Nuggets regain Smith but can’t beat Spurs

Allen Iverson broke out of his shooting funk thanks to the return of J.R. Smith, yet a porous Denver defense kept him from celebrating.

Tony Parker scored 26 points and Tim Duncan had 19 to help the San Antonio Spurs stave off the Nuggets, 92-83, Wednesday night at Denver.

Iverson made 15 of 25 shots for 33 points but bemoaned the Nuggets’ defense.

“I don’t think our offense is going to be the problem,” Iverson said. “If we stop people, then the sky’s the limit for us. I don’t think we’ll have too many problems if we get stops.”

Smith scored 12 points in 32 minutes in his return from a 10-game suspension for his role in the Dec. 16 brawl at New York between the Nuggets and Knicks.

Charlotte 103, Detroit 96 -- The Pistons were held to eight points in the second quarter -- their lowest-scoring quarter of the season -- and watched a nine-point lead turn into a 10-point deficit in a loss at Auburn Hills, Mich.

Raymond Felton had 18 points and seven assists to lead six double-digit scorers for Charlotte.

Detroit’s Richard Hamilton scored 23 points before being ejected with two technical fouls, called about a minute apart, with 1:04 left for complaining to referee Ron Olesiak.

Miami 107, Seattle 103 -- Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 29 points in the final eight minutes, helping the visiting Heat improve to 2-0 since his return from a wrist injury.

Ray Allen had 29 points and Chris Wilcox had 28 for Seattle, which lost its sixth in a row.

Orlando 91, Golden State 76 -- Dwight Howard had a career-high 30 points and a season-high 25 rebounds at Oakland to lead the Magic to its fifth straight victory.

The Warriors’ Baron Davis had 13 points and eight assists but committed six turnovers.

Indiana 97, Boston 84 -- Jermaine O’Neal scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, Jamaal Tinsley had 17 points and 13 assists and the Pacers used a late 13-0 run to win their third in a row and for the fifth time in six games on the road.

Tony Allen had 19 points for Boston before leaving because of a knee injury in the third quarter.

New York 106, Philadelphia 99 -- The Knicks never trailed and blew the game open with a 12-0 run late in the second quarter at New York in winning their third in a row.

Stephon Marbury scored 24 points for New York, which led, 58-34, following the surge.

Samuel Dalembert scored 18 points for the 76ers, who have lost four in a row.

Toronto 90, Milwaukee 77 -- Overcoming a one-for-12 start from the field, the Raptors handed the Bucks their fourth consecutive loss behind Chris Bosh’s 30 points and career-high six blocked shots at Milwaukee.

Andrew Bogut had 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Bucks.

Dallas 99, Portland 74 -- The Mavericks staged a decisive 14-0 second-quarter run at Dallas to beat the Trail Blazers for the 12th time in a row.

Jason Terry scored 20 points for Dallas, which got only 11 from Dirk Nowitzki. Zach Randolph scored 21 points for the Trail Blazers.

Washington 113, Chicago 103 -- Caron Butler scored 26 points and triggered a 12-0 fourth-quarter run for the Wizards at Washington.

Washington led 84-82 before the run.

Kirk Hinrich had 33 points for the Bulls, who have lost four of their last five.

New Orleans 96, Atlanta 77 -- The visiting Hornets ended a five-game losing streak behind Jannero Pargo’s 24 points. Josh Childress had 19 points for the Hawks.