Nuggets trim Spurs, 80-77

Iverson scored 29 points, Anthony had 17 along with nine rebounds and the Nuggets closed on a 7-0 run to edge the reigning league champion San Antonio Spurs 80-77 on Thursday night.

 "Everybody talks about this squad and the first thing they mention is Carmelo and myself but we're a team," Iverson said. "We have trust and believe in those guys. We know they can make big plays at the end of the game and that's what they did tonight."

   Tim Duncan had 20 points to go along with 14 rebounds while Frenchman Tony Parker finished with 20 points and nine assists for the Spurs (21-9), who without Argentine Manu Ginobili for the fourth straight game (sprained left index finger) shot just 37 per cent (27-of-73) from the field.

 "They were being very physical out there tonight," Duncan said. "It was frustrating at times, but a lot of what happened down the stretch was my fault, so I take responsibility."

   Denver blew a 16-point second-quarter cushion and trailed 77-73 following a layup by Parker with 1:42 left to play.

 However, they fought back. Anthony Carter (seven points) drilled a three-pointer from the left wing and spotted Kenyon Martin for the go-ahead layup with 45 ticks to go.

 "Carter's three was huge," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "The more we can count on the other three guys, besides Iverson and Anthony, the better we will be."

   San Antonio had an opportunity to regain the lead, but Martin blocked Parker's driving layup - his career-high seventh rejection of the game. Bruce Bowen missed a three-pointer and Anthony grabbed the rebound.

 The Spurs allowed the Nuggets to shave 20 seconds off the clock before Bowen fouled Iverson, who sank both free throws with 6.6 seconds left to make it 80-77.

 The Spurs called a timeout to set up for a final shot. When play resumed, Michael Finley (18 points and eight rebounds) launched high-arching three-point try from the left corner over Marcus Camby that would have send the game into overtime. Instead, the desperation heave was well off the mark and the Spurs suffered their fourth straight road loss.

 Camby grabbed 18 rebounds as the Nuggets (19-12) earned their fourth win in five games to remain per centage points ahead of Portland atop the Northwest Division.

 Elsewhere:    Portland Trail Blazers 115, Chicago Bulls 109 (2 OT)    Brandon Roy had 25 points and 11 assists, while Jarrett Jack made the go-ahead three-point play with 19 seconds left in the second overtime, lifting the red-hot Trail Blazers to their 15th win in the last 16 games.

 Travis Outlaw had 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds for visiting Portland (19-13) which is 2-0 after having its 13-game run snapped by Utah last Monday.

 Ben Gordon scored 32 points and Joe Smith had a season-high 31 as Chicago (11-19) fell to 3-2 since Jim Boylan was promoted from assistant to interim head coach after Scott Skiles was fired last week.

 Knotted at 108, Gordon looked to take a jumper, but lost the ball. James Jones picked it up and found Jack for the layup and free throw after drawing the foul to make it 111-108.

 Smith was fouled and made the first of two free throws with 14 seconds left. Jones hit a pair of foul shots at the other end and added two more after blocking a three-point attempt by Argentine Andres Nocioni to seal the Blazers' fifth road win in the last six games.

 Phoenix Suns 104, Seattle SuperSonics 96    Amare Stoudemire scored 14 of his 34 points in the final quarter to go along with 11 rebounds, and the Suns shook off an early 20-point deficit to post their fourth consecutive victory.

 Steve Nash collected 17 points and 10 assists for host Phoenix (23-9) which owns the best record in the Western Conference.

 Rookie sensation Kevin Durant netted 28 points and Earl Watson added a season-best 20 for Seattle (9-23) which shot just 39 per cent (40-of-103) from the field.