Nuggets beat Spurs
This is what the Denver Nuggets had in mind when they acquired Allen Iverson to go with Carmelo Anthony.
The high-scoring All-Star duo provided the offense and the Nuggets were tough defensively, too, as they beat the San Antonio Spurs 95-89 in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series Sunday night in San Antonio.
Iverson scored 29 of his 31 after the first quarter and Anthony added 30 points for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who entered the playoffs having won 10 of 11.
Nene added 13 points and 12 rebounds and Marcus Camby grabbed 10 rebounds for Denver. The big guys also made things difficult for Tim Duncan, who scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
“We understand we’re going to have to play defense to beat this team,” Iverson said. “We know we can play offense. We’re going to have to play defense.”
Tony Parker led third-seeded San Antonio with 19 points, followed by Michael Finley with 15 and Robert Horry with 14.
Denver traded for Iverson in December, hoping the former MVP would combine with Anthony to form an unstoppable 1-2 punch and make the Nuggets a legitimate title contender. The two averaged 55 points a game, but not until late in the season did Denver really start to click.
The Spurs won the season series with Denver, 2-1, but that was hardly a good gauge of how this series would go. The Nuggets were without Anthony in the first matchup and Iverson had just returned from an injury for the second. Their third meeting was the last regular season game and Denver won a meaningless 100-77 rout.
Suns 95, Lakers 87: At Phoenix, Leandro Barbosa scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half, including 15 consecutive Phoenix points in one stretch, to match his career playoff scoring high and lead Phoenix past Los Angeles.
Amare Stoudemire, back in the postseason after missing last year’s while recovering from two knee surgeries, addded 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Kobe Bryant scored 39, but only 11 in the second half. The NBA’s scoring champ was 1-for-10 shooting in the fourth quarter, when Phoenix pulled away.
Steve Nash had 20 points and 10 assists and Shawn Marion 16 points and 16 rebounds for a Phoenix team that struggled until Barbosa provided a spark.
Cavaliers 97, Wizards 82: At Cleveland, LeBron James stayed in the game despite a sprain to score 23 points and Larry Hughes had 27, lifting Cleveland to a win over Washington in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference series.
James rolled his left ankle in the third quarter but refused to come out, adding nine rebounds and seven assists in 44 minutes.
Antawn Jamison scored 28 points and Jarvis Hayes 18 for Washington, which was still within 10 points with more than seven minutes remaining.
That’s when the Cavs moved their offensive attack inside and fed 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas Ilgaukas, who scored seven straight points to help Cleveland pull away.