MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It wasn’t completely starless, but this NBA night in Memphis had a little less gleam without Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol, both out because of injuries.
But there’s always Allen Iverson.
And when he’s going the way he was in the Nuggets’ 106-102 victory against Memphis at the FedExForum on Wednesday night, not only does he shine brightly, but the Nuggets are hard to beat.
Hard turned to impossible for the Grizzlies in the second half. Iverson did a little bit of everything as the Nuggets rallied late to win for the first time in seven road games.
Down 97-90 with 3:12 to play, the Nuggets closed the game with a 16-5 run to win it.
“We got a big 3 from Anthony (Carter) and made some defensive stops,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “I didn’t expect it to be that easy. In the last three minutes, you can’t play better than we played. We got a team that’s a little snakebit in close games; that helped us win, maybe. But we had a lot of courage to stay in there and fight for it, and we got it.”
Carter and Linas Kleiza hit big 3-pointers during the run and Iverson sealed the game with six straight free throws for the Nuggets, who played their fifth consecutive game without injured forward Anthony.
“This was a good win at somebody else’s home, down seven with three minutes to go,” Iverson said. “It was a serious gut-check for us. A game like this is going to help us down the line. Down seven points with three minutes to go, you can still win the game if you execute and do what you’ve got to do defensively.”
The Nuggets held Memphis 3-point sharpshooter Mike Miller to two points on 1-of-3 shooting in the fourth quarter. Rudy Gay is the Grizzlies’ leading scorer this season, and he finished with 30 points, 10 in the fourth. But just three came in the last 3:12.
With the exception of a cold stretch in the third quarter, Iverson could do no wrong. The all-star guard started with 18 of the Nuggets’ first 31 points. He had 21 points at halftime on his way to a game-high 32 points with 12 assists.
His game-clinching free throws were lauded by Karl, yet met with a sigh from Iverson, who confessed to not enjoying those situations.
“I wouldn’t say I enjoy it,” Iverson said, smiling. “You just try to seize the moment. Being how competitive I am, I love to be in that situation. But it’s tough. I think that the part I like about it is you’re doing it for the team. When the pressure is on and you need the free throws, to be able to knock it down, that’s the whole thing. But I think I wouldn’t mind if somebody else would be taking the shots instead of me.”
Carter finished with 18 points and four assists. Marcus Camby added 13 points, 19 rebounds and five blocked shots and Kleiza chipped in 15 points.
“As tight as the West is right now, Utah and Portland playing great, we definitely need this one,” Kleiza said. “Big time.”
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
Eduardo Najera hit 3-of-4 3-pointers. . . . After being taken out of the game because of two missed dunks in the second quarter, J.R. Smith didn’t play again, a decision coach George Karl said was made more for defensive reasons than anything else. . . . Stromile Swift did not play for the Grizzlies as he served a team-imposed, one-game suspension. . . . The Nuggets scored 60 points in the paint. . . . Marcus Camby recorded his 16th double-double of the season.
Final thought
On a night when Memphis was game and Carmelo Anthony was sidelined, the Nuggets found a way to win on the road.
Up next
Vs. Charlotte, Saturday, 7 p.m.
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
