Denver, CO -- (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points, as the Denver Nuggets clinched their sixth consecutive postseason berth with a 111-104 win over the New York Knicks at Pepsi Center.

Nene totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who saw a 27-point lead slip away but regrouped to win for the ninth time in their last 10 games. J.R. Smith chipped in 17 points off the bench for Denver, which is one-half game ahead of the Spurs and idle Houston for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference after San Antonio was shocked on its home court by the Thunder on Tuesday.

"We're excited about clinching (a playoff spot)," Anthony said. "At least we know that we are in the playoffs, that's a good sign."

In regards to the cluttered Northwest Division, Denver owns a 1 1/2-game edge on Portland for first place after the Trail Blazers defeated Utah also Tuesday.

Nate Robinson provided a spark off the bench for New York, pouring in a game- best 30 points. Al Harrington added 23 points and David Lee contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost nine of their last 10 outings.

Aided by a 17-0 run, Denver led 34-22 after the opening 12 minutes, and a putback dunk by Linas Kleiza upped the advantage to 62-35 with a littles less than five minutes to go in the second quarter.

New York, though, battled back, using a 26-3 run that stretched into the third frame. Smith buried a three-pointer to make it 78-69 with about three minutes to go in the stanza, but Wilson Chandler hit a turnaround jumper to cap an 8-2 spurt and shrink the deficit to 80-77. Kenyon Martin and Anthony then nailed back-to-back buckets to end the quarter and give Denver a seven-point edge.

Kleiza knocked down a trey and Nene followed with a layup to push the Nuggets' lead to 94-77 early in the fourth, but New York refused to go away. Chris Duhon drained a triple of his own to ignite a 13-2 run that allowed the Knicks to pull within six with about six minutes to play. However, that's as close as New York got the rest of the way.

"We played extremely hard and we gave ourselves a chance," said Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni.

Game Notes

Kleiza and Chauncey Billups both finished with 13 points for Denver, which shot 54.8 percent from the floor...Duhon dished out 11 assists to go along with five points...Denver has won three straight and four of the last five meetings...New York made 44.7 percent of its shots.