Billups scores season-high 28 points along with 10 assists

Carmelo Anthony did not tell his teammates that his sore right elbow had gotten worse before the game. He tried to play anyway, but pulled himself out after 14 minutes when a pass he made was unintentionally soft. He managed 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a block before leaving the game, but it was up to his teammates from there. The Rockets were already without their superstar Tracy McGrady, so you would here no complaints from them.

Chauncey and J.R. had the long range dialed in - going a combined 9-18 from three-point land between the two of them.

Dahntay Jones is not getting a lot of recognition as a Nuggets newcomer with Chauncey deservedly receiving most of it, but he deserves some props. Dahntay has played solid man defense whenever he's on the court, been efficient on the offensive end, and brought his athleticism to bear at opportune times. He had two emphatic blocks tonight - one a beautifully timed one on a seemingly Rockets break-away layup attempt where he came out of nowhere.

The Nuggets bigs did an admirable job on Yao Ming tonight. Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen combined to more than cancel out the 7'6 giant and render him a non-factor. Who says the Nuggets front-line is undersized?

Notes: The "Billups Watch" continues to be a fascinating stat. The Nuggets are 11-3 since Chauncey joined the team in the trade with Detroit. A special thanks to the Nuggets for the win on a special night - my family attended the game and took my Dad as a birthday outing. Happy Birthday Pops!

On to Player Ratings for the game: (ratings on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest)

	Carmelo was a non-factor for the first time in a long, long time. 222 games to be exact. Carmelo was held to less than 10 points for the first time since 11/28/2005, when he played just 90 seconds before leaving with a sprained ankle.	Player rating: Inc.
	Chauncey stepped up big with 28 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals to help guide the Nuggets to the win. His starting counterpart, Houston's Rafer Alston had 16 points and 6 assists on 3-10 shooting.	Player rating: 5
	JR continued his hot shooting from the previous few games, going 6-14 and 5-9 from 3pt range. He also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists with only 2 turnovers.	Player rating: 4.5
	Kenyon, along with fellow bigs Nene and Andersen had a solid game - operating efficiently on the offensive end and still managing enough energy on defense to contain Yao Ming and Luis Scola.	Player rating: 5

Game Summary written by: aswitzer

Have a comment? Discuss this game in the NH Forums!