Nuggets 133, Grizzlies  123

Melo ate his Wheaties. Again.

Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets to a 3-0 start after a 42 point performance. Not only that, he shot 15-26 from the field and 11-12 from the charity stripe. Chauncey Billups backed him up with yet another double-double (22 pts, 12 ast).  He is averaging 42 points since his efforts were praised on the NBAtoday.net podcast (check it out).

This win, however, did not come easy. OJ Mayo answered ‘Melo’s call, leading Memphis with a career high 40 points.  The entire Grizzlies starting lineup managed to score in double figures tonight.

Anthony took a 67-66 lead at the half and pushed it to 9 points off of another amazing quarter, scoring 14 points in the 3rd quarter. However, Mayo and the Grizzlies made the game interesting until the final buzzer.

Trbl Stat of the night – You got to handle your business… The Nuggets scored 29 points off Memphis’ 20 turnovers. Protect the ball!

Blazers 83, Thunder 74

An off night for Kevin Durant accompanied by poor shooting from the floor assisted Portland in wrapping up a road win at the Ford Center. Durant went 3-21 (0-5 from the arc) and finished with 16 points, and the Thunder shot a dismal 34 percent from the field.

However, Portland kept OKC in the game with its own display of trbl shooting, barely shooting over 40 percent. Brandon Roy finished with 18 points on 5-17 shooting. Travis Outlaw lifted the Blazers with 12 points off the bench.

Russell Westbrook was the only bright spot for either team, finishing with 22 points.

Trbl Stat of the Night: ‘Tis the season to give (up the ball) – Thunder’s Assist/Turnover Ratio versus the Blazers – 0.375. Yikes.

-Duts