George Karl was hired as head coach of the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, returning to the NBA after nearly two years out to take over a team that has failed to live up to lofty expectations.
Karl is expected to be on the bench for Friday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that fired him in 2003. Michael Cooper, the interim coach since Jeff Bzdelik was fired on Dec. 28, will stay on as an assistant.
"We are very excited to be adding a coach of George's stature to our organization," Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said in a statement. "He has won everywhere he has been and his track record speaks for itself. We also want to commend Michael for the job he did under difficult circumstances."
Karl has won 708 games in 16 NBA seasons -- 13th in league history -- and helped Seattle reach the playoffs in 1991-1992 after a 20-20 start. Karl also took the SuperSonics to the NBA Finals in 1996 and led them to at least 60 wins three times in five years. His coaching career includes stops in Golden State, Cleveland, and Spain.
Denver started the season as a favorite in the Western Conference after adding All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin to a team that was coming off its first playoff appearance in nine years.
The Nuggets still haven't lived up to that potential, entering Friday's game with a 17-25 record, and 12 1/2 games out of first place in the Northwest Division.
Karl has a reputation for clashing with some of his players, but an in-your-face style might be what the underachieving Nuggets need to break out of their doldrums.
Chauncey Billups scored 20 points and Tayshaun Prince had 16 points and seven rebounds as the Detroit Pistons used a balanced scoring attack to defeat the Indiana Pacers 88-76 Thursday.
It was the second meeting between the teams since Nov. 19, when Pacers players brawled with Pistons fans after Ben Wallace shoved Ron Artest.
Thursday's game was full of emotion, too.
Indiana fans booed loudly as the Pistons were introduced and booed again each time Wallace scored. The game also was marred by five technical fouls, and fans jawed with Pistons players, sometimes playfully, in the final minutes of the game.
Wallace finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Bulls 101, Bobcats 93
In Chicago, Jannero Pargo scored all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter and Andres Nocioni added 17 points off the bench as Chicago got 63 points from its reserves to beat Charlotte.
Eric Piatkowski added 16 points for Chicago, which extended its winning streak to five games. The Bulls have won 12 of their last 13 games and eight straight at home.
Spurs 90, Kings 80
In San Antonio, Manu Ginobili scored 25 points and Tim Duncan added 20 for San Antonio, which fended off a late rally from Sacramento.
Jarrett Jack's two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining in overtime lifted No. 22 Georgia Tech over fifth-ranked Wake Forest 102-101 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Thursday.
Jack finished with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with eight rebounds and six assists, while Will Bynum netted a career-high 30 points for Georgia Tech (12-5, 3-3 ACC), which snapped a three-game slide. Isma'il Muhammad added 17 points and Anthony Marrow chipped in 11 in the win.
Eric Williams paced Wake Forest with a team-high 27 points and 12 rebounds. Justin Gray scored 22.
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