Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points last night as the Denver Nuggets won their eighth consecutive game, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-112 at the Pepsi Center. Linas Kleiza's 12 points in the fourth quarter saw the team through. The Associated Press points out that the Nuggets are getting closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with just three games left in the season, including tonight's game against the Lakers in Los Angeles. With two more wins, the Nuggets will best their all-time franchise record for wins--54, set a generation ago in the 1987-88 season. One reason for the team's success is coach George Karl, profiled recently by 5280 and whom the Denver Stiffs include in their discussion on coach of the year.