Iverson Loses in Debut

Despite putting up 22 points and 10 assists off the bench, Iverson’s Denver debut was spoiled by a loss to the Kings. He still played pretty damn good especially in the third quarter during the 18-10 Denver run. But with Anthony, and Camby out of the line up (out several weeks with a fractured finger) it’s gonna be a pretty tough start in Denver for him. :s

Allen Iverson’s opening-night best wasn’t enough to prevent the short-handed Denver Nuggets from losing.

Iverson finished with 22 points and 10 assists, watching the first 8:35 from the bench, then playing the rest of the way in Denver’s 101-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. But the Nuggets only had eight players.

That, plus a triple-double from Iverson’s former teammate, John Salmons, was too much even for “The Answer” to overcome.

The newest Nugget gave the kind of gritty, gutty performance that has become his trademark. He played 39 minutes after a whirlwind of a day in which he arrived in Denver in the late afternoon, was whisked to the Pepsi Center, passed his physical, took a few jumpers on the practice court then suited up to be on the floor for tipoff.

But the Kings were better from start to finish. They got 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists from Salmons. They also got another 21 points and 14 rebounds from Brad Miller for a win made even bigger given the circumstances — an all-day travel excursion that put them at the Pepsi Center only 90 minutes before tipoff.

The game was tied at 87 with 3½ minutes left when the Kings started pulling away with six straight points on a pair of baskets by Salmons and a layup by Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Iverson, meanwhile, got a standing ovation when he entered the game late in the first quarter. And it was during a 2-minute stretch late in the third quarter that he showed the kind of contribution he can make to this team.

He made a pair of 3-pointers, then created an open 15-footer and also had a sweet pass to Linas Kleiza as part of an 18-10 run that gave the Nuggets a 71-69 lead.

He would have had 20 assists were it not for the struggles of his new teammates, many of them unused to the minutes they played and none of them accustomed to receiving the kind of passes Iverson throws. #