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Duncan, Spurs look to rebound vs. Nuggets

Apr 25, 2007 - 1:14 PM Denver at San Antonio 7:00 pm EDT Western Conference First Round Game Two

SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs hope to even things up at home Wednesday in their first round Western Conference playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony combined to score 61 points as the Nuggets posted a 95-89 victory over the third-seeded Spurs in the series opener on Sunday.

Nene played tough defensively on Duncan and collected 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Duncan scored 14 points, hauled in 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists but went to the free throw line only twice and tallied only two points in the final quarter.

Tony Parker had 19 points and Robert Horry added 14 off the bench for San Antonio, which shot 42 percent (37-of-88).

Iverson and Anthony together connected on 21-of-40 shots and combined to score 15 points in the fourth quarter.

Denver is 11-1 in the month of April.

The Spurs can take solace in the fact they lost Game One in the first round of the 2005 playoffs to the Nuggets only to come back and take four straight on the way to the third NBA title in franchise history. But that Nuggets team did not have Iverson.

Denver has lost 13 straight Game Twos, with its last win in a second game coming against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1985 Western Conference finals.

San Antonio has won seven of its last eight Game Twos. However, the Spurs lost the second game of the 2006 Western Conference semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks, who won the series in seven.