Carmelo Anthony Hits Game-Winner, Up 3-0

Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets is regarded as one of the clutchest players in the basketball world. On Saturday, Anthony proved his clutchness once again. Down by two points with less than five seconds remaining, the Nuggets’ superstar small forward drained a three-pointer to give Denver the 106-105 win and a 3-0 lead in the best of seven series against the Dallas Mavericks.

Carmelo Anthony Game-Winner (Image: Newscom)

On the game, Anthony had 31 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 42 minutes. Chauncey Billups also starred for the Nuggets, finishing with 32 points, three rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes. Kenyon Martin (12 points) and J.R. Smith (10 points) also finished in double-digits.

For the Mavs, this was a bitter loss. Prior to Anthony’s game-winning three-pointer, Antoine Wright of the Mavs tried to foul him because Dallas had a foul to give. Despite replays showing that Wright did foul Anthony, there was no call from the referees. Following the game, the NBA admitted that the ref made a mistake by not calling a foul.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 33 points in 38 minutes. Jason Terry, the 2009 Sixth Man of the Year, had 17 points and four rebounds from off the bench.

Game 4 will be played on Monday in Dallas. With a victory, the Nuggets would advance to the Western Conference Finals.