TURKEY BOUND – Melo, Mayo put on a show in Denver

NEW YORK (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Team USA's Carmelo Anthony is underlining his importance to the Denver Nuggets in the early part of the NBA campaign with a 42-point eruption in Sunday’s 133-123 victory over Memphis his latest big showing.

Anthony is averaging 37.6 points per game for the Nuggets in their 3-0 start to the season.

In the win over the Grizzlies, Anthony was 16 of 28 from the floor and 11 of 12 at the charity stripe.

A member of the Team USA side that was upset by Greece in the Semi-Finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan but made amends last year at the Olympics by capturing gold, Anthony will be looking to reach the top of the podium next year when the Americans play in Turkey.

Here are other notable performances on Sunday from players either headed to the 2010 FIBA World Championship, or hoping to make it to Turkey.

Team USA
OJ Mayo - The Memphis Grizzlies ace is contending for a place in the USA squad after taking part in their mini-camp this summer and against the Nuggets, he poured in 40 points on 21 of 33 shooting from the field. That included a four-of-eight night from three-point range.
Dwight Howard - The Team USA big man had 24 points and 11 rebounds in Orlando's 125-116 win at Toronto.
Chris Bosh - The United States' best defensive player at the Beijing Games, Bosh let his offense do the talking on Sunday against the Magic with 35 points. Bosh also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, but the Raptors fell at home to Orlando.
Kobe Bryant – The brightest star of the Beijing Games scored 41 points, pulled down eight rebounds and came up with five steals to lead the Los Angeles Lakers past Atlanta on Sunday, 118-110.
Dwyane Wade - The electric guard poured in 25 points in Miami's 95-87 win over Chicago.
Chris Paul - Team USA’s playmaker had 22 points and eight assists for New Orleans but they lost to Boston, 97-87.

Argentina
Roman Gonzalez – The center had 22 points as Quimsa defeated Sionista 87-81. The two sides last month qualified for the Liga Sudamericana Final Round.
Leo Gutierrez – The sharpshooting forward had 11 points and five rebounds but Penarol lost to 69-53 to Gimnasia Esgrima Comodoro Rivadavia.

Turkey
Hedo Turkoglu – The Turkey forward left Orlando in the summer after helping them reach the NBA Finals and signed for Toronto. Against his former team on Sunday, Turkoglu poured in 19 points and blocked two shots.

Spain
Jose Calderon - The Spain playmaker scored 10 points and handed out six assists for Toronto in their loss to Orlando.
Marc Gasol - Spain's 7ft 1in center had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Denver. The younger brother of Los Angeles Laker Pau Gasol is averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds this season.
Juan Carlos Navarro – Spain’s scoring machine suffered a sprained ankle in Regal Barcelona’s 78-75 win at Estudiantes.

Slovenia
Jaka Lakovic – The point guard played his first game with Barcelona this year and had nine points in Barcelona’s triumph.
Erazem Lorbek – The Barcelona center scored 10 points in Barca’s triumph at Estudiantes.

Brazil
Nene – The big man is thriving with Denver so far this year. He had 18 points, nine boards and six assists in the Nuggets' 10-point win over Memphis.
Tiago Splitter – The Caja Laboral captain had 19 points in his team’s seven-point loss at Valencia Basket Club.

Puerto Rico
Carlos Arroyo - The back-up playmaker of Miami scored 12 points in 16 minutes of the Heat's eight-point victory over Chicago.

Great Britain
Luol Deng - The forward had 26 points and eight rebounds in Chicago's loss to Miami. Deng is hoping the Brits will receive a wild card to play at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

France
Joakim Noah - The young French center scored 10 points and hauled in seven rebounds for Chicago in their defeat to Miami.
Nando De Colo – The Valencia Basket Club center had 19 points in his team’s 81-74 upset of Caja Laboral at La Fonteta.

Canada
Carl English – The Caja Laboral guard poured in 12 points in his team’s upset loss at Valencia Basket Club.

Lithuania
Linas Kleiza - The former Denver Nugget led Olympiacos with 27 points in their 86-77 victory over fellow Euroleague outfit Maroussi in the Greek top flight. Lithuania, like Great Britain, are hoping for a wild card to play at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Serbia
Milos Teodosic - Serbia's top player at the EuroBasket this summer in Poland had four points and five assists but turned the ball over four times for Olympiacos in their win over Maroussi. Teodosic played 29 minutes in the game.

Greece
Sofoklis Schortsanitis - The Greece big man had 16 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes for Olympiacos in their win over Maroussi.
Georgios Printezis – The Unicaja Malaga forward landed hard on his shoulder after a dunk in the game at Cajasol Sevilla and left the game on a stretcher. The club issued a statement which said: "He had a scan on his spine, brain and head that has discarded any consequence in his head but tests done on his right shoulder have revealed a fracture of the acromion.” No timetable has been set for his return.

Iran
Hamed Ehadadi - The Iran center continues to spend most of his time on the bench with Memphis. He had two rebounds in three minutes of Memphis' defeat to Denver.

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