Anthony, Billups lead Nuggets past Bulls 112-93 for 15th straight regular-season home win

Anthony scores 30 in Nuggets’ win over Bulls

DENVER — Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points and Chauncey Billups had 21, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 112-93 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

It was the 15th straight regular-season home win for the Nuggets, including all five this season as Denver bounced back from Friday night’s loss in Los Angeles to the Clippers.

Anthony, the NBA’s leading scorer, reached 30 points for the ninth time in his first 13 games.

Derrick Rose scored 28 points, Luol Deng had 22 and Joakim Noah 10 for the Bulls, who lost for the 10th time in their last 11 games in Denver.

Reserve J.R. Smith added 19 points for the Nuggets, who swept their two-game season series with Chicago. They won the first meeting earlier this month when officials waved off a potential game-winning basket at the buzzer by Brad Miller, ruling it was an instant too late.

The Nuggets, behind by as many as 14 points in the first half, came back to tie it at 61 when Billups hit a 3-pointer with 6:09 left in the third quarter. They moved in front for first time since the game’s opening moments during their ensuing possession, when Kenyon Martin hit a jump hook over the 7-foot Noah.

Chicago regained the lead 71-70 on Rose’s running jumper, but Anthony made a jumper and Smith connected on a 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Denver took control from there, going on an 18-6 run to start the final period that featured a 3-pointer by Smith and a fast-break layup by rookie Ty Lawson off a steal.

Trailing 27-14 after a sluggish first quarter, the Nuggets cut in to the Bulls’ advantage in the last 4:34 of the second quarter, when they outscored Chicago 17-7 to pull to 52-49 at halftime.

Billups was at the center of the burst, feeding Nene inside for a dunk and going to the basket himself for 13 of his 14 second-quarter points.

NOTES: Bulls center Aaron Gray, out all season with a left fibula stress fracture, could be nearing a return. He joined the Bulls in Denver, but coach Vinny Del Negro said he’d like to see him practice a few times and get a better feel for his conditioning before putting him back on the floor. … Chris Andersen, inactive Friday night because of right knee tendinitis, was back in action for the Nuggets. … The Nuggets last lost a regular-season game at the Pepsi Center on March 9 to Houston, 97-95.