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Iverson, Nuggets warm up for playoffs, crush Timberwolves

Apr 17, 2007 - 6:05 AM DENVER (Ticker) -- Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets wanted their impressive play to be seen all the way to San Antonio.

Iverson scored 25 points and fellow All-Star Carmelo Anthony added 21 as the Nuggets crushed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 122-107.

Linas Kleiza had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Nene added 18 and 10 for Denver (44-37), which will face the third-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Iverson connected on 10-of-17 from the field and scored eight points in the third quarter, when the Nuggets turned a one-point halftime lead into 92-77 advantage entering the final period.

"We just tried to play well in front of our home crowd," Iverson said. "We wanted to give them something to look forward to in the playoffs."

Anthony and Kleiza also had seven points in the quarter for Denver, which has won nine of its last 10.

"It was good to come here tonight and get up and down the court," Anthony said. "I could've easily ... said I don't want to play tonight. But I know that this game, even though it doesn't mean anything, it's still important to us as a team to go out there and get better. I think tonight we did that."

The Nuggets, who shot 51 percent (42-of-83) and finished with a five-game winning streak at home, are 0-2 vs. the Spurs in 2006-07. They close out the regular season at San Antonio on Wednesday.

"I know we are all waiting to play San Antonio," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "San Antonio has been the best team in basketball the past 10 years. They will slow it down but they will run with us as well. We are anxious to play them."

Justin Reed and rookie Randy Foye each scored 19 points for the Timberwolves, who played their fourth straight game without 10-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, who continues to be out with a quadriceps injury.

"It's tough to play here," Foye said. "They went on a run and we got behind. They're a playoff team, you know. We fought back but it was too late."

Mark Blount had 18 points and rookie Craig Smith added 16 and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which shot 48 percent (43-of-90) and tied its season high with its sixth consecutive loss.