Carmelo likely has broken hand

[bullets13]

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.

"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.