Iverson lauded by both teams

PHILADELPHIA – A day after losing one superstar for a month, the Denver Nuggets got a bigger one – Allen Iverson.

The four-time scoring champion was traded Tuesday by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two 2007 first-round picks. The Nuggets also get Ivan McFarlin.

NBA scoring leader Carmelo Anthony was suspended for 15 games because of a weekend brawl between the Nuggets and New York Knicks. Iverson takes his 31.2-point scoring average to Denver and ends 10-plus turbulent years with the franchise that made him the No. 1 overall pick in 1996.

Nuggets vice president Rex Chapman said Iverson and Anthony will “be a dynamic duo together. They are going to take this franchise to new heights.”

Team president Billy King thanked Iverson for his 11 years in Philadelphia.

“I think he gave us all some great excitement,” King said. “I think he’s one of the greatest ever to play the game.”