Carmelo Anthony Reintroduces Himself to China with 45-Point Performance

Dwight Howard is now famous not only for his great basketball play, but his constant tweeting of "Heyyyy World!"

Tonight, that tweet would be more appropriate for Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony as he brought his all star play back to Beijing, the site of the 2008 Olympics where Melo was a star in his own right earning a gold medal with Team USA.

Carmelo was amazing tonight, as he ate former Nugget Dahntay Jones’ defense alive. Melo shot over him, as the beautiful jumper from the purest shooter in the NBA was wet tonight. And as his offense blossomed, his defense progressed. After making three straight shots in the first half, he got in on a loose ball and almost stole it. Then on the next Indiana possession, Anthony blocked Troy Murphy's lay up attempt.

But in the second half, Melo went off, with 17 points in the third quarter he was constantly confusing and frustrating Jones. On consecutive plays on the offensive end, Melo was pushed by Jones in the air but splashed the ball home anyway, drawing Jones’ fifth foul.

His 40th point came on an emphatic dunk, followed quickly by a perfect three point attempt. Melo even hit 45 points against the Pacers with half of the third quarter remaining.

Sure, it was just a preseason game, and against the Pacers who have no answer on the defensive end for Anthony, but Melo’s dominant performance should not be ignored. Anthony is showing he is ready for the season to begin, and if he can play anywhere near the level he did tonight on a regular basis, Melo should compete for a scoring title if not the MVP of the league. Along with his 45 points, which tied a career high, Anthony added nine rebounds and two blocks, leading his team to an outstanding 128-112 win tonight in Beijing, China.

If anyone is sleeping on the Nuggets right now, wake up, because even though many western conference powers have improved this offseason with huge name signings, Denver has kept some in-house players in Chris “Birdman” Andersen and Anthony Carter, signed Malik Allen, Aaron Afflalo, and Ty Lawson, and Melo just keeps on getting better.

With a starting lineup including Melo, Chauncey Billups, a healthy Kenyon Martin and Nene, and young athletic talent J.R. Smith, the Nuggets are sure to compete for the Western Conference title once again, if not the NBA Championship in 2010.

Rich Kurtzman is the Colorado State Rams Examiner for examiner.com, a Denver native, and lover of all things sports, especially all sports a mile high.

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