Sensing the importance of Sunday night’s game, Allen Iverson played one of his best — and surely most important — games in a Nuggets uniform. His game-high 33 points led Denver in a 111-94 win against Houston at the Pepsi Center, essentially clinching the Nuggets a spot the playoffs.
It’s not official yet. But as long as Denver beats mediocre Memphis on Wednesday, or Golden State loses at Phoenix on Monday or against Seattle on Wednesday, the Nuggets are playoff bound.
Iverson, who was stellar in the must-win at Golden State on Thursday, flirted with a triple-double Sunday, adding seven rebounds and seven assists.
Nuggets guard J.R. Smith again was scorching in a reserve role. In just 24:39 of playing time, Smith scored 23 points, including long-range splashes and rim-rattling dunks. With 4:36 left in the second quarter, Smith zipped a pass to Iverson, who quickly zipped one back to Smith. The reserve guard swished a 3-pointer, giving Denver a commanding 50-33 lead. At that point, Smith had 18 points with six field goals. The Rockets as a team had made just nine.
Houston never controlled the game, and forward Tracy McGrady battled foul trouble before finishing with just 16 points on 5-for-18 shooting.
