George Karl has dealt with rumors involving Carmelo Anthony for the better part of five months, but he's holding out hope that the Nuggets will remain together.

"My characteristics of my seasons have probably been more stormy than smooth and sunny," Karl said of the rumors. "But I would like to have some smoothness.

"We're in a good place through a tough year. ... Hopefully, we can continue to play like we're playing right now."

Denver has looked great in their last two games, tallying 61 assists and winning by an average of 31 points.

"We probably would want better circumstances," Karl said. "But we've done our job pretty damn well all year to get messed up on what-ifs.

"I still think there's a window of what-if we're all together, what-if we become a really good team? Until that (doesn't) exist, I've got to keep the guys playing every game in that mentality of get better, get smarter and do our jobs — and our job is to win."