Iverson debuts in loss

Allen Iverson’s opening-night best wasn’t enough to prevent the short-handed Denver Nuggets from dropping a 101-96 decision to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

Iverson finished with 22 points and 10 assists, watching the first 8 minutes, 35 seconds from the bench, then playing the rest of the way. But the Nuggets only had eight players, and that was too much even for “The Answer” to overcome.

The Kings were better from start to finish. They got 21 points each from John Salmons and Brad Miller and got a win made even bigger given the circumstances – an all-day travel excursion that put them at Denver’s Pepsi Center only 90 minutes before tipoff.

Bobcats 101, Jazz 89: At Charlotte, N.C., Emeka Okafor had 21 points and Charlotte held on for a win over Utah.

Raymond Felton added 18 points and 12 assists. Adam Morrison finished with four points.

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 14 rebounds and Mehmet Okur scored 19 points for the Jazz.

Knicks 103, Bulls 92: At New York, Jamal Crawford scored 28 points and New York beat Chicago for its season-high third straight victory.

Eddy Curry added 20 points for the Knicks. Stephon Marbury scored 19.

Ben Gordon scored 27 points for the Bulls. Luol Deng added 20.

Warriors 117, Magic 108: At Orlando, Fla., Baron Davis had 38 points and nine assists, Mike Dunleavy added 21 points and Golden State beat Orlando.

Monta Ellis scored 18 points and Mickael Pietrus finished with 15 for the Warriors.

Trevor Ariza had a career-high 23 points and Grant Hill and Jameer Nelson added 21 for Orlando.

Pacers 100, Hawks 90: At Atlanta, Stephen Jackson scored 27 points and Al Harrington added 20 to help Indiana defeat Atlanta.

Jermaine O’Neal added 16 points for Indiana.

Joe Johnson had 31 points for Atlanta.

Lakers 99, Nets 95: At East Rutherford, N.J., Kobe Bryant had 21 points and a season-high 11 assists to lead Los Angeles over New Jersey.

Vince Carter had 33 points, Jason Kidd added 16 points and nine assists and Richard Jefferson had 18 points for New Jersey.

76ers 98, Celtics 83: At Boston, Andre Iguodala scored a career-high 31 points and had nine assists to help Philadelphia beat Boston.

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 14 rebounds and Gerald Green had 20 points and nine assists for Boston.

Bucks 113, Timberwolves 107: At Minneapolis, Mo Williams scored 26 points to lift Milwaukee over Minnesota.

Michael Redd scored 29 points for the Bucks.

Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Mike James scored 28 for the Timberwolves.

Rockets 97, Spurs 78: At San Antonio, Yao Ming scored 22 points and Houston beat San Antonio.

Bonzi Wells scored 15 points and Juwan Howard added 14 for the Rockets.

Manu Ginobili finished with 23 points for the Spurs. Tony Parker followed with 21.

Hornets 100, Grizzlies 97 (OT): At Oklahoma City, Desmond Mason finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds to help New Orleans defeat Memphis.

Marc Jackson added 19 points for the Hornets.

Chris Paul scored 15 points and Tyson Chandler grabbed 17 rebounds for the Hornets.

Mavericks 115, Clippers 83: At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds as Dallas defeated Los Angeles.

Josh Howard’s 25 points paced the Mavericks. Corey Maggette had 19 points and Elton Brand chipped in 18 for the Clippers.

Raptors 101, Trail Blazers 100 (OT): At Portland, Andrea Bargnani hit a 20-footer with 3.5 seconds left in overtime and Toronto beat Portland.

T.J. Ford had 23 points and 10 assists for Toronto.

Portland’s Zach Randolph had 20 points and seven rebounds.

Wizards 144, Suns 139 (OT): At Phoenix, Gilbert Arenas capped a 54-point night by banking in a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 30.7 seconds left in overtime as Washington beat Phoenix.

Steve Nash matched his career high with 42 points and had 12 assists, and Shawn Marion added 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns.