If the New Jersey Nets could play in Newark every night, they would be right in the middle of the playoff hunt. Having a little extra motivation doesn't hurt either and they were provided with exactly that Monday night when Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets came to town. The Nets took out Anthony and the Nuggets 115-99 for their third straight win at the Prudential Center.
Brook Lopez continued to put up big numbers for New Jersey, scoring 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting. The Nets center claimed going against Anthony wasn't what brought out the best out of the team.
"We were more so disappointed with ourselves on the road these past couple of games," Lopez said.
"We wanted to come home and continue to play the way we have been playing here."
Travis Outlaw scored 18 points in the first half on his way to 21 for the night and Anthony Morrow led an impressive bench effort with 18.
The Nets bench outscored the Nuggets reserves 50-17.
Anthony was clearly playing with some extra motivation. The All Star came out on fire, putting up 23 points for the league's most explosive offense. Anthony finished with 37 points, the most scored against the Nets this season in regulation. Another near-Net Chauncey Billups added 19 points while Nene scored 16 but was held to just three rebounds.
New Jersey opened up an 18 point lead in the second quarter and by 13 at halftime. Denver came roaring back in the second half, cutting the Nets lead to four in the final quarter before a 10-2 run helped put the Nuggets away.
The Nets have now won 16 of 20 games from the Nuggets in New Jersey.
Brook Lopez & Co. return to action Wednesday night when they close out their brief two-game homestand against the Philadelphia 76ers.