DENVER (Ticker) -- Carmelo Anthony struggled, but not as much as the San Antonio Spurs.
Anthony made just 4-of-15 shots in his debut, but the Denver Nuggets managed to pull out an 80-72 victory over the defending NBA champion Spurs in their season opener.
The second overall pick in the draft after leading Syracuse to the NCAA title as a freshman, Anthony scored 12 points and had seven rebounds. He was limited to 29 minutes after picking up his third foul in the second quarter.
Anthony enjoyed his debut despite his shooting woes.
"It was great," he said. "It doesn't get any better than a win in your first game. First half, I was a little anxious and a little frustrated, especially with those two quick fouls. But in the second half I kept my composure and relaxed."
Anthony got a lot of help from his teammates. Andre Miller paced Denver with 16 points and fellow newcomer Earl Boykins added 13 off the bench. Boykins and Miller both signed with Denver during the offseason.
Marcus Camby had 16 of his 20 rebounds in the first half, tying Dikembe Mutombo's team record for one half. Camby, who missed most of last season with hip and ankle woes, was two rebounds shy of Mutombo's franchise record.
Camby had plenty of opportunities to grab rebounds as San Antonio shot just 27 percent (26-of-97) from the field. Denver wasn't much better at just 29 percent (28-of-96).
San Antonio's field-goal percentage was an all-time low for a Denver opponent. Minnesota held the previous record, shooting 30 percent on March 7, 1990.
Tim Duncan collected 21 rebounds, 17 points and eight blocks for San Antonio (1-1), which is a basket away from being 0-2. Hedo Turkoglu contributed 15 points and Manu Ginobili and Ron Mercer added 14 apiece.
"We never got in a flow," Duncan said. "We just couldn't make shots. We got every shot we wanted, the shots just wouldn't fall. They played solid, they stayed in front of us. They didn't affect our open shots, we just didn't make them."
Spurs guard Anthony Carter, who made the winning shot in Tuesday's 83-82 victory over Phoenix, played just 10 minutes in the first half and did not return because of left knee tendinitis.
