Before Billups' arrival, the Nuggets hadn't had a true point guard since Andre Miller was sent to Philadelphia in the December 2006 deal that landed Allen Iverson, who was dispatched for Billups.

Iverson started at shooting guard in his Nuggets tenure, with Steve Blake first running the point and then Anthony Carter. But that wasn't getting the Nuggets where they wanted to go.

"It makes it easier for any team when you have a true point guard on the floor," said Mark Jackson, a former top NBA point guard who led the NBA in assists while splitting 1996-97 with the Nuggets and Indiana. "Allen Iverson is a (heck) of a basketball player, but the Nuggets got away the last year or so playing without a point guard on the floor."

The Nuggets went 50-32 last season in Iverson's only full year with the team. But they were quickly dispatched 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs by the Lakers.

The thinking from Nuggets' brass was a top point guard was needed to better distribute the ball, including to rising star Nene, who wasn't getting a lot of touches at center. And that the 6-foot-3 Billups would provide more of a defensive presence than the 6-foot Iverson.

It's worked so far. The Nuggets are 13-6, tied for the best start in the team's 32-year NBA history.

NUGGETS 132, RAPTORS 93: With forward Carmelo Anthony recently bothered by a right elbow contusion, Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups has decided to do some more scoring lately.

If it sounds that easy, it has been.

Billups totaled 24 points and 14 assists and had just one turnover in Denver's rout Tuesday of Toronto at the Pepsi Center. Billups, who had 21 points in the first half as the Nuggets took an insurmountable 64-45 lead, has averaged 26.3 points the past three games.

"You have games where nothing really works, so when we have games like this, it's a lot of fun," said Billups, who shot 5-of-6 from three-point range and whose Nuggets are 12-3 since he was acquired Nov. 3 from Detroit. "You take advantage of it and just try to keep it going."

The Nuggets also got 23 points from Anthony, who returned after sitting out the second half Sunday against Houston due to his elbow injury.

In addition, Nuggets center Nene totaled 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors became extinct very early.

The Nuggets shot 59.8 percent, including 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) on three-pointers, and held the Raptors (8-9) to 36.6 percent marksmanship. Forward Chris Bosh, who totaled 24 points and 12 rebounds, was Toronto's only bright spot.

"We, as professionals, should be ashamed of ourselves," said Raptors forward Jermaine O'Neal, who returned after missing three games due to a sprained ankle and said the team would air matters out later that night at a Denver hotel.

The Nuggets got together for a talk of their own Tuesday morning. They certainly heeded the words of coach George Karl.

"We talked... about the homecourt spirit that I believe is important to being a really good team," said Karl, who said there was "no foolishness" by the Nuggets. "I thought, even though we have a good home record, some of our home wins were a little lucky and we weren't jumping into the game. We talked about it's important we become more intimidating at home."

How intimidating was Denver? The 39-point win was the fifth-biggest in team history.