Carmelo Scores 30 After Pot Charge Dropped

Now Carmelo Anthony can concentrate entirely on basketball again. That means defenses all over the NBA better get focused, too. Hours after prosecutors dropped a drug charge against him, Anthony scored 30 points to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the visiting Toronto Raptors 112-106 on Wednesday night.

“A little bit early in the season I was thinking about it, worrying about what they were going to do, but now I try to put basketball in the middle and work everything else around it,” Anthony said.

The star forward was charged with possessing less than 1 ounce of marijuana on Oct. 15 after a bag with the drug was found in his backpack as the team waited to board a flight for a preseason game. A friend came forward and said the drugs were his, but the negative attention clearly affected Anthony early this season.

Not anymore.

After shooting 27 percent the first four games, Anthony has made 36 of 76 shots (47 percent) the past four, scoring at least 30 points twice. More importantly, he has been more aggressive, and the smile he flashed so often as a rookie last season has returned.

“Carmelo is active and not settling for jump shots,” Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “He is taking balls to the hole and hitting the offensive glass, and those kinds of things are needed for him to be a complete scorer.”

In other games, it was: Detroit 93, Minnesota 85; Seattle 79, New Jersey 68; Orlando 107, Utah 92; Indiana 93, Atlanta 86; Washington 110, Boston 105 in overtime; Phoenix 95, New Orleans 84; Miami 113, Milwaukee 106; Memphis 101, Portland 82; Golden State 98, Chicago 85; and the Los Angeles Lakers 103, the Los Angeles Clippers 89.

Anthony also had a key block in the closing minutes and made all 16 free throws, including two with 5.6 seconds left to seal Denver’s second win in three games since a 1-4 start.

Kenyon Martin added 24 points and 16 rebounds to give the Nuggets the electrifying 1-2 combination they were hoping for when Martin signed in the offseason.

Denver played without center Marcus Camby and power forward Nene due to hamstring injuries, and Martin did his best to make up for their absence with his usual aggressive play.

“People have been looking for that since the start of the season,” Anthony said. “We gave them what they want to see and hopefully we can carry it on to the next game and throughout the season.”

Magic 107, Jazz 92

At Orlando, Fla., Grant Hill scored 32 points, his most in 4 1/2 years, and Steve Francis had season highs of 33 points and 11 assists for the Magic.

Pistons 93, Timberwolves 85

At Auburn Hills, Mich., Chauncey Billups scored 15 of his 21 points in the third quarter and revitalized Detroit rallied to beat Minnesota.

Billups, Ben Wallace and coach Larry Brown all returned to the Pistons after absences. Billups missed the previous game – a loss in Utah – with a sprained ankle. Wallace sat out two games because of a death in his family, and Brown missed five games – including three losses – due to hip surgery.

Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 24 points. Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.

SuperSonics 79, Nets 68

At East Rutherford, N.J., Rashard Lewis scored 17 points and Seattle improved the NBA’s best record to 8-1 despite starting the first half 0-for-10 and the second half 0-for-8.

The Sonics’ eighth consecutive win came against a New Jersey team that had more fouls (29) than field goals (26) and committed 23 turnovers. The Nets lost their fourth straight.

Suns 95, Hornets 84

At New Orleans, Amare Stoudemire scored a career-high 38 points, one night after he had 34 in Dallas. The Hornets (0-7) attempted only two foul shots, tying an NBA low and breaking the team mark they set in Milwaukee on Saturday night when they took only three.

Steve Nash added 12 assists and 16 points. Shawn Marion scored 23.

The Hornets are off to the worst start in franchise history under new coach Byron Scott.

Heat 113, Bucks 106

At Milwaukee, Shaquille O’Neal scored a season-high 26 points and Eddie Jones had 27 to help Miami beat the Bucks for the second time in four days.

Pacers 93, Hawks 86

At Indianapolis, Jermaine O’Neal had 25 points and 13 rebounds to offset a dazzling performance by friend and former teammate Al Harrington, who scored 30 points.

Wizards 110, Celtics 105, OT

At Washington, Antawn Jamison scored 27 points, Gilbert Arenas had 25 and the Wizards shut out Boston for the first 4:47 of overtime. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with a season-high 37 points.

Grizzlies 101, Trail Blazers 82

At Portland, Ore., Bonzi Wells scored 25 points against his former team, and Memphis led by as many as 34 in its first road victory.

Warriors 98, Bulls 85

At Oakland, Calif., Jason Richardson had 27 points and eight rebounds, and Golden State beat Chicago (0-6) for its first home win in four games.

Lakers 103, Clippers 89

At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 23 points and a season-high 11 assists for the Lakers, who are 18-3 against the Clippers at Staples Center and 27-3 in the last 30 meetings overall.