Coach George Karl became ill on the Nuggets’ plane home from Milwaukee.
No word if it was from watching tape of the Nuggets-Bucks game.
Karl missed Monday night’s game at the Pepsi Center because of the flu. Assistant coach Adrian Dantley was in charge against the Detroit Pistons. Dantley said Karl likely will return in time for Denver’s next game, Wednesday against the Super- Sonics in Seattle.
Dantley smiled about coaching against Detroit, a team he advanced to the NBA Finals with as a player.
The only other time Dantley coached a game, it was against another of his former teams, the Los Angeles Lakers, on April 3 last season. That game, Karl was in Idaho with his son, Coby, who underwent surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes. Dantley and the Nuggets won that game, 111-105, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“It helps to have some experience,” Dantley said, “but the bottom line is the guys have to come out and do the job on the court.”
Kleiza returns.
Denver forward Linas Kleiza returned to action Monday after sitting out the loss at Milwaukee on Saturday because of a sprained left ankle.
“He gives us some scoring punch off the bench,” Dantley said.
Kleiza entered the game averaging 11.7 points, ranking third on the team. He injured the ankle last Tuesday against Boston. He played hurt at Chicago on Friday, missing all seven shots from the field and ending the game scoreless.
Melo moving up.
Carmelo Anthony, who finished the night with 23 points, now is fifth on the Nuggets’ all-time scoring list (ABA and NBA), surpassing Byron Beck (8,603 points). Anthony is in his fifth season with Denver. Beck played 10 seasons.
Next up for Anthony?
Ralph Simpson, who scored 10,130 points from 1970-76 and 1977-78. Alex English ranks No. 1 with 21,645 points (1979-90).
Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
