OAKLAND, Calif. — Allen Iverson tried to pick up the slack.

It didn’t last.

With Carmelo Anthony, the NBA’s top scorer out after the birth of his first child, Iverson scored 35 points. But only 11 came in the second half as the Nuggets fell 110-96 to Golden State on Wednesday night at Oracle Arena.

"I had a lot of good looks, like I did in the first half," said Iverson, who had 16 points in the first quarter. "I just didn’t knock them down. I struggled. ... For whatever reason, I picked the wrong time of the game, the wrong half to struggle."

With Iverson coming up big, the Nuggets trailed only 59-58 at halftime. But, with the guard struggling, they were blitzed 51-38 in the second half.

While the Nuggets had only two players in double figures, the Warriors placed all five starters in double digits. Guard Baron Davis led the way with 22.

"Melo was definitely missed," said Nuggets center Marcus Camby, who grabbed 14 rebounds but managed only nine points. "He’s the face of the franchise. He’s our go-to guy."

Anthony’s fiancée, La La Vazquez, gave birth early Wednesday afternoon in Denver to Kiyan (pronounced kigh-ANN), a boy weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces. It had been determined Tuesday night Anthony wouldn’t travel to California.

Anthony has missed 16 games this season, the first 15 because of a suspension. The Nuggets (29-30) are 7-9 without him.

The Warriors (28-35) have plenty of work to do, but they are trying to make a playoff run. They are 2-0 since Davis returned after missing 13 games following knee surgery.

Golden State shot 15-of-33 from three-point range. The Nuggets were only 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.

"I thought we had a great game until the four-minute mark in the second quarter," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "The offense and defense kind of broke down and they got back in the game."

The Nuggets, 0-20 when failing to score 100 points, led 48-36 with four minutes left in the second. From then until the end of the game, the Warriors outscored Denver 74-48.

It looked as if the Warriors might trail at halftime, but Davis was fouled on a three-point attempt with six-tenths of second left by DerMarr Johnson. He hit all three foul shots for the 59-58 lead.

"You look at it and it’s really him fouling me," said Johnson, who said Davis threw his arms into him.

Johnson, who has played sparingly this season, was a surprise starter at forward for Anthony. He was Denver’s only other player in double figures, with 15 points, and hopes that will translate into future time.

In the second half, though, the Warriors took over. It was evident the Nuggets, with Karl saying the Warriors were crowding Iverson more, didn’t have the firepower to come back. The lead reached 20 in the fourth quarter.

"That’s 30 points out of the lineup. We definitely needed Melo," said Iverson, planning to call Anthony after the game. "But things like that happen. Other guys have got to step up. We gave the effort and just couldn’t get it done."

The Warriors also got 20 points from forward Al Harrington and 15 rebounds from center Andris Biedrins. The Nuggets also got 11 rebounds from forward Reggie Evans, who hadn’t played in four of the previous five games, and a career-high 10 from forward Linas Kleiza.

"My back tightened up," said Evans, who played 19 minutes, in part because forward Eduardo Najera was limited to six because of a sore left knee. "Probably because I hadn’t played much lately."

ETC.: Warren LeGarie, agent for former Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe, said his client has interest in Portland’s president or general manager job but has yet to be contacted. LeGarie said the Trail Blazers haven’t defined job positions. ... Najera said he will see the doctor today and doesn’t know if he’ll play Friday against Detroit. "It’s sore," said Najera, who was ruled out for the second half and said his knee just starting hurting. Athletic trainer Jim Gillen doesn’t believe the injury is serious, but more will be known after today. ... While the Nuggets will not practice today, Karl said J.R. Smith will do some courtwork, perhaps some three-on-three, and more will be known about his status for Friday. Smith returned Tuesday against the Hornets after missing five games following left knee surgery, but he didn’t travel to Golden State. ... Retro uniforms were worn by the Nuggets from the 1967-68 Denver Rockets and by Golden State from the 1966-67 San Francisco Warriors.

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Johnson	29:27	6-16	0-0	1-2	1	3	15
Nene	34:41	2-6	4-4	3-4	4	3	8
Camby	30:43	3-8	3-5	0-14	2	1	9
Diawara	21:25	3-7	0-0	0-1	0	2	8
Iverson	47:02	12-25	10-14	1-6	3	0	35
Blake	30:48	4-10	0-0	0-1	6	2	9
Najera	5:33	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Kleiza	20:57	2-11	3-4	7-10	1	4	8
Evans	19:24	1-2	2-2	2-11	0	1	4
Totals	240	33-86	22-29	14-49	17	17	96

Percentages - FG .384, FT .759. Three-point goals - 8-23, .348 (Johnson 3-8, Diawara 2-4, Iverson 1-2, Blake 1-4, Kleiza 1-5). Team rebounds - 9. Team turnovers - 18 (18 pts.). Blocked shots - 8 (Johnson 3, Camby 2, Kleiza, Evans, Nene). Turnovers - 17 (Iverson 5, Johnson 3, Blake 3, Camby 2, Kleiza 2, Nene 2). Steals - 11 (Nene 4, Camby 2, Iverson 2, Blake 2, Diawara). Technicals - None.

		FG	FT	Reb
G.S.	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Jackson	34:26	6-15	2-2	1-3	8	3	18
Harrington	30:14	7-19	3-3	0-9	0	2	20
Biedrins	29:09	6-8	0-0	5-15	0	5	12
Richardson	37:47	6-14	0-0	2-6	4	3	16
Davis	30:25	7-15	6-7	1-5	9	1	22
Ellis	33:08	3-11	1-2	1-2	2	3	7
Powell	10:07	1-1	0-0	2-4	1	2	2
Pietrus	9:48	2-5	0-0	1-2	1	0	5
Foyle	8:39	0-0	0-0	0-1	2	1	0
Azubuike	3:47	0-0	0-0	0-1	1	1	0
Barnes	12:31	3-5	0-0	0-2	3	4	8
Totals	240:01	41-93	12-14	13-50	31	25	110

Percentages - FG .441, FT .857. Three-point goals - 16-34, .471 (Richardson 4-8, Jackson 4-9, Harrington 3-6, Barnes 2-2, Davis 2-5, Pietrus 1-3, Ellis 0-1). Team rebounds - 6. Team turnovers - 17 (22 pts.). Blocked shots - 9 (Biedrins 3, Richardson 3, Davis, Ellis, Barnes). Turnovers - 17 (Davis 4, Richardson 4, Jackson 3, Ellis 2, Harrington 2, Pietrus, Barnes). Steals - 10 (Ellis 5, Davis 2, Barnes 2, Powell). Technicals - None.

Denver ......28	30	11	27	-	96
Golden State ......31	28	22	29	-	110

A - 19,596 (19,596). T - 2:14. Officials - Greg Willard, Mark Ayotte, Courtney Kirkland.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com Warriors 110, Nuggets 96

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