With Carmelo Anthony, Nene’ and Kenyon Martin all out of this game for different reasons the Nuggets decided to run and gun and it worked last night. The Nuggets outscored the T-Wolves 37-30 in the 4th quarter to surge to a nice road victory last night. Chauncey Billups was on fire for the Nuggets last night as he led the way with 36 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Ty Lawson (19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal) and Arron Afflalo (17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot) also had nice games for the Nuggets last night. J.R. Smith (12 points), Chris Andersen (11 points) and Relando Balkman (10 points) pitched in for the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets are now 18-13 on the year.

The Nuggets were playing without Carmelo Anthony who is still away with his family dealing with the loss of his sister. The Nuggets seemed to play well as a team tonight as they outrebounded the Blazers 45-38 in this game. Chaucey Billups led the way for the Nuggets tonight with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 blocked shot. Nene filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot in this game. J.R. Smith (17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal) and Arron Afflalo (15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals) also had solid games for the Nuggets tonight. Kenyon Martin pitched in with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot in only 16 minutes as he’s trying to work himself back into shape. The Nuggets are now 17-13 on the year.

25-year old starting shooting guard Arron Afflalo is taking his game to a new level so far this year. Afflalo has played in 29 games (all starts) so far this year and he is averaging 35.4 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Afflalo is shooting well from everywhere on the basketball court so far this year as he is hitting 51% from the floor, 44% from three point range and 84% from the free throw line. If the Nuggets decide at some point this year to move guys like Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith in trades, I fully expect Afflalo to get a lot more shots and for him to respond big time.

The Sixers outscored the Nuggets 29-18 in the 4th quarter and it did the Nuggets in last night. Chauncey Billups led the way for the Nuggets last night with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Arron Afflalo (14 points, 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot), Ty Lawson (14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists) and Nene’ (13 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots) also helped out for the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets are now 16-13 on the season.

The Nuggets shot 52.6% from the floor but it just wasn’t enough to beat the Thunder last night. Chauncey Billups led the way for the Nuggets in this game with 30 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Nene also had a great game with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 blocked shot. Ty Lawson pitched in with 19 points, 5 assists and 1 steal off the bench. The Nuggets are now 16-12 on the season.