Once-Sluggish Melo Invincible After IV

DENVER -- Two weeks ago, Carmelo Anthony put up 40 points and hit the game-winning jumper in an overtime win at Cleveland.

That performance is now looking even more epic.

The Denver Nuggets forward revealed Wednesday night he was feeling very drained in that game but didn't make that public. But after feeling sluggish for several games after that, Anthony knew something was wrong.

So Anthony had an IV after Wednesday morning's shootaround to help treat dehydration. One could say it was quite successful.

Hours later, Anthony, the NBA's third-leading scorer, tallied a game-high 30 points and helped hold the No. 2 scorer, Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, to 19 in a surprising 119-90 romp at the Pepsi Center.

"I think the juices had to kick in,'' Anthony said. "Obviously, it worked.''

Anthony said he began to feel run down when the Nuggets beat the Cavaliers 118-116 on Feb. 18 to stop Cleveland's 13-game winning streak. You'd never have known it as Anthony hit the game-winning jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining.

"Go back to that Cleveland game,'' Anthony said. "After that Cleveland game, I just wasn't feeling right. You guys (the media) would never know that, but I would never tell you guys that. Just me personally, I wasn't myself. My body wasn't right. My energy wasn't right. It took me a week and a half that I was almost down to nothing. I was dehydrated. I was literally drained. I was done.''

It did show in Anthony's play after the Cleveland outing that perhaps he wasn't right. In the six games prior to Wednesday's, Anthony averaged 22.5 points, more than six below his average.

In his previous game, Anthony had scored 17 point Monday at Phoenix, his lowest output since getting 17 on Dec. 18 at New Orleans. He knew he wanted that IV.

"I saw him getting treatment after shootaround so I'm proud of him,'' said Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo. "He's constantly battling though a lot night in and night out.''

Anthony, who was impressive with 27 points in the Feb. 14 All-Star Game (his last outing before traveling to Cleveland), was asked how he got so run down.

"I don't know,'' he said. "Just the traveling, losing so much weight. It happens.''

Anthony is looking noticeably thinner. So how much weight did he lose?

"A lot,'' said Anthony, not revealing a number.

Although he feels better, Anthony said he plans to continue getting IVs for a few more days "just to be on the safe side.'' If he gets one after shootaround Friday, the Indiana Pacers, that night's foe, might have plenty of reason to worry.

Anthony, who raised his average to 28.6, guarded Durant, now averaging 29.6, on Wednesday. It was a reasonable duel in the first half, with Anthony outscoring Durant 23-16 and Denver leading 61-52.

Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant

But the Nuggets took over in the second half. Durant only got three more points -- and didn't play in the fourth quarter -- as Denver kept extending the lead, at one time being up 41. Durant finished with his lowest-scoring outing since having 13 on Dec. 13 at Houston.

"I was showing (Durant) different faces every time he touched the ball, not let him get to his sweet spot,'' Anthony said.

Meanwhile, Anthony, who shot 11-of-19 and grabbed eight rebounds, pretty much got to where he wanted.

"I think it was just me having some energy and doing what I could do on the court,'' Anthony said. "My first step is really important to my game. When I can't do that, it's kind of hard for me to do anything, for me to find that rhythm and to find that energy. (The IV) really helped me out.''

On Wednesday, the IV made him feel invincible.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson