Bodog Beat

Carmelo Anthony and crew got the best of Tim Duncan’s Spurs on Friday. (AP Images)

A.I. and ’Melo sound like a rap duo. Lately they’ve been laying beats on opponents.

The Denver Nuggets’ awesome partnership of Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony has powered them to contender status in the Western Conference. On Friday night, they showed they can hang with the best of the best in a convincing 109-96 victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

Iverson had 29 points and Anthony dropped 25 as the Nuggets covered the point spread at home, where they were favored by two. Iverson sprained a finger on his right hand in the first half but didn’t seem bothered by the injury.

The Nuggets trailed 56-46 at the half, but dominated the third quarter. They outscored the Spurs 34-19 in that frame en route to improving their record at the Pepsi Center to 13-2 in the last 15 games.

The loss ended the Spurs’ 11-game winning streak. The betting total flew over 200 points.

In other notable NBA games on Friday:

Lakers 119, Clippers 82: The Lakers shot 12-for-17 from three-point range as they won the Battle of Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Derek Fisher had a team-high 17 points while Kobe Bryant added 16. The Lakers covered the 15.5-point spread.

Boston 116, Chicago 93: The Celtics won their seventh straight game behind the dynamic front-court duo of Paul Pierce (22 points) and Kevin Garnett (16 points). Boston was favored by 11.5 at home.

Utah 126, Phoenix 118: Deron Williams had 25 points and Carlos Boozer added 23 to lead the Jazz on the road, where they were 5.5-point underdogs. The Suns lost for the third time in a row at home.

Portland 103, Milwaukee 101: LaMarcus Aldridge hit the winning shot with 2.4 seconds to play to lift the Trail Blazers on the road. Portland was favored by one and managed to barely cover the point spread.

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