Cleveland, OH (My Sportsbook) - Earl Boykins scored all 18 of his points in the second half, as the Denver Nuggets held on to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 93-89, at Gund Arena.

The game featured the most prized rookies in the NBA, as Denver's Carmelo Anthony went up against Cleveland's LeBron James.

Anthony, the third overall pick in the draft out of Syracuse, netted 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting and also grabbed six boards. He had just two points in the second half.

Meanwhile, James, the top selection in June's draft, hit only 3-of-11 field goal attempts and finished with just seven points, including none after halftime. However, he pulled down 11 rebounds and handed out seven assists.

It was Cleveland's first game at Gund Arena this season, which meant James, who played his high school ball at nearby Akron, was making his highly- anticipated home debut.

Andre Miller had 16 points and Voshon Lenard chipped in 15 points, six boards and five assists for the Nuggets, who improved to 3-2 on the year and are off to their best start since opening the 1994-95 campaign with a 5-1 mark.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas paced Cleveland with 23 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Ricky Davis ended with 17 points and Darius Miles contributed 16 for the Cavaliers, who fell to 0-4 on the season.

The game was tied at 55-55 midway through the third quarter, before Denver went on a 9-1 run, capped by Jon Barry's three-pointer, to take an eight-point lead.

The Nuggets continued to pull away and held a 77-64 advantage after 36 minutes. Barry drilled another three-pointer, while Boykins added a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the closing minutes of the period.

Denver still enjoyed a 13-point lead with just under five minutes remaining. Cleveland then rallied and cut the deficit to 91-87 on a layup by Miles with 25 seconds left.

Miller was then fouled and hit 1-of-2 from the stripe. After Kevin Ollie converted a layup for the Cavaliers, Miller again was fouled with 11 seconds remaining and sank 1-of-2 free throws to seal it.

The Nuggets took control early, as they scored 16 of the first 22 points of the game.

After Cleveland cut the deficit to 16-12, Denver responded with an 11-4 run and held a 27-16 advantage after 12 minutes.

The Cavaliers stormed back in the second quarter and grabbed a 38-36 lead on a basket by Ilgauskas with four minutes remaining in the period.

The Nuggets eventually carried a 46-44 lead into the locker room at halftime. Anthony had 12 points in the first half, while Ilgauskas led the Cavaliers in the opening 24 minutes with 10.