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George Karl is now in elite company with 1,000 victories.
After two quarters in Toronto, it appears Denver Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups is out of his slump, as the Nuggets lead the Toronto Raptors 74-65.
Billups isn't the only one on fire in the first half. Al Harrington has scored 19 and Nene has 17 on 7-8 shooting. For the game Denver is shooting 62.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and 94.1 percent from the line.
The Nuggets are playing without Carmelo Anthony who is sitting for the second straight game while nursing a sore knee. Gary Forbes got the start in Melo's place, draining his only shot from the field and going into the locker room with two points.
Former Denver Nuggets Linas Kleiza leads Toronto with 19 points, while Andrea Bargnani and Leandro Barbosa have chipped in 12 and 10 respectively. Not shooting poorly themselves, the Raptors are shooting 52.7 percent from the field.
The 74 points is the most in a half for the Nuggets his season, and was helped on a half ending 15-4 run.
Should Denver hold onto the lead, head coach George Karl will secure his 1000th career win.
The Denver Post is reporting that Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony will not play tonight against the Toronto Raptors. Rookie Gary Forbes will start in his absense.
Melo will miss his second consecutive game because of right knee patella tendonitis, but is improving and is considered day-to-day.
Melo will be re-evaluated before the Nuggets visit Madison Square Garden on Sunday to face the New York Knicks.
The "George Karl Career Win 1000" road show will take itself across the border as the Toronto Raptors host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Karl, who has been stuck on 999 career wins since Sunday, hopes that the Air Canada Center will act as the setting for another coaching milestone. It was against the Raptors (8-14) that Karl notched career win 900.
Getting the marquee win might be made more difficult without the service of leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who was a late scratch in the Nuggets (13-8) loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
"I'm somewhat surprised by it," Karl said of Melo sitting last game. "I kind of knew there was a chance he wouldn't go (at) about 15 minutes before the game."
If Melo can't play, the Nuggets need Chauncey Billups to slip out of his current slump. Over the past four games Mr. Big Shot has shot just 31.6 percent from the field, and was just 2 of 10 with a season low five points against Boston.
Through Melo and Billups' recent struggles, some role players have really stepped up for Denver. Against Boston, Ty Lawson exploded for 24 points, seven assists and three steals. In recent games the Nuggets have also seen season-high type games out of Arron Afflalo and Nene.
The Raptors are led by Andrea Bargnani's 21.2 points per game. Reggie Evans leads the team with 12.1 rebounds per game and Jose Calderon is their leading assist man, averaging 6.4 dimes per contest.
The game will also feature former Missouri Tiger and Denver Nugget Linas Kleiza matching up against the team he spent his first four NBA seasons seasons suiting up for. On the season Kleiza is averaging 9.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg.
The game tips at 5:00 p.m. MT. Check local listings for TV coverage, as Altitude2 is the listed carrier.
Nuggets Vs. Raptors: George Karl Earns 1000th Victory As Denver Wins 123-116
George Karl has won his 1000th game as an NBA coach as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Toronto Raptors 123-116 on Friday night at the Air Canada Center.
With the victory, Karl joins Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Pat Riley, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson and Larry Brown in the 1000 victory club.
Al Harrington helped his coach by erasing a mini-slump and pouring in a season-high 31 points on 12-19 shooting. Chauncey Billups also recovered from a season-low five points on Wednesday and scored 21.
Nene added 26 and J.R. Smith 11 for Denver.
Gary Forbes, who started in place of an injured Carmelo Anthony, shone in the second half, finishing with 15 after having two at half.
Former Nuggets Linas Kleiza and Sonny Weems made Denver fans reminisce of about their time in powder blue. Kleiza ended with a team high 26 points while also grabbing 12 boards. Weems finished with 21 points.
Melo is considered day-to-day with his injured knee, but should play on Sunday when the Nuggets go to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks. Set your alarms though as the game tips at 10:00 a.m. MT.
Dec 10 7:32p by Evan Pfaff - 0 comments