 26 at the half, the Nuggets pulled ahead 78-46, connecting on three 3s in a row, two by Arron Afflalo and the third by Anthony.
The Mavericks tried to get back in the game with a 14-5 run but Denver answered with a 7-0 burst touched off by a pair of baskets by Anthony, pulling in front 90-60 with 3:13 remaining in the third quarter and taking a 103-70 lead into the final period.
At halftime, the Nuggets led 65-39.
Dallas managed to pull to 49-35 on a three-point play by Nowitzki with 4:13 left in the second quarter but the Nuggets scored 16 of the next 20 points leading up to the break. Nene had five points in the flurry, including a three-point play in which he muscled in a layup underhanded as Kidd grabbed his arm. Billups' culminated the spree by hitting consecutive 3-pointers in the final seconds of the period.
Notes: Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway watched the game from a courtside seat. ... The Nuggets are 21-2 when holding opponents below 100 points. ... Dallas has made a 3-pointer in 908 consecutive games. ... Dallas split its back-to-back set that began Monday with a 127-117 win at Golden State.
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