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Miller shines as Nuggets edge Sixers in OT

Jan 19, 2012 - 4:09 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Andre Miller scored Denver's final 10 points in the fourth quarter and made the go-ahead jumper late in overtime, lifting the Nuggets over the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-104, on Wednesday.

The score was tied at 104 in overtime when Miller made a 16-foot pullup jumper with 42.9 seconds left to give Denver the lead.

Philadelphia had possession after both teams missed a shot, but Jrue Holiday turned the ball over on a bad pass and Arron Afflalo made two foul shots with two seconds remaining to give the Nuggets a 108-104 edge.

"I trust my guys. I talked to Jrue and he's upset with himself because he knew if he had just taken one more dribble he had that little jump shot," Sixers head coach Doug Collins said. "What ended up happening was that [Miller] fakes at him from the corner like he was coming to help."

Miller ended with 28 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds off the bench for Denver, which has won two in a row and four of five. Nene tallied 20 points and 14 boards.

Thaddeus Young ended with 22 points and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who suffered their first home loss of the season (6-1). Evan Turner added 20 points and 11 boards.

Elton Brand's slam with 3:34 left in regulation gave the Sixers an 87-86 lead. Brand then blocked Ty Lawson's shot at the other end, leading to a pair of Turner free throws.

But Miller started to get hot against his former team, making a three-pointer to tie the game with 2:46 to play.

Andre Iguodala and Turner made jumpers around Afflalo's missed three-pointer to give Philly a 93-89 edge with 1:48 remaining.

Miller recorded a three-point play and jumper around an Iguodala miss to give the Nuggets a 94-93 lead with 34.8 seconds to go.

Holiday used a nice behind-the-back move before putting in a layup to give the Sixers the lead back. But Miller made a short jumper with Iguodala all over him to give Denver a 96-95 edge with 7.9 ticks left on the clock.

Iguodala had a chance to put Philadelphia ahead with four seconds left, but made just 1-of-2 free throws and Miller missed a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

Afflalo's jumper tied the game at 104 with 1:22 remaining in overtime. Turner was called for a charge at the opposite end, which led to Miller's go-ahead jumper.

"There's no question that we had opportunities to crack our confidence and we stayed strong," Denver head coach George Karl said. "In tough situations, Philly was coming at us. They were defending well. We hung in there and have a good day off tomorrow with a big smile on our face."

Earlier, the Sixers came out of the gates on fire, shooting 52.2 percent from the field over the first 12 minutes to take a 28-19 lead.

The second quarter belonged to the Nuggets, who shot 50 percent and ended the frame on a 26-6 run to take a 51-45 lead into the locker room.

The Nuggets led throughout the third quarter and took a 78-72 margin into the fourth.

Down by 10, 82-72, early in the fourth, Philly ripped off 13 straight points and Turner's layup gave the home team an 85-82 edge with 5:38 left.

Game Notes

The Sixers had won three straight against Denver...Philadelphia center Nikola Vucevic made his first career start in place of Spencer Hawes (strained left Achilles). He had two points and three rebounds...The Sixers had a three-game winning streak snapped...Brand had 16 points and seven rebounds and Iguodala was one assist shy of a triple-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds...Afflalo tallied 14 points and six boards.