It’s early, but Melo’s carrying Nuggets like an MVP

Carmelo Anthony led the Denver Nuggets to a 133-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at home at the Pepsi Center Sunday night. The Nuggets are now 3-0 for the season and are preparing themselves for a long six-game road trip against Eastern Conference games.

Anthony continued his early bid for MVP after netting a season-high 42 points, with seven rebounds and five assists. His scoring average of 37.5 points a game leads the next closest player, Kobe Bryant (31.3), by more than six points a game.

The Nuggets’ defense looked terrible, especially in the first quarter, after surrendering 40 points. Luckily, Denver’s stellar offense bailed it out for a nice 10-point victory and a share of the best record in the West with the Phoenix Suns.

After a disappointing first two games, Chris Anderson looked like the Birdman we knew last year, scoring 12 points, with five rebounds and a block.

The other two big men for the Nuggets both had great nights. Nene scored 18 points with nine rebounds, and Kenyon Martin contributed 16 points and four assists to help get past the four 7-footers whom Memphis threw out on the court.

Denver struggled the most against 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet. The rookie from Connecticut had four blocks and six rebounds before fouling out in the third period. Even the Nuggets’ speedy guard Ty Lawson couldn’t get past Thabeet without getting his shot swatted away.

Lawson, however, did have a solid game, contributing eight points and three assists. Arron Afflalo netted his first 3-pointer with the Nuggets and scored seven points. Afflalo should have had 9 but missed a layup in the fourth period.

Although the Nuggets looked good against the Grizzlies, they will have to fine-tune the defense if they want to come out of the Eastern Conference road trip with a winning record.

One thing that may help is the assurance of Renaldo Balkman, who was rewarded with a contract extension. Terms were not disclosed, but the retention of Balkman for at least the next year or two will help the Nuggets significantly with rebounding and energy.

The Nuggets also picked up the fourth-year option on reserve guard Afflalo’s contract, making him a Nugget for the next few years. Afflalo hasn’t showed much this year, after averaging only a little over a point and an assist a game, but the Nuggets’ action demonstrates high expectations for Afflalo as a premier defender and a legitimate 3-point threat off the bench.