INQUIRER Sports

DENVER – Carmelo Anthony scored 12 of his 25 points in a decisive third quarter Friday as Denver routed the Los Angeles Lakers 105-79 in a rematch of last season's NBA Western Conference finals.

The Lakers won that series in six games en route to capturing the NBA crown, but Denver gained a small measure of revenge on Friday.

They outscored the Lakers 29-8 in the third period as Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was held without a point.

J.R. Smith finished with 20 points, while Nene and Ty Lawson had 13 apiece for the Nuggets, who had lost three of four games going into the contest.

Anthony, limited by foul trouble in the first half, scored 10 quick points in the third period as the Nuggets took a double-digit lead over a Lakers team coming off a late game in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 19 points apiece for Los Angeles, who suffered just their second defeat of the season to fall to 7-2.