DALLAS (AP) -Allen Iverson scored 35 points a night after putting up 51, and this time it was enough to lead the Denver Nuggets to victory, sending them past the Dallas Mavericks 122-109 Thursday night.
Iverson’s big effort came against the Los Angeles Lakers, and it came in defeat. This time, he mixed in 12 assists as the Nuggets won for the third time in seven games. Linas Kleiza benefitted from Iverson’s passing, scoring a season-best 23. Carmelo Anthony had 23 points and Marcus Camby added 14 rebounds and eight points.
Dirk Nowitzki tied his season high with 32 points and had 12 rebounds for Dallas, and Jerry Stackhouse scored a season-high 23 points. The Mavericks lost their second straight, third in four games and sixth in the last nine.
Dallas gave up its most points this season in a quarter (39, the first), a half (64) and a game.
Hawks 90, Timberwolves 89
ATLANTA (AP) – Joe Johnson’s 18-footer at the buzzer helped Atlanta avoid an embarassing defeat.
Minnesota, which lost its fifth straight to drop to a league-worst 2-15, had a one-point lead after Marko Jaric’s laying with 2.2 seconds left.
However, after an Atlanta timeout, Johnson took the inbound pass at the top of the key and dribbled to his right past Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair and pulled up to shoot over Michael Doleac’s outstretched arms.
Josh Smith had 28 points and seven blocked shots to lead Atlanta. Johnson added 21 points, and Marvin Williams finished with 20.
Craig Smith scored 20 points to lead the Timberwolves. Rookie Corey Brewer had 18 rebounds – two more than Al Jefferson’s previous season high in a loss to Atlanta on Nov. 24. Despite having their reserves outscore Atlanta’s by 46 points, the Timberwolves lost for the 22nd time in 24 games overall since winning at New York last April 6.
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