Allen Iverson's opening-night best wasn't enough to prevent the short-handed Denver Nuggets from dropping a 101-96 decision to the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
Iverson finished with 22 points and 10 assists, watching the beginning 8:35 from the bench, then playing the rest of the way. But the Nuggets only had eight players, and that was too much for even "The Answer" to overcome.
The newest Nugget gave the kind of gritty, gutty performance that has become his trademark. He played 39 minutes after a whirlwind of a day in which he arrived in Denver in the late afternoon.
But the Kings were better from start to finish. John Salmons had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Brad Miller scored 21 for the Kings.
76ers 98, Celtics 83
At Boston, the 76ers said goodbye to their 12-game losing streak and Allen Iverson all on the same night.
Andre Iguodala scored 31 points and had nine assists to help Philadelphia beat the Celtics.
Lakers 99, Nets 95
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Kobe Bryant had 21 points, a season-high 11 assists and combined with Jordan Farmar to lead the Los Angeles Lakers late.
Farmar had five points and two assists in the final period and the Lakers got good efforts from reserves Andrew Bynum and Maurice Evans down the stretch.
Bobcats 101, Jazz 89
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Emeka Okafor had 21 points and Matt Carroll scored all 16 of his points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte prevented Utah from pulling off another comeback.
Okafor also had 10 rebounds and Raymond Felton added 18 points and 12 assists for the Bobcats.
Warriors 117, Magic 108
At Orlando, Florida, Baron Davis had 38 points and nine assists, Mike Dunleavy added 21 points and Golden State picked up its second straight road win.
Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Mickael Pietrus finished with 15 for Golden State.
Knicks 103, Bulls 92
At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 30 points and New York beat Chicago and secure its season-high third straight victory.
Eddy Curry, also a former Bulls player, added 20 points as the Knicks won their third in a row.
Pacers 100, Hawks 90
At Atlanta, Stephen Jackson scored 27 points and Al Harrington added 20 as Indiana downed Atlanta.
The two former Hawks led the Pacers to their fourth win in five games.
Rockets 97, Spurs 78
At San Antonio, Yao Ming scored 22 points and Houston got for its first victory in San Antonio in over nine years.
Bonzi Wells scored 15 points and Juwan Howard added 14 for the Rockets.
Hornets 100, Grizzlies 97, OT
At Oklahoma City, Desmond Mason scored the go-ahead basket in overtime and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans beat Memphis.
Marc Jackson added 19 points for New Orleans.
Bucks 113, Timberwolves 107
At Minneapolis, Mo Williams scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lift Milwaukee Bucks over Minnesota.
Williams had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double in a victory over Miami on Wednesday night.
Mavericks 115, Clippers 83
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki shook off an injured ankle from Dallas' previous game to contribute 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Mavericks down the Los Angeles Clippers.
Josh Howard's 25 points paced the Mavericks, who also got 21 points from Devean George.
Raptors 101, Trail Blazers 100
At Portland, Oregon, Andrea Bargnani hit a 20-footer with 3.5 seconds left in overtime and Toronto ended Portland's five-game winning streak.
T.J. Ford had 23 points, including nine of Toronto's 11 points in OT. Ford also had 10 assists.
Wizards 144, Suns 139, OT
At Phoenix, Gilbert Arenas scored 54 points and the Wizards snapped the Suns' franchise-best 15-game winning streak.
Steve Nash matched his career high with 42 points and had 12 assists. Shawn Marion added 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, enabling the team to come back from 15 points down in the second half to send the game into overtime.F="/news/2006/12/24/story/2003341803/">Iverson plays in his first game at home with the Nuggets
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