Cooper wins debut in Denver

Michael Cooper spent most of his first game as an NBA coach sitting on the bench, hoping the nervousness he felt inside wouldn’t filter out onto the floor.

Apparently, Cooper learned a little about acting in all those years in Los Angeles.

Carmelo Anthony had 24 points in his first game in two weeks and the Denver Nuggets made Cooper a winner in his NBA coaching debut, ending a six-game losing streak with a 97-92 victory over Philadelphia on Friday night in Denver.

Cooper became the interim coach Tuesday after the losing streak and a 13-15 start cost Jeff Bzdelik his job.

The Nuggets didn’t look a whole lot different under Cooper – good stretches followed by horrible ones – but certainly had plenty of energy.

Playing most of the game without three starters, Denver played just well enough on defense to win for just the second time in 10 games.

“I was excited, but I tried not to show the team that I was excited,” said Cooper, who played and coached in L.A. for parts of three decades. “As a player, I looked to the bench and if Pat Riley was looking a little nervous it affected me on the floor. So I tried to keep my composure.”

Allen Iverson scored 29 to lead the Sixers, but hit only 11 of 28 shots from the floor.

Spurs 98, Clippers 79: At Los Angeles, Tim Duncan scored 23 points, and Tony Parker added 21 points and 11 assists to help San Antonio beat the Clippers for their fifth consecutive victory.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs, off to the best start in franchise history, improved to 25-6 with their 17th victory in 20 games despite the early ejection of coach Gregg Popovich.

Manu Ginobili, who sat out Thursday’s win in Portland because of a strained neck, had nine points in 25 minutes.

The Clippers dropped to 13-14, marking the 25th time in 29 years that the franchise took a losing record into New Year’s Day – not counting the lockout-delayed 1998-99 campaign. It was the third time in four games the Clippers have scored fewer than 80 points.

Rockets 105, Bucks 90: At Houston, Tracy McGrady tossed in 42 points to lead the Rockets to a victory over Milwaukee.

Maurice Taylor added 16 points to help the Rockets reach .500 (15-15) for the first time since they were 6-6 on Nov. 21. Houston has won nine of its last 13 games.

Rockets center Yao Ming missed a game for the first time in his NBA career, sitting out because of the flu.

Michael Redd led the Bucks with 21 points.

Kings 109, Jazz 102: At Salt Lake City, Chris Webber scored 14 of his 25 points in the third quarter to help Sacramento beat Utah.

Peja Stojakovic led the Kings with 26 points, and Mike Bibby and Brad Miller each added 17. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Celtics 108, Wizards 103: At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 26 points and Gary Payton added 18 as the Celtics broke a three-game losing streak with a victory over Washington.

The Wizards were without leading scorer Gilbert Arenas, who missed the game with flu-like symptoms.

Larry Hughes tied a season high with 33 points, including 6 of 6 on 3-pointers, to lead Washington.