The old Allen Iverson made the Energizer Bunny look like an overweight jogger.

Whether the same Iverson had been on display the previous two months had been a matter of debate. Some of the debate had come within the camp of the Nuggets, who acquired Iverson on Dec. 19.

"My coach (George Karl) has been telling me that they want the A.I. that they traded for," Iverson said. "They want me to be myself. A lot of times, I get caught up in just trying to fit in and trying not to do too much. . . . Our coaches feel it's in our best interests for me to keep attacking."

The Iverson on display during the first half Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center appeared to be of the imposter variety, but definitely not the one after halftime.

Iverson scored 27 of his 34 points during the second half to help the Nuggets to a 111-101 win against the Orlando Magic. He made 11-of-15 shots during the second half, attacking the way Karl wanted.

"We have a very short period of time to put together a philosophy," Karl said. "But A.I. is a great basketball player. . . . I would rather I be frustrated with some shot selections or situations, circumstances, than him. I just want him to be aggressive and assertive within the team."

The Nuggets improved to 14-19 since Iverson was acquired, though the guard missed eight games because of a sprained right ankle.

Iverson said the ankle is feeling better. But he still suffers from a sore right hip and said the bursa sac on his left elbow again is inflamed after he took another fall. Iverson hopes he won't again have to have surgery on the elbow down the road.

But Iverson put all his bruises aside, especially during the third quarter. After making 2-of-10 shots during the first half for seven points, he scored 15 during the third on 7-of-9 shooting.

"In the first half, I struggled a little bit, but I felt comfortable because I missed a lot of easy shots," said Iverson, whose 27 points during the second half tied the team best set by J.R. Smith for a half this season. "I just stayed aggressive, and it worked out."

The Nuggets (28-28), who won their second straight after a four-game skid, took a 13-point lead in the third quarter. After Orlando (28-31) closed to 81-79 early in the fourth, the Nuggets went on another burst to go back up 13.

Besides Iverson, the Nuggets got a rare powerful bench showing during the second half. Forward Eduardo Najera scored 10 of his 17 points and swingman Linas Kleiza added 11 of his 15.

Najera made 8-of-9 shots, and it was lights-out after he dunked over Darko Milicic.

With 8:15 to play in the game, the native of Mexico threw down a slam that might be a mainstay on ESPN Deportes. It gave the Nuggets, 15-15 at the Pepsi Center, an 88-81 lead and let it be known they were not going to blow another home game against a losing team.

"I know I'm getting older, but now and then I'll get up," said Najera, 30.

If anybody thought Iverson, 31, was getting old, think again. As for Magic guard Grant Hill, that would be a fair assessment.

Hill, 34, sat out the second half because of a sore left foot, which he claims isn't serious. He went scoreless in 13 minutes.

The Magic got 23 points and 12 rebounds from center Dwight Howard, but nobody else on Orlando provided much damage.

Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony didn't cause his usual pains against teams. He scored nine points during the first quarter but finished with 23, more than seven below his average.

"We won this game on defense," said Anthony, seemingly unconcerned he made 2-of-10 shots during the second half.

Well, Iverson helped out a bit.

"He's a great player, and we couldn't do anything to stop him," Magic guard Jameer Nelson said.

Nelson used to see Iverson regularly in the Eastern Conference. Then again, Iverson mostly was a blur when he played for Philadelphia.

ETC.: Nuggets center Marcus Camby was listed as questionable for the second half because of a strained left calf. He started the half and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals and three blocked shots to miss the rarely achieved high-five by two blocks. . . . Julius Hodge, traded Jan. 11 to the Milwaukee Bucks by the Nuggets and later waived, is expected to rejoin the NBADL, but his team has yet to be assigned.

		FG	FT	Reb
ORLANDO	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Turkoglu	18:01	4-5	2-3	0-2	5	5	12
Milicic	24:52	5-9	0-1	2-8	0	3	10
Howard	33:03	9-14	5-7	4-12	3	4	23
GHill	13:29	0-4	0-0	0-2	1	1	0
Nelson	31:21	6-14	2-2	0-2	6	5	16
Ariza	20:08	2-5	0-1	2-5	1	2	4
Dooling	23:29	5-7	3-3	0-1	1	2	14
Arroyo	19:38	3-8	2-2	1-3	2	1	8
Outlaw	20:16	1-2	0-0	0-3	0	1	2
Bogans	21:47	2-7	0-0	0-2	2	1	6
Garrity	13:57	2-5	0-0	2-4	3	3	6
Totals	240:01	39-80	14-19	11-44	24	28	101

Percentages - FG .487, FT .737. Three-point goals - 9-15, .600 (Nelson 2-2, Garrity 2-3, Turkoglu 2-3, Bogans 2-5, Dooling 1-1, Howard 0-1). Team rebounds - 5. Team turnovers - 25 (32 pts.). Blocked shots - 4 (Milicic 2, Howard, Bogans). Turnovers - 25 (Nelson 7, Turkoglu 5, Howard 4, Ariza 2, G. Hill 2, Milicic 2, Garrity, Outlaw, Bogans). Steals - 7 (Howard 2, Milicic 2, Arroyo, Dooling, Outlaw). Technicals - Defensive three second, 6:15 second; Turkoglu, 10:59 third.

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	36:57	8-19	7-8	2-6	2	4	23
Nene	36:21	5-9	2-4	2-8	4	3	12
Camby	30:49	3-9	4-6	2-7	6	3	10
Diawara	15:08	0-3	0-0	1-2	2	1	0
Iverson	46:29	13-25	7-9	0-4	7	1	34
Najera	24:33	8-9	1-2	3-5	1	1	17
Blake	20:54	0-2	0-0	0-2	6	0	0
Kleiza	28:51	5-8	2-2	0-3	0	5	15
Totals	240:02	42-84	23-31	10-37	28	18	111

Percentages - FG .500, FT .742. Three-point goals - 4-15, .267 (Kleiza 3-6, Iverson 1-4, Blake 0-1, Anthony 0-2, Diawara 0-2). Team rebounds - 10. Team turnovers - 13 (12 pts.). Blocked shots - 7 (Camby 3, Nene 2, Kleiza, Najera). Turnovers - 12 (Iverson 5, Anthony 3, Nene 2, Camby, Blake). Steals - 15 (Camby 5, Iverson 5, Anthony 2, Najera, Blake, Nene). Technicals - Defensive three second, 7:22 second; defensive three second, 11:34 fourth.

Orlando ......21	23	32	25	-	101
Denver ......22	24	35	30	-	111

A - 15,371 (19,099). T - 2:18. Officials - Ken Mauer, Tony Brothers, Olandis Poole.

SCORING RACE

Player, team Wed. G Pts. Avg.

Anthony, Den. 23 41 1,247 30.4

Bryant, LAL DNP 54 1,564 29.0

Arenas, Wash. 15 56 1,620 28.9

Wade, Miami DNP 46 1,324 28.8

Iverson, Den. 34 40 1,131 28.3

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com Nuggets 111, Magic 101

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