Bulls cool off Nuggets with last-second tip-in

Tyrus Thomas wasn’t quite sure what happened. The details were a little fuzzy, so he might want to save the video because this one was worth it.

The rookie forward scored on a tip-in with two-tenths of a second left after Ben Gordon’s missed jumper, giving the Bulls a 109-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Chicago.

“I don’t know what happened,” Thomas said. “I am just glad we got the win.”

Allen Iverson’s driving basket had given the Nuggets a 108-107 lead with 13.1 seconds left, but the Nuggets’ five-game winning streak ended wildly.

Gordon got trapped in the right corner after catching the inbounds pass and threw a weak pass toward P.J. Brown on the wing. The ball got deflected, and a diving Brown beat the Nuggets’ Eduardo Najera. Gordon got it back and missed a jumper from the corner, but Luol Deng -- battling with Carmelo Anthony -- kept it alive for Thomas.

“Deng made a great hustle play,” Iverson said. “Everybody is going to give the guy who made the shot a lot of the praise, but a lot of that should go to Deng because he made a great hustle play and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

Gordon finished with 25 points for the Bulls, who had lost two in a row. Iverson led Denver with 31 points and Anthony added 28.

Houston 91, Detroit 85 -- The Rockets opened with a 16-2 lead and then held off the Pistons at Houston to earn their fifth straight victory.

Yao Ming scored 27 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked Carlos Delfino’s shot with the Pistons trailing by five with 22 seconds left.

Antonio McDyess scored 16 points for Detroit, which had its six-game road winning streak ended.

Phoenix 118, Sacramento 100 -- Coming off a four-point, two-rebound effort Tuesday against Minnesota, Amare Stoudemire had 33 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Suns at Phoenix.

Phoenix had a 58-33 rebounding edge in handing the Kings their eighth loss in nine games.

Mike Bibby scored 28 points for Sacramento, which played without Ron Artest, whose plane was diverted because of thunderstorms when he tried to join the team after pleading not guilty to four misdemeanor charges stemming from a March 5 domestic dispute with his wife, Kimsha. His next court date is April 5.

Portland 92, New York 86 -- Jamaal Magloire led the Trail Blazers with his best game of the season, finishing with 14 points and a season-best 16 rebounds at New York in outplaying the Knicks’ Eddy Curry (eight points and four rebounds).

Nate Robinson made eight three-pointers and had a season-high 31 points for the Knicks.