After losing his first nine games, rookie NBA coach George Karl won his first contest Nov. 15, 1984, when his Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks.
Twenty-two years later, the 19-year coach reached a milestone against one of his old teams with the aid of newcomer Allen Iverson.
Karl landed his 800th career victory as a coach in the Nuggets’ 112-98 victory Thursday over the Seattle SuperSonics at the Pepsi Center. The third-year Nuggets coach, who also coached at Golden State, Seattle and Milwaukee, is one of 12 coaches to reach 800 wins.
The milestone came against the team that didn’t renew Karl’s contract in 1998, just two years after he took them to the NBA Finals.
“It’s for talk,” said Karl of his historic mark. “Pure drinking talk in the summertime. That’s all it is. The more I talk about it, the more I think it’s about the coaches and the players and the places I’ve been.”
Iverson earned a double-double of 44 points and 10 assists and presented Karl with a jersey with “800” on it after the game.
Iverson surpassed Carmelo Anthony’s team season-high of 42 at Boston on Dec. 15. Nuggets reserve guard Earl Boykins added 24 points.
“I was just happy to be a part of something like that (Karl’s milestone). It was an honor in my third game (with Denver).”
Seattle (12-18) was led by 26 points from Wilkins’ nephew, Damien.
Denver (16-10) is 3-1 since suspensions were handed out after a Nov. 16 brawl with the Knicks.
Because of the suspensions and injuries, Denver played without any of its five starters from opening night.
