Big 3 spark Spurs rout

DENVER • Tony Parker scored 22 points, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili each added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs took advantage of a rare poor performance by Chauncey Billups to whip the Denver Nuggets 108-91 on Thursday night.

The Nuggets had won 12 of 15 since acquiring Billups from Detroit in the Allen Iverson trade.

Billups, the former University of Colorado star, had enjoyed a wonderful homecoming up to this point, helping the franchise get off to its best start since the 1976-77 team behind David Thompson won 13 of its first 19.

Nene prospering

While Denver's monthlong hot streak has been credited almost solely to the arrival of Billups and the improved all-around game of Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets center Nene quietly is becoming the player they always said he could be.

While Billups and Anthony continue to eat up the headlines, Nene has averaged - going into Thursday's game -15.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.68 blocked shots, all of which would shatter his single-season bests.

But perhaps most telling about the 6-foot-11 Brazilian's emergence is his 64.2 percent field-goal percentage, which leads the NBA but is on pace to be the best since Artis Gilmore shot 65.2 percent for Chicago in 1981-82.


NEXT

Denver at 
Sacramento, 
8 p.m. Saturday, ALT, 1580 AM