George Karl remembers getting carried off the court after clinching his first playoff berth. He settled for an ovation and a cold beverage after another milestone.
Karl earned his 900th victory Wednesday night when the Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors 114-107. He is 10th on the career wins list, still around long after he figured he’d be out of the league.
“I never thought I’d get this far,” Karl said. “I thought I’d probably coach a few years of pro ball and wear out my welcome and go coach in college and wear out my welcome and go coach in high school and wear out my welcome and end up in junior college or junior high somewhere.”
Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups said the Nuggets gave Karl a postgame ovation.
“That’s an amazing feat,” Billups said. “I can’t imagine. That’s a lot of basketball. You reach a milestone like that, you’ve got to be doing something good.”
In other NBA games, it was: Orlando 113, Chicago 94; Detroit 83, New Jersey 75; Houston 85, Milwaukee 81; Oklahoma City 107, Golden State 100; and Philadelphia 100, the Los Angeles Clippers 92.
20. Billups had 18 points, J.R. Smith 16 and Kenyon Martin 15.
Anthony was less than 6 months old when Karl earned his first win as Cleveland’s coach in 1984.
“I don’t remember it,” Anthony joked. “I didn’t see the highlights. They might show them tonight.”
Karl started 2-19 that season, then finished 34-27 to make the playoffs.
“My favorite story is, after we clinched the playoffs, Lonnie Shelton and World B. Free picked me up and put me on their shoulders and carried me off the court,” Karl said. “I’d never seen a pro coach put on their shoulders. It was a pretty incredible ride.”
Karl, who sauntered out of the locker room with a can of beer in his hand, planned to keep a game ball as a memento of the win.
“I’m not a champagne guy,” Karl said. “I’m a beer guy and some red wine, but I think it’s Coors Light tonight. Beer after a win tastes like champagne.”
Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points and Chris Bosh added 24 points and 11 rebounds, but the Raptors lost for the 13th time in 17 games. With Toronto’s playoff hopes fading, Bosh hoped for greater success in 2009.
“I wish we could wipe the slate clean to be honest with you,” Bosh said. “I wish we could start over. We definitely have a challenge ahead of us.”
Pistons 83, Nets 75
ifth straight game.
Both teams lost key players during the game. New Jersey’s Vince Carter was ejected after arguing a second-quarter call with referee Derrick Stafford, and Rasheed Wallace didn’t play in the second half after injuring his foot in the first quarter.
Rookie Brook Lopez led the Nets with 23 points and 12 rebounds in their lowest-scoring game of the season.
Magic 113, Bulls 94
At Chicago, Rashard Lewis set the tone by scoring 16 of his 21 points in the first half and Orlando rolled to its eighth win in nine games.
Hedo Turkoglu added 18 points. Dwight Howard scored 15, and the Southeast Division leaders came through with a dominant performance after their seven-game win streak ended in a six-point loss at Detroit on Monday.
Joakim Noah had a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds, but Chicago shot just 42 percent. Derrick Rose had a rough afternoon, finishing with just 11 points and no assists.
Rockets 85, Bucks 81
Yao Ming had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, and Luis Scola added 11 points and 10 boards.
Ron Artest had 15 points and reserve Carl Landry added 14 as the Rockets beat the Bucks for the eighth straight time, bouncing back from an embarrassing loss to Washington on Monday.
Michael Redd scored 20, Richard Jefferson had 16 and Luke Ridnour dished out 11 assists for the Bucks, who’ve lost nine consecutive games in Houston.
Thunder 107, Warriors 100
At Oklahoma City, Jeff Green scored 26 points and Kevin Durant added 25 in the Thunder’s fourth victory of the season.
Green scored 18 in the second half for the Thunder, who got 23 points from reserve Chris Wilcox. Durant recorded his fifth double-double of the season, adding 10 rebounds and six assists.
Golden State shot 54 percent from the field in the opening half, but failed to make a field goal in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, allowing Oklahoma City to take control of the game. Kelenna Azubuike had a season-high 24 points for the Warriors.
76ers 100, Clippers 92
At Los Angeles, Andre Iguodala had 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak.
Al Thornton scored 24 points for the Clippers, who lost their fifth in a row.
The pairing of Elton Brand’s former and current teams lost its luster with Brand not making the trip. The former Clippers star is out for a month with a dislocated right shoulder.
Eric Gordon added 21 points and Marcus Camby had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who fell apart after tying the game with 3 1/2 minutes remaining.
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