SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Written in big letters on the blackboard in the Nuggets' locker room was "20." There was an "X" over it.

The Nuggets had been through seven coaches since last winning at Arco Arena - Jan. 7, 1997. But finally, the 20-game skid, which had been the longest active one in the NBA, is over.

The Nuggets ended it in resounding fashion. They took a 17-point first-half lead and cruised to a 113-101 win against the Kings on Sunday.

"I got tired of losing here," center Marcus Camby said.

"It's crazy to never win in this building," said forward Carmelo Anthony, who scored a team- high 29 points. "I know it's a tough building, but (darn)."

Who would have figured, though, things wouldn't be so tough after Nuggets guard Allen Iverson picked up his third foul and a technical with 6:25 left in the first quarter? That allowed reserve Linas Kleiza to enter the game.

Denver was down 16-12 after guard Mike Bibby made the technical foul shot, and the lead grew to 10 late in the first quarter. But Kleiza brought the Nuggets back nearly single-handedly, scoring 18 of his career-high 24 points in the first half as the Nuggets took a 59-45 lead.

"The three fouls actually turned into a positive," Nuggets coach George Karl said.

In the second half, the Nuggets turned to the usual suspects as Anthony scored 19 points and Iverson had 12 of his 24. The Kings (28-34), who got a game- high 34 points from Bibby and got forward Ron Artest back after a two-game exile, cut the deficit to five in the third quarter before the Nuggets (30-31) pushed the lead to 20.

The moment most talked about afterward was Iverson's third foul and ensuing technical. He didn't agree with either and said he will appeal the technical.

"I never got three fouls ever in the beginning of the game," said Iverson, who was whistled for his third on Kevin Martin but said Martin pushed him. "I've gotten technicals before. Out of all the technicals, I probably deserved every last one of them except that one."

Iverson said he merely said, "Oh," and ran to the bench, but he was T'ed up by Ron Garretson. Iverson said he'll now "see if I can win it on appeal."

But while Iverson was on the bench thinking about points to present to the league office, Kleiza was scoring points. In the first half, he shot 6-for-7, including 4-for-5 on three-pointers.

"I'm starting to feel better and better," Kleiza said. "I'm starting to get more consistent with my role. It's more defined."

With Anthony struggling in the first half and with Iverson out, Kleiza's offense was important. But Karl did risk reinserting Iverson, who said he would have been "pretty upset" if Karl hadn't, for an eight-minute stretch in the second quarter.

Iverson didn't get a foul the rest of the game.

"It was a gamble," Karl said. "Playing him with two fouls (in the first quarter) was a gamble, too. So one worked and one didn't."

As for Anthony, one half it was working and one half it wasn't. His slump continued when he shot only 4-for-14 for 10 points in the first half before going 7-for-10 for 19 points in the second.

"I just want to play 'D,' " Anthony said. "I know I'm not going to have the greatest shooting night every night. But I had an all- around game, rebounding. I made people better. Look at (Klei-za)."

Anthony was assigned to guard Artest, reinstated after being excused for two games after his arrest Tuesday on suspicion of domestic violence. Artest was well-received when introduced but shot only 5-for-15 for 17 points.

"I got the same amount of cheers," he said. "It felt like old times."

Well, it wasn't really like old times. The Nuggets won.

ETC.: Nuggets guard J.R. Smith was available but didn't play. Athletic trainer Jim Gillen said Smith, who has missed eight of the past nine games after undergoing left knee surgery, will be available Tuesday against Portland. It's a matter of when Karl feels comfortable reinserting him into the rotation. Smith hopes to play Tuesday. . . . Saturday night at the team hotel, Karl met with Anthony, who called his play Friday against Detroit "terrible." "It was a good talk," Anthony said. "He answered a lot of questions." Karl called it a "fine talk," and said topics included Anthony's touches. "I'm there to help him," Karl said. "When he plays bad, I feel bad. It's not that I'm angry. Sometimes he must think I'm angry at him, but I'm probably angry at everybody." Before the second half Sunday, Anthony had shot 37-for-100 in 4 1/2 games.

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	38:30	11-24	7-8	3-6	2	3	29
Nene	30:04	4-7	1-1	2-6	2	2	9
Camby	33:11	8-13	0-0	2-10	6	4	16
Iverson	36:43	8-17	7-9	1-6	7	3	24
Blake	33:28	1-6	0-0	0-3	6	3	2
Kleiza	33:01	8-11	4-4	1-8	1	2	24
Najera	27:58	3-10	0-0	6-9	0	4	6
Diawara	5:08	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	0	3
Johnson	0:59	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	1	0
Sampson	0:59	0-0	0-0	0-1	0	1	0
Totals	240:01	44-90	19-22	15-49	25	23	113

Percentages - FG .489, FT .864. Three-point goals - 6-15, .400 (Kleiza 4-7, Diawara 1-2, Iverson 1-3, Anthony 0-1, Blake 0-2). Team rebounds - 8. Team turnovers - 20 (24 pts.). Blocked shots - 7 (Camby 4, Nene 3). Turnovers - 20 (Camby 6, Iverson 6, Anthony 3, Blake 3, Johnson, Nene). Steals - 9 (Iverson 4, Anthony 2, Blake 2, Najera). Technicals - Iverson, 6:25 first; defensive three second, 3:14 second.

		FG	FT	Reb
SAC.	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Artest	38:42	5-15	6-10	1-8	3	2	17
Thomas	27:12	4-9	0-0	4-7	0	0	8
Miller	37:13	4-8	3-4	1-7	5	4	11
Kev Martin	38:08	5-14	8-8	1-3	1	3	19
Bibby	37:01	12-20	5-7	0-2	4	2	34
Salmons	21:25	0-3	0-0	1-3	4	2	0
Garcia	16:26	1-2	0-0	0-2	2	3	2
Abdr-Rahm	10:47	1-5	0-0	1-2	0	1	2
Williamson	13:06	4-7	0-0	0-2	1	3	8
Totals	240	36-83	22-29	9-36	20	20	101

Percentages - FG .434, FT .759. Three-point goals - 7-25, .280 (Bibby 5-9, Kev.Martin 1-5, Artest 1-6, Abdur-Rahim 0-1, Garcia 0-1, Salmons 0-1, Miller 0-2). Team rebounds - 10. Team turnovers - 17 (15 pts.). Blocked shots - 2 (Miller 2). Turnovers - 17 (Artest 5, Bibby 5, Miller 4, Garcia, Kev. Martin, Williamson). Steals - 14 (Artest 4, Kev. Martin 4, Bibby 3, Thomas 2, Miller). Technical - Coach Musselman, 3:22 first.

Denver ......27	32	24	30	-	113
Sacramento ......29	16	28	28	-	101

A - 17,317 (17,317). T - 2:20. Officials - Ron Garretson, Leon Wood, Zach Zarba.

tomassonc@RockyMountainNews.com Nuggets 113, Kings 101

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