Iverson and Nuggets need to get familiar with each other
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(Sports Network) - The Denver Nuggets made a blockbuster move when they
acquired All-Star guard Allen Iverson and reserve Ivan McFarlin from the
Philadelphia 76ers last Tuesday for a pair of 2007 first-round draft picks,
point guard Andre Miller and forward Joe Smith.
Denver is 14-10 and trails the first place Utah Jazz by four games in the Northwest Division. A seven-time All-Star, Iverson, who is playing in his 11th season in the NBA, was originally selected out of Georgetown by Philadelphia with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft. He averaged 31.2 points and 7.3 assists in 15 games for the Sixers before the trade. Iverson was the NBA's MVP in the 2000-01 campaign and led the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals, where they fell in five games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Iverson plays his second game in a Denver uniform against one of the teams that was rumored to be interested in his services, as the Nuggets welcome the Boston Celtics on Tuesday to the Pepsi Center. On Friday, John Salmons recorded his first career triple-double to spoil Iverson's Denver debut and the Sacramento Kings defeated the Nuggets, 101-96, at the Pepsi Center. Iverson entered Friday's game late in the first quarter to a thunderous applause from the Denver faithful and quickly stuck a pull-up jumper for his first points as a Nugget. The All-Star guard played every minute the rest of the way and finished the contest with 22 points on 9-of-14 from the floor and dished out 10 assists in defeat. Earl Boykins had a game-high 25 points and nine assists in the loss to Sacramento for Denver, which had its two-game winning streak halted. DerMarr Johnson finished with 12 points in defeat. Denver continues to play without star forward Carmelo Anthony and guard J.R. Smith. Anthony is serving a 15-game suspension for his role in December 16th's brawl at Madison Square Garden, while Smith received a 10-game suspension. Anthony is averaging 31.6 points per game, and J.R. Smith has recorded 16.7 per contest. On the injury front for Denver, center Marcus Camby is sidelined with a broken finger on his right hand. Camby is averaging 11.7 points and a team-best 11.0 rebounds per game. The Nuggets are 7-5 at home this season. They will host Ray Allen and the Seattle SuperSonics on Thursday. Seattle has lost two of its last three at Denver. DEN |