Nuggets escape storm but not Hornets

Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Box score

OKLAHOMA CITY - For more than three quarters Friday night, the Nuggets seemed to be inspired by the time-honored U.S. Postal Service creed.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow - mainly snow - nor injuries, nor suspensions would keep them from winning games.

Ultimately, the body was unable to carry out orders from the mind.

Less than 24 hours after escaping the latest Denver snowstorm, the Nuggets gave an admirable effort but could not hold off the energized New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets.

Allen Iverson struggled in his first road game since joining the Nuggets and his teammates seemed to run out of gas while playing on jet fumes in a 99-89 loss at the Ford Center.

Iverson finished with 21 points but missed 16-of-22 shots from the floor and handed out only three assists. In his first three games with Denver, he averaged 31.5 points and 11.0 assists.

"I stunk it up," Iverson said. "I can't play that way and expect us to win basketball games. The way I started out the game and the way I finished, it was kind of like a domino effect. It kind of lingered on to everybody else."

Earl Boykins led Denver with 24 points, but he, too, showed signs of fatigue. After going 6-for-10 in the first half, Boykins went 4-for- 12 in the final 24 minutes.

"Just missed shots," Boykins said. "Had an opportunity to win this basketball game. We gave one away."

The Nuggets were primed for a letdown after a convincing victory against the Seattle SuperSonics on national television Thursday night.

Not only did they get into Oklahoma City about 5 a.m. CST, they were without injured big men Marcus Camby (broken finger) and Nene (sore knee) and suspended starters Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

The Hornets also were short- handed, missing three starters, but they had the benefit of two days of rest and a sellout crowd that stood for the game's final 2 minutes.

"I don't even call it a steal. We supposed to win that game, especially with their roster depleted the way it was," Iverson said. "We approached the game with the right mindset. We knew they was going to come in and fight without their guys. There wasn't any letdown on our part. We approached it the right way. We just couldn't get it done."

Despite a whirlwind 24 hours, the Nuggets were in position to win for the fourth time in five games since Anthony and Smith were suspended for their part in the Dec. 16 brawl with the New York Knicks.

Denver led 83-79 after Iverson hit a 17-foot jump shot with 8:13 remaining, but the Nuggets missed 13 of their next 14 shots and made only two more field goals the rest of the game.

The Nuggets managed only 30 points on 13-for-44 shooting in the second half and failed to score 90 points for the first time in 27 games this season. They also dropped to 0-8 when failing to score 100 points.

The Hornets took advantage of Denver's cold shooting, outscoring the Nuggets 20-6 over the game's final 7 minutes.

"They did a good job of making us shoot the outside jumper, and we couldn't find anyone to make one," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "They kept a wall in front of Earl and A.I. most of the night."

Thursday's late game and a slow, postgame drive through the snow in Denver to the airport was the reason for the team's early-morning arrival at their hotel in Oklahoma City.

Their play in the early minutes was reflective of the travel adventures as the Hornets jumped to a 12-4 lead.

The Nuggets responded with a 14-4 run and rode hot shooting by Boykins and Yakhouba Diawara to take a 59-55 lead into halftime.

The lead grew to eight 3 minutes into the second half, but the Hornets kept pushing, while the Nuggets were unable to find enough energy to finish the job.

"I can't not enjoy watching my team play right now," Karl said. "They play hard and they play good basketball. Sometimes you just don't make shots."

ETC.: Julius Hodge's "30-day" rehabilitation assignment with the Colorado 14ers of the NBA Development League is nearing an end, but Nuggets officials are happy with his progress and might keep him there for a while longer . . . The Nuggets are not expected to use the $5.2 million salary-cap exemption they received for the season-ending injury to Kenyon Martin. The exemption expires today . . . Denver center Jamal Sampson needed two stitches in his upper lip after being fouled by Desmond Mason midway through the third quarter. He returned in the fourth . . . Denver hopes to get Nene back Sunday when it plays the Dallas Mavericks, while Camby's return remains uncertain.

Percentages - FG .371, FT .842. Three-point goals - 7-26, .269 (Boykins 2-7, Diawara 2-7, D.Johnson 2-7, Kleiza 1-3, Iverson 0-2). Team rebounds - 6. Team turnovers - 15 (14 pts.). Blocked shots - 3 (Kleiza, D.Johnson, Iverson). Turnovers - 14 (Iverson 5, Evans 3, D.Johnson 3, Boykins, Diawara, Sampson). Steals - 9 (Najera 2, Diawara 2, Iverson 2, Boykins, Kleiza, D.Johnson). Technicals - Defensive Three Second, 8:39 third; Defensive Three Second, 9:22 fourth.

Percentages - FG .469, FT .783. Three-point goals - 5-10, .500 (Butler 3-5, Brown 2-3, Pargo 0-2). Team rebounds - 8. Team turnovers - 17 (27 pts.). Blocked shots - 6 (Chandler 4, Butler 2). Turnovers - 17 (Pargo 4, Butler 3, Simmons 3, Brown 3, Chandler 2, Mason, Vinicius). Steals - 8 (Butler 4, Mason, Pargo, Simmons, Brown). Technicals - None.

A - 19,334 (19,163). T - 2:11. Officials - Michael Smith, Kevin Fehr, Rodney Mott.

lopezaa@RockyMountainNews.com