Michael Cooper leads Nuggets against 76ers

Bzdelik was fired this week after two-plus seasons as the Nuggets head coach. Denver has struggled to a 13-15 start and is in the midst of a six-game slide.

General manager Kiki Vandeweghe made the announcement during a Tuesday press conference. Assistant Michael Cooper will take over for Bzdelik on an interim basis.

Bzdelik, who was named the 17th coach in Nuggets’ history back on August 21, 2002, engineered one of the NBA’s greatest turnarounds last season. He guided Denver to 43 wins and the team’s first postseason berth since 1995.

However, expectations for this season were high and, so far, the team hasn’t lived up to them. Denver, which was expected by many to compete near the top of the Western Conference after acquiring All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin, has been decimated by injuries as well as inconsistency.

Denver’s most recent loss came on Monday night, as it fell 104-101 to the Golden State Warriors at The Arena in Oakland.

Andre Miller recorded 21 points and 14 assists for the Nuggets, who played without injured stars Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin. Nene added 19 points and Marcus Camby compiled 16 points and 12 boards. Anthony missed his fifth straight outing with a sprained ankle, while Martin sat out after straining his back in Sunday’s loss to Dallas.

Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who entered the contest with just 15 points on the season, scored 12 in the loss.

Anthony is probable for tonight’s contest, while Martin is questionable.

Meanwhile, the 76ers are coming off one of their more surprising wins of the season, as Allen Iverson finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead Philadelphia to a 114-107 road victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.

Willie Green contributed a season-high 20 points for the 76ers, who have won five straight on the road and three straight overall. Kenny Thomas chipped in with 15 points.

Corliss Williamson and Marc Jackson both scored 13 points for the Sixers, who are trying for their first four-game winning streak since March 6-12 of last season.

Iverson, who has scored more than 20 points in nine straight games, moved into third place on the Philadelphia’s all-time assist list. He is averaging 33.8 points and seven assists in his last 10 contests.

Tonight’s game will be the final matchup of the season between Denver and Philadelphia. The Sixers posted a 110-102 victory over the Nuggets on December 14 at the Wachovia Center. Philadelphia has won four of the last six matchups, but has dropped four of five and six of its last nine in the Mile High City.