CHICAGO - The Nuggets needed one rebound. The problem was, their best rebounder was in the training room.

Forward Tyrus Thomas capped a frantic final Chicago possession with a tip with two-tenths of a second remaining to give the Bulls a 109-108 win Thursday night at the United Center, halting the Nuggets' five-game winning streak.

Nuggets center Marcus Camby didn't see the final play. Camby, who didn't play in the fourth quarter and said he is doubtful for tonight's game in Toronto, was getting treatment for back spasms.

"I think if he would have been out there, the outcome would have been a little bit different," Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. "One of them. That's all we needed was somebody to get one (rebound)."

Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, who scored 24 of his game-high 31 points during the second half, put the Nuggets up 108-107 on a driving layup with 13.1 seconds to play.

On Chicago's ensuing possession, the ball was knocked loose and Steve Blake and Eduardo Najera of the Nuggets looked to have a shot at it.

Instead, the ball ended up in the hands of Chicago guard Ben Gordon in the right corner. Gordon, who scored a team-most 25 points, was long on a jumper, and it appeared Anthony might grab the rebound.

Instead, Bulls forward Luol Deng batted the ball to keep it alive. Then Thomas made the decisive tip on the left side, resulting in Anthony saying he would "rather lose by 100 points" than the way the Nuggets did.

"We had the ball in our hands three times," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "They could have very easily called an over- the-back foul on the rebound. We played the possession pretty well. But to get beat at the end of the game like that is a tough way to get beat."

Anthony, who scored 28, didn't complain about no foul being called.

Iverson said it was a "great hustle play" by Deng, who totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds.

"I don't know what happened," Thomas said of the frantic final seconds. "I am just glad we got the win."

The Nuggets had a final chance at victory, but, by rule, needed a tip. When Blake threw a short inbound pass from half court to Anthony, the game was declared over.

Blake said the Bulls had "four guys in the paint" and added his only hope was Anthony making a shot and the officials "wouldn't realize" the rule.

The loss dropped the Nuggets (34-32) into the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoff race behind the Los Angeles Lakers (36-32).

The Nuggets had given up an average of just 96.6 points during their five-game streak. They allowed the Bulls (40-30), averaging 98.7 points, to exceed that figure by 10-plus.

But the Nuggets, after trailing by 10 early in the third quarter, looked to be in good shape when they led 94-86 on a Nene layup with 7:24 left. But Nene, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds, made two pivotal bad passes late in the game and finished with seven turnovers.

"We put ourselves in a position to win," Iverson said. "We just didn't pull it out. . . . You could tell something bad was going to happen after we had all those chances to get the ball and we didn't get it."

Now the Nuggets hope Camby's injury isn't too bad.

"I tried to play through it," said Camby, who said his back flared up from Wednesday's practice. "It just got to the point where I couldn't go. . . . If I feel the way I feel right now (Camby won't play tonight). I've got to make sure I'm all right for the stretch run."

Camby said it "was tough" being in the training room at the end. He didn't even have a television to see Thomas' tip.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't anything he wanted to see.

ETC.: With Lakers guard Kobe Bryant scoring 60, he leads Anthony 30.5 to 29.7 in the scoring race. "He's on a roll," said Anthony, who added it "doesn't bother" him the race might be slipping away. . . . A Special Olympics basketball player went into a seizure during a halftime game and was taken away on a stretcher. The Bulls did not give an immediate report on the man's status. . . . Karl said the Nuggets will talk about Friday's loss today and "we'll go out and kick somebody's butt" tonight.

Bulls 109, Nuggets 108

		FG	FT	Reb
DENVER	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Anthony	39:17	10-19	8-9	1-2	3	3	28
Nene	37:34	7-9	4-5	2-12	3	4	18
Camby	27:24	2-4	0-0	0-8	3	3	4
Iverson	40:36	11-18	8-9	0-2	6	2	31
Blake	37:51	2-4	0-0	1-4	9	0	4
Kleiza	22:16	4-10	0-0	1-3	2	3	12
Najera	24:04	2-5	0-0	5-6	1	2	4
Smith	10:58	3-5	1-1	0-1	0	1	7
Totals	240	41-74	21-24	10-38	27	18	108

Percentages - FG .554, FT .875. Three-point goals - 5-13, .385 (Kleiza 4-7, Iverson 1-2, Smith 0-1, Blake 0-1, Anthony 0-2). Team rebounds - 6. Team turnovers - 23 (26 pts.). Blocked shots - 9 (Nene 4, Camby 3, Kleiza, Najera). Turnovers - 22 (Nene 7, Iverson 5, Camby 3, Blake 3, Anthony 2, Kleiza, Najera). Steals - 11 (Najera 6, Anthony, Camby, Smith, Iverson, Blake). Technicals - None.

		FG	FT	Reb
CHICAGO	Min	M-A	M-A	O-T	A	PF	Pts
Deng	39:17	10-20	2-3	6-14	3	3	22
Brown	35:16	7-11	2-4	5-7	3	2	16
Wallace	28:53	3-5	0-1	4-6	5	2	6
Gordon	40:13	10-23	3-3	0-1	5	4	25
Hinrich	35:11	9-23	0-0	1-2	8	4	21
Griffin	11:44	2-3	0-0	0-2	1	0	4
Duhon	20:36	2-6	0-0	0-0	1	4	6
Thomas	20:30	4-9	1-2	5-11	0	2	9
Allen	8:20	0-1	0-0	0-2	0	0	0
Totals	240	47-101	8-13	21-45	26	21	109

Percentages - FG .465, FT .615. Three-point goals - 7-14, .500 (Hinrich 3-8, Duhon 2-3, Gordon 2-3). Team rebounds - 6. Team turnovers - 17 (22 pts.). Blocked shots - 4 (Deng 2, Wallace 2). Turnovers - 15 (Hinrich 4, Wallace 4, Brown 2, Allen, Deng, Duhon, Gordon, Thomas). Steals - 9 (Deng 3, Wallace 2, Hinrich, Brown, Griffin, Thomas). Technicals - Coach Skiles, 6:41 first; defensive three second, 6:26 third.

Denver ......34	17	33	24	-	108
Chicago ......28	27	27	27	-	109

A - 22,646 (21,711). T - 2:19. Officials - Dick Bavetta, Violet Palmer, David Guthrie.

Back to Top