Philadelphia – DerMarr Johnson performed another one of his trademark reappearing acts Thursday in helping the Nuggets come back from 15 points down to edge Philadelphia 97-93 on Thursday night at the Wachovia Center.
In his two seasons with Denver, Johnson has made his mark by bursting out for a big game after long stretches of quiet play – or no play at all. After sitting out the first half, the guard spurred the Nuggets’ offensive awakening with eight points in the third quarter, then frustrated Sixers star Allen Iverson with solid defense down the stretch.
Not known as a defensive specialist, Johnson made the last of his three blocked shots with 11.9 seconds left to deny Iverson, who scored a game-high 38 points but shot 3-for-10 for six points in the final period. Marcus Camby followed that by blocking a Kyle Korver shot with 5.9 seconds left to seal the win.
“We needed a push somewhere,” said Johnson, who had played about five minutes in his three previous games. “We were dragging out there. I was actually surprised to get the call. I hadn’t been playing. I was glad to get the opportunity to play. I was trying to go as hard as I can, just get Allen out of the game.”
Johnson’s re-emergence was the talk of Denver’s postgame locker room.
“He was awesome,” said Camby, who had 13 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. “For a guy getting a lot of inconsistent minutes, he came out here and stayed professional.”
Added Ruben Patterson, like Johnson a University of Cincinnati alumnus: “That’s my ‘Nati boy. … He came in and did a tremendous job on Iverson, hit some big shots. Coach ought to play him more often.”
Coach George Karl shrugged and said he went small only because his team’s ball-handling was atrocious to start the third quarter.
“Fortunately, D.J. was great,” Karl said. “People tell me he covers Iverson well and his length bothers him.”
Denver (34-28) rode a 13-0 run to start the fourth quarter to complete the comeback. Carmelo Anthony took a pass from Patterson and drove for a reverse layup past Andre Iguodala with 18.9 seconds for the game-winner, breaking a 93-93 tie.
“I think Andre kind of relaxed once it got to Ruben,” Anthony, who scored a team-high 29 points, said of the play.
The Sixers (30-31) have blown leads to Indiana, Boston and the Nuggets in consecutive games this week. Denver held them to 14 points in the fourth quarter after they scored 54 in the first half.
Forward Chris Webber, who had 20 rebounds and 17 points, delivered a slightly melodramatic take on the week: “My family has been affected by it – believe me. My friends have been affected by all this losing. I’m not used to this.”
Most encouraging to Karl was his team’s ability to win without playing a great game. Philadelphia outrebounded the Nuggets 54-42, with 22 of those boards coming on Denver’s end.
The Nuggets’ bench also corrected itself. It was no help in the first half, but Karl said he did not know which sub to pull out in the second as the Sixers’ bench went scoreless.
Now the trick will be for Denver to build some momentum off its third straight win, all without power forward Kenyon Martin, with a quick turnaround tonight in Toronto.
“We’re going to have to find out how to put some gas in our tanks,” Karl said.
Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
