TORONTO — When he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1984, George Karl didn't consider himself to be upwardly mobile.

"I never thought I'd get this far," he said. "I thought I'd coach a few years in pro ball and wear out my welcome and go coach in college and wear out my welcome and go coach in high school and wear out my welcome and end up in junior college or junior high somewhere."

More than 24 years later, Karl walked into the Nuggets locker room Wednesday night to a standing ovation from his players and coaching staff.

Career victory No. 900 felt almost as sweet as the first.

"For me, it's kind of like, 'Wow,' humbling a little bit," Karl said after Denver's 114-107 win against the Toronto Raptors. "You're fortunate. You have good players, you have good situations, you have good coaches."

Karl, 57, credited assistant Tim Grgurich for keeping him grounded for much of his career. Grgurich, a former college coach, has been with Karl for 12 of his 21 NBA seasons.

Grgurich, who is to basketball what Yoda was to Jedi training, shrugged off any special attention but predicted Karl will reach 1,000 wins.

"A thousand is like winning the home run crown, the batting title and the RBI title," he said. "It's the triple crown. . . . He'll get there."

No. 900 still was in doubt midway through the fourth quarter at the Air Canada Centre.

Jose Calderon's three-pointer pulled the Raptors to 101-98 with 4:23 remaining before the Nuggets' version of the Big Three put the game out of reach.

Nene, playing through the pain of a strained neck, scored on a putback, Chauncey Billups made a three-pointer and Carmelo Anthony hit a midrange jumper to cap a 9-0 run that effectively put the game on ice (along with the beer and champagne).

"I'm not a champagne guy," Karl said, holding a cup of soda in his hand. "I'm a beer guy and some red wine. I think it's Coors Light (on Wednesday night)."

About 10 minutes later, Karl walked through the locker room with a smile across his face and a Coors Light in his hands as he received another round of congratulations from his players.

"Nine-hundred wins, that speaks for itself in any sport," Anthony said. "It just goes to show his longevity. For him to have 900 wins means a lot."

Anthony, 24, was not yet 6 months old when Karl won his first game Nov. 15, 1984. It ended an 0-9 start to his career with the Cavaliers.

"Every (newspaper) columnist in Cleveland, Ohio, was saying they're idiots if they don't fire me," Karl said. "I thought if I won 250, it would be a hell of a career."

Karl, the 10th NBA coach to reach 900 victories, hasn't had a losing season since a 16-48 record with the Golden State Warriors in 1987-88 led to a three-year hiatus from the NBA.

"It's pretty impressive," 23-year-old Nuggets swingman Linas Kleiza said. "You never know where you're going to end up in life. I watched George coach and it's pretty amazing to be coached by one of the best coaches to ever coach the game. It's a great honor."

Kleiza was one of many players who came up with big contributions against Toronto. Scoreless through three quarters, he scored all 10 of his points in a 1:56 span of the fourth, helping the Nuggets keep the Raptors at bay.

"Definitely found my rhythm," Kleiza said. "Try to do the best I can with the time I got."

Fellow reserves Chris Andersen (10 points, 10 rebounds) and J.R. Smith (16 points) also helped round out a balanced attack.

Nene led the Nuggets with 21 points, while Anthony added 20 and Billups finished with 18. Kenyon Martin chipped in with 15.

"I think that's who we are," Karl said. "I think we're going to have some horses some nights.

"For us to be as good as we can be, team's got to stay No. 1 ahead of the individual. I think that's the truth of any championship team or any team that wants to fight for a championship."

For all the regular-season milestones, Karl still is in search of a championship. Maybe then he'll trade the Coors Light for Dom Perignon.

ETC.: Billups was called for a technical foul for the second consecutive game. Referee David Guthrie whistled Billups for slamming the ball down midway through the fourth quarter. "That one was crazy," Billups said. "Oh, well, whatever." . . . The Nuggets improved to 16-0 when leading after three quarters."

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