Nothing about Tuesday night’s game went according to Allen Iverson’s plans or anything remotely close to what he might have wanted.
He played an average game. He got ejected. His old team looked great. The Nuggets lost.
Pretty much a lost night.
His 30 points and nine assists in the Nuggets’ 108-97 loss to Philadelphia look nice on the surface. But they don’t tell the entire story. Not even close, according to Iverson, and his 10-for-24 shooting and seven turnovers back him up. But the 10th-year pro nailed his last shot of the night – one taken at referee Steve Javie, who threw Iverson out after handing him his second technical foul of the game in the fourth quarter.
“That’s (Javie) anyway,” Iverson said. “His fuse is real short. I should have known that I couldn’t say anything to him. I’ve felt that it’s been personal between me and him ever since I got in the league. This was the perfect game for him to try to make me look bad.”
But Iverson had accomplished that mostly by himself.
Iverson started the game 1-for-5 from the field, and ended the first quarter 2-of-9. He refused to use nervousness as an excuse, instead citing a too-high level of excitement as the reason for his struggles.
“I was kind of frustrated tonight because I didn’t play as well as I wanted to play,” Iverson said. “I missed a lot of easy shots. It had a lot to do with just being excited.”
Meanwhile, former Nugget Andre Miller enjoyed a solid contest – and a victory. Miller finished with 17 points, 10 assists, four rebounds and four steals, yet breathed a sigh of relief that his return-to-Denver experience was done.
“I’m glad it’s over,” he said. “It feels good. Just move on to the next game now.”
After falling behind 26-16 at the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets pulled themselves together and played a good second quarter, outscoring the Sixers 36-26 to tie the game 52-52 at halftime.
But the Sixers quickly took control in the third quarter going on a 9-0 run and never looked back. In the process, they scored more than 100 points for the first time in 16 games and handed Denver its third straight loss.
The lone bright spot for the Nuggets was the shooting (8-for-16) of rookie guard Yak- houba Diawara, who finished with a career-high 23 points and six rebounds. His five 3-pointers, in 10 attempts, also were a career high.
But he wasn’t enough to stave off what Nuggets coach George Karl called one of worst performances Denver has had since the suspension of Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. The Nuggets are 3-4 since the suspensions.
“We’re probably going to have one or two more of these,” Karl said.
Footnotes
Nene did not play Tuesday. He had his knee drained to reduce persistent swelling. “They drained the knee, but there is still pain,” he said. “There is a consequence when you drain a knee. I will try (to play Friday at the Los Angeles Lakers). We’ll see. We have two days to work it out.” … Guard Julius Hodge was recalled from the NBA D-League’s Colorado 14ers and played in the fourth quarter. … Tuesday was the first time the Nuggets played with the new, old basketball. “I’m happy we got it back,” Iverson said.
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
