Heat Healthier, Iverson Remains in Pain

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, left, looks to pass the ball under pressure from New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown in the fourth quarter of the Hornets' 114-112 overtime victory in an NBA basketball game in Denver on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski - AP)

-- Playing hurt has never bothered Allen Iverson. Playing poorly is a different story.

And now Iverson might not play at all for a few days.

The Denver Nuggets lost again Wednesday night, but the news out of the locker room was the more troubling part. After Iverson struggled to a 9-for-21 night, he said he could be headed back to the bench until his injured ankle allows him to play at full speed _ the only way he knows.

"I can't help us out there like this," Iverson said. "I tried as hard as I can tonight, but it just wasn't me. I couldn't move the way I wanted to move and I couldn't get to the basket the way I normally do. I felt at times like I had to settle for jumpers because I couldn't get there all the way. Rather than hurt my team, I am going to re-evaluate the situation. I can't play if I feel like this."

Another injury is the last thing the Nuggets need, with center Marcus Camby already missing Denver's 114-112 overtime loss to New Orleans with a strained groin.

The injury outlook is much better for Miami. The Heat won their fifth in a row, extending Boston's franchise-record losing streak to 16 games with a 91-79 victory over the Celtics.

After playing most of the season without Shaquille O'Neal and dealing with occasional injuries to Dwyane Wade and Jason Williams, the Heat are enjoying a strong stretch that has pulled them within 4 1/2 games of first-place Washington in the Southeast Division.

"We are defending champs, so we've got some talent. And if we get healthy and guys get together and get in decent shape, then we're a pretty good team," Heat coach Ron Rothstein said. "We didn't exactly beat them with our effort, we beat them with our talent."

In other games, it was: New Jersey 87, Atlanta 85; Toronto 113, Orlando 103; Seattle 103, Indiana 102; San Antonio 110, Washington 83; Philadelphia 92, Charlotte 83; Cleveland 94, the Los Angeles Clippers 77; Minnesota 121, Golden State 93; and Dallas 113, Memphis 97.

At Boston, Wade had 30 points and nine assists as Miami went on a 19-2 run to erase a 12-point, first-quarter deficit. O'Neal scored nine points while playing 25 minutes as he recovers from knee surgery.

"That's a team who's very hungry to get a win, and the world champions come in and you expect nothing but the best from them early on. So they came out the way we expected," Wade said. "We just had to weather the storm."

Adding injury to insult, the Celtics lost Wally Szczerbiak to a sprained ankle. They're already without leading scorer Paul Pierce because of an elbow injury that has landed him in the hospital with an infection.