Basketball, NBA: Iverson gets the love, Kings get the win
By Paul Levine
Los Angeles - Allen Iverson got the love, but the Sacramento Kings walked away with the win.
John Salmons had his first career triple double, with 21 points 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the visiting Kings spoiled Iverson's debut with the Denver Nuggets, 101-96 on Friday night.
"I'm glad it's over," Iverson said. "That's the only thing I thought about, just getting the first one by me. I wish it could've ended with a win."
Iverson scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, and dished out 10 assists in 39 minutes, after the Philadelphia 76ers dealt the unhappy seven-time All-Star guard to Denver on Tuesday for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and a pair of 2007 first round draft picks.
After travelling most of the day, Iverson passed his physical just 30 minutes before game-time. The four-time scoring champ watched from the bench for the first eight minutes before entering the game to a rousing standing ovation by the sellout crowd of more than 18,000 at the Pepsi Center.
"They embraced me here," Iverson said. "It was just a great feeling. It was a feeling I wanted to get, a feeling I hoped to get. It was special to me, something I'll remember and cherish the rest of my life"
Playing his first game in two weeks, "The Answer" provided instant energy and excitement, blending in well with his new teammates and their up-tempo offence.
The Nuggets, however, couldn't overcome the loss of suspended starters Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, and injured Marcus Camby (broken finger) to trail virtually the entire game en route to the defeat.
Brad Miller had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento, who won for just the third time in the last 12 games.
Earl Boykins scored 25 points for Denver, which shot just 37 per cent from the field.
Elsewhere: Washington Wizards 144, Phoenix Suns 139 (OT) Gilbert Arenas scored 54 points and Caron Butler had 10 of his 26 in overtime as the visiting Wizards ended the Suns' franchise-best 15-game winning streak.
Steve Nash matched a career high with 42 points for the Suns, who overcame a 15-point second-half deficit.
Toronto Raptors 101, Portland Trail Blazers 100 (OT) Italian rookie Andrea Bargnani buried the game-winning jumper with 3.5 seconds left in overtime, and the visiting Raptors ended the Trail Blazers' season-high five-game winning streak.
Philadelphia 76ers 98, Boston Celtics 83: Andre Iguodala had a career-high 31 points and the 76ers took advantage of the loss to Celtics' leading scorer Paul Pierce to snap their 12-game losing streak.
Al Jefferson had 24 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, who will be without Pierce for the next two to three weeks as he has sustained a left foot injury.
Houston Rockets 97, San Antonio Spurs 78 China's Yao Ming scored 22 points and the Rockets ended a nine-year, 17-game losing streak in San Antonio.
Argentine Manu Ginobili finished with 23 points in the Spurs' first home loss to their Texas rivals since April 20, 1997.
Dallas Mavericks 115, LA Clippers 83 Josh Howard scored 25 points while German wunderkind Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and 12 rebounds, carrying the Mavericks to their sixth straight win.
LA Lakers 99, New Jersey Nets 95 Kobe Bryant had 21 points and a season-high 11 assists as the visiting Lakers clipped the host Nets for the second time this season.
Vince Carter had 33 points for the Nets, who lost Serbian starting centre Nenad Krstic to a left knee injury midway through the third quarter.
Charlotte Bobcats 101, Utah Jazz 89 Emeka Okafor scored 21 points and Matt Carroll added all 16 of his in the fourth quarter as Bobcats stopped a three-game slide.
Carlos Boozer led Utah with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Golden State Warriors 117, Orlando Magic 108 Baron Davis scored 38 points and Mike Dunleavy added 21, helping the Warriors improve to just 3-9 on the road this season.
New York Knicks 103, Chicago Bulls 92 Jamal Crawford scored 30 points and the host Knicks recorded their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Ben Gordon scored 27 points for the Bulls, who had won 12 of 13.
Indiana Pacers 100, Atlanta Hawks 90 Stephen Jackson scored 27 points, leading the visiting Pacers to their fourth victory in the last five games.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 31 points..
New Orleans Hornets 100, Memphis Grizzlies 97 (OT) Desmond Mason had 17 points, 12 rebounds and the go-ahead layup with 25 seconds left in overtime as the Hornets ended a four-game slide
Spain's Pau Gasol led Memphis with 28 points.
Milwaukee Bucks 113, Minnesota Timberwolves 107 Michael Redd scored 29 points, including the game-clinching jumper with 11.4 seconds left, giving the Bucks to their season-high third straight win.
Mike James scored 28 points, while Kevin Garnett had 24 and 14 rebounds in the Timberwolves' fourth straight loss. // © 2006 DPA
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