The Nuggets shot 50.6% from the floor last night and they led the Thunder 92-64 after three quarters before calling off the dogs. Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Nuggets last night with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes. Nene had another solid game for the Nuggets last night with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in only 25 minutes. J.R. Smith pitched in with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. The Nuggets are now 40-21 on the year.

The Nuggets didn’t look to interested in playing last night as the Suns led the game 84-67 after the first three quarters. The Suns also outrebounded the Nuggets 46-36 and that showed a real lack of effort from the Nuggets. Chauncey Billups led the way for the Nuggets last night with 21 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Carmelo Anthony had a off night hitting only 7 of 21 shots from the floor as he finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. J.R. Smith pitched in with 16 points and 3 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. The Nuggets are now 39-21 on the year.

24-year old shooting guard J.R. Smith is giving the Nuggets a lot of firepower off the bench this season. Smith has played in 51 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he is averaging 27.9 minutes, 15.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Smith is the third best offensive player on the Nuggets and I really like how they deploy him so that they always have at least two solid offensive players on the court.

The Nuggets don’t have a lot of available minutes for rookie Ty Lawson but he’s making the most of them. Lawson has played in 52 games (8 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Lawson is shooting 51.3% from the floor and 42.9% from three point range so far this season which is outstanding. He will likely be a starter down the road for the Nuggets but his job for the rest of the year is to provide offense off the bench.

With the trade deadline quickly coming up the Nuggets appear willing to move veterans like Anthony Carter, Malik Allen and Johan Petro. Carter could help a team looking for a backup point guard. He has played in 30 games (7 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he is averaging 18.1 minutes, 3.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Power forward Malik Allen and center Johan Petro are both also on the block. Allen has played in 27 games (2 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he is averaging 7.8 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Center Johan Petro has played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Nuggets this season and he is averaging 5.8 minutes, 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. The Nuggets likely wouldn’t get much for these guys even if they packaged them together.