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DENVER -- Carmelo Anthony could barely put on his socks and struggled to fasten his watch.
Tying his shoes?
That was simply too much for his injured right hand.
Anthony scored 21 points and set a season-high with nine assists despite injuring his hand in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets' 135-115 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
Fast Facts
 
• The Nuggets' point total (135) was their season high and the eighth time they have scored at least 135 points this decade.
• Denver has won eight of its last nine games against Indiana. It is 2-0 on the current seven-game homestand, tied for the longest in team history.
• The 135 points is the most allowed by the Pacers since giving up 141 in February 2002 against the Mavericks.
• Danny Granger scored 36 points in the loss, the fouth-highest total of his career. The Pacers are just 2-5 when Granger scores 35 or more points.
-- ESPN research
The All-Star forward is headed off to a specialist Tuesday for further evaluation. The team, which described the injury as a "probable" fracture, said it doesn't know how much time the star will miss.
Judging by how bad the hand hurt after the game, Anthony wasn't confident he'll play Wednesday night against the Miami Heat. He may be out even longer than that.
"It's sore and stiff right now," Anthony said.
Anthony said the injury occurred when Jeff Foster tried to slap the ball out of his hand early in the third quarter.
The hand bothered him so much that he drew nothing but air on a free throw attempt, the memory bringing a pained smile to his face.
"Out there, I didn't have any feel whatsoever," he said.
Anthony also missed three games last month with a bruised right elbow.
Now this.
His dinged-up hand marred the Nuggets' fourth win in a row.
"Hopefully, we get some good news on it tomorrow," said Chauncey Billups, who scored 13 of his 24 points in the final quarter. "That would not be good, of course, to have him out again."
The Nuggets are now 24-12 after 36 games, matching their best start since their first year in the NBA in 1976-77.
Kenyon Martin finished with 25 points, the fourth time this season he's led the team in scoring.
Danny Granger had 36 points, the most scored against the Nuggets this season. He's now scored 30 or more points 10 times this season.
"It was one of those nights where our defense wasn't that great and they were executing really well," Granger said. "It's something that's so fru
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