DENVER - Even without Carmelo Anthony on the court, the Pepsi Center is still LeBron James' personal house of horrors.
Anthony had the best seat in the arena for the big visit from James, missing the game but enjoying the result as the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-97 Friday night.
Anthony's much-hyped matchup with James will have to wait until Feb. 18 because of a nagging knee injury that kept him out of his fourth consecutive game.
The Nuggets didn't need 'Melo to send James to his sixth loss in seven trips to the Pepsi Center.
Kenyon Martin filled in nicely for Anthony, scoring 19 points, grabbing 12 boards and playing tough defense on James down the stretch, forcing him to miss a layup and then inducing him to step out of bounds on back-to-back possessions in the final minute.
"Those were big stops," teammate Anthony Carter said. "K-Mart won the challenge."
If only begrudging respect from King James.
"I think Kenyon is really good laterally, he's a physical guy," James said. "As far as problems, I don't think he presents any problems. But he definitely did a good job of standing in front of me the last couple of possessions."