DENVER — Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points Wednesday night, helping the Denver Nuggets stave off the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-112 for their eighth straight win.

Linas Kleiza scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, who inched closer to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with their ninth straight win at the Pepsi Center.

Nene added 23 points and Chauncey Billups 18, including every one in an 11-2 spurt the Nuggets used to finally get control of the game in the third quarter, and Chris Andersen blocked seven shots.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 31 points and Jeff Green added 24.