CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Stephen Jackson scored 23 points and the Charlotte Bobcats held off Denver 100-98 on Tuesday night to deny Nuggets coach George Karl his 1,000th NBA win.
Returning to North Carolina where he played in college and going up against his longtime friend and fellow former Tar Heel Larry Brown, Karl had hoped to become the seventh coach of the 1,000-win club in Charlotte.
The Nuggets nearly rallied from eight points down with 90 seconds left, but Chauncey Billups missed a tying jumper in the corner as time expired.
Billups scored 25 points and Carmelo Anthony added 22 points and seven rebounds for the Nuggets, who had won seven straight.
Jackson scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive 3-pointers to put Charlotte ahead 95-88 with 3:23 left. Boris Diaw’s bucket with 1:35 left made it 99-91.
But the Nuggets stormed back, and after Jackson failed to hit the rim on a 3-point attempt, the Nuggets had a chance to tie. Billups dribbled the ball into the right corner, but his fadeaway bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
It left the 59-year-old Karl stuck at 999 wins heading into a game at Boston on Wednesday.
Back in North Carolina where he helped lead the Tar Heels to the 1972 Final Four, Karl understood the significance of going for 1,000 wins here while coaching against Brown.
“I’ve talked about the karma of being here,” said Karl, in his 23rd NBA season. “And of course Larry was probably the first guy that helped me be a coach.”
But Karl had a quick replay when asked before the game if it was the “perfect storm” to reach the milestone,
“Or the perfect storm to get your (butt) kicked,” Karl said. “One or the other.”
That was the case early, as the sluggish Nuggets missed 18 of their first 23 shots and fell behind 27-16 early in the second quarter. Gerald Wallace, off to a slow start this season coming off his first All-Star appearance, scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half as Charlotte took a 52-47 halftime lead.
Anthony, who missed five of his first six shots from the field, scored 10 points in the third quarter as Denver went on a 16-7 run to tie it at 76 entering the fourth.
Despite a near meltdown late, Brown beat his friend for his 1,326th win in the NBA and ABA, leaving him 10 shy of Don Nelson’s record.
D.J. Augustin added 18 points and Tyrus Thomas scored 16 for Charlotte before leaving left late in the fourth quarter with a tight left quadriceps in a game with plenty of twists. Jackson also had nine rebounds and seven assists, and Wallace added nine boards.
Brown reminisced before the game about meeting Karl when he played pickup games in Chapel Hill when he was a player in the ABA and Karl was a college player.
“He was cocky as hell,” Brown said, smiling, “and he hasn’t changed.”
Brown, the last coach to reach the 1,000-win club, said he admired Karl for what he’s accomplished and overcome. Karl missed the final two months last season as he battled throat and neck cancer. Now much thinner, Karl is nearly part of an elite group.
“I’ll be the one, ‘Who the hell is that guy?'” Karl said before the game. “No, it’s incredible. I’m kind of humbled by it. My kids have talked to me about probably more than I’ve talked about it. But my kids kind of want it, so that will be important and special.”
But Brown had the upper hand on this night, giving Charlotte only its third win in eight games.
NOTES: With as much movement in coaching these days, Karl believes San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (753 wins) will be the last to reach 1,000 in his lifetime. … Brown said Bobcats G Gerald Henderson (knee) is doing more work but still hasn’t been cleared for contact drills. … Bobcats C Kwame Brown, Thomas and Billups all got technical fouls for complaining. … Diaw played in his 288th consecutive game, fourth-longest active streak in the league.
