Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 39 points, including 17-for-17 on free throws, to lead the visiting Denver Nuggets to a 106-89 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

Monta Ellis, who is second in the NBA in scoring at 25.5 points per game, had 20 for the Warriors (7-7), who have lost five of their last six games.

Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups did not play after suffering a sprained wrist and broken nose against New Jersey on Saturday night.

Al Harrington had 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench, and Arron Afflalo had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets (8-6), who were 12-for-21 from 3-point range. Anthony also had nine rebounds.

Denver’s Chris Andersen returned after missing the first 13 games of the season recovering from knee surgery, and finished with seven points and three rebounds in 18 minutes.

Andersen scored the final four points of the third quarter in spectacular fashion to give Denver a 79-71 lead. Andersen stole the ball from Rodney Carney and finished a coast-to-coast run with a finger roll and then scored on a no-look shot while being fouled by Stephen Curry under the basket.