USA - Parker, Duncan put Nuggets pair in their place

NEW YORK (NBA) - Tony Parker and Tim Duncan stole the show from highly-touted duo Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 95-80.

With all the focus on the Nuggets’ superstar pair, France international Parker scored 17 points and Duncan added 12 and six rebounds as the Spurs won their third straight game.

Just 2-5 with both Anthony and Iverson in the lineup, the new-look Nuggets have yet to jell.

"It's just going to be tough for a while," Iverson said.

"(Anthony and he) have to get some practice in and some more games in. But we have to get it done. It has to happen right now. We don't have time for that. We can't make excuses for that because no one cares about that."

The Spurs' swarming defence engulfed Iverson, who was playing his first game since February 7 and just his second since January 29 after battling a sprained right ankle.

For his part, Team USA co-captain Anthony did not pick up the slack as the two have yet to spark the offence together for Denver, which posted its season-low point total on Tuesday.

Holding an 11-point lead, San Antonio outscored Denver, 30-10, in third quarter to blow the game wide open - taking a 79-48 lead into the final period. The Spurs nailed seven of 13 shots from the arc in the quarter.

Duncan felt the defensive effort led the way in the pivotal third period and will be important the rest of the season.

"(Defence is) going to be the key to the stretch run here," Duncan said.

"We have to really turn that defence up and really keep people off our offensive glass and that's something that has hurt us tremendously throughout the first half of the season."

Parker was seven of 11 from the field and Duncan shot four of nine for San Antonio, who shot 46% (38 of 82) for their fourth win in their last six games.

Brazil’s Nene scored 13 points and DerMarr Johnson added 11 for the Nuggets.

After returning from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, Turkey international Mehmet Okur was still in All-Star form, but his 25 points were not enough as the Utah Jazz fell to a 103-100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Brandon Roy scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half as Portland overpowered Utah down the stretch.

Okur buried a three-pointer with 7.2 seconds left to make it 101-100.

Zach Randolph made a pair of free throws to push the lead to 103-100. Okur missed a three-pointer from the top of the key but the ball went out of bounds and the Jazz got another chance.

Okur took another three-pointer that came up short at the buzzer.

Zach Randolph had a double-double as he collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Two other All-Stars had a more enjoyable return to regular action as Gilbert Arenas scored 38 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 112-100 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves and David Lee collected 14 points and 16 rebounds as the New York Knicks beat the Orlando Magic 100-94.

All-Star Dwight Howard collected 27 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando.

Rashard Lewis scored 34 points and Ray Allen added 27 as the Seattle SuperSonics overpowered the struggling Memphis Grizzlies.

Chris Wilcox had 13 points and 15 rebounds and Nick Collison chipped in 10 and 14 for Seattle, who have won three straight games.

Mike Miller scored 20 points and rookie Rudy Gay added 19 for the Grizzlies, while Spain international Pau Gasol - trying to ignore continued speculation as Thursday’s transfer deadline nears - had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Steve Nash missed the All-Star events in Las Vegas with a shoulder injury, but he was back in action on Tuesday, helping the Phoenix Suns end a three-game losing streak by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 115-90.

Nash had 13 points and dished out 12 assists, several in the direction of Shawn Marion who finnished with 31 points while Amare Stoudemire added 22.

Chauncey Billups scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the Detroit Pistons held on for an 84-83 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, who dropped their fourth straight game.

Chris Duhon scored 17 points and Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng added 16 each to help the Chicago Bulls snap a two-game losing streak with a 106-81 win over the Hawks.

Raymond Felton had 21 points and 11 assists and Emeka Okafor collected 16 and 15 rebounds as the Charlotte Bobcats shared the ball well in a 104-100 victory over the New Orleans Hornets for their second straight win.

Kevin Martin scored 22 points and Ron Artest added 16 as the Sacramento Kings held off the Boston Celtics for a 104-101 victory.

Ian Parker
FIBA