Tuesday NBA: Anthony, Iverson out in Billups’ return to Detroit
Tuesday night’s Nuggets at Pistons game will be missing two of its biggest stars as Denver’s Carmelo Anthony has been suspended for the game while Detroit’s Allen Iverson is out injured again.
The line for this game, as one would expect, is currently in flux at WagerWeb.com.
Melo was benched for an “in-game transgression” in Sunday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers, the team announced Monday. Reportedly Anthony wouldn’t come out of the game when summoned to by coach George Karl.
The Nuggets’ leading scorer, Anthony originally was counted out of Tuesday’s game at Detroit due to a personal issue but vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman then announced Anthony’s penalty just hours later.
“There is a code of conduct that we take very seriously, especially from a leader and co-captain,” Chapman said. “Carmelo knows this and regrets what happened. He is a very competitive person and made a poor decision in the heat of the moment. We look forward to having him back on Thursday and will have no further comment at this time.”
Anthony has averaged 21.6 points, but he has shot just 29 percent from the field (12-of-41) in the last two contests. This is Anthony’s second suspension this season, both of them meted out by the team. He sat out the first two games of the season as punishment for his drunken driving arrest last spring while the Nuggets were pushing for a playoff berth.
Anthony is scheduled to rejoin the team on Thursday when the Nuggets host Portland – bet on that game at WagerWeb.com.
Iverson won’t get to face his former team as he will see a specialist in Washington, D.C., to get a second opinion on his back injury, which he fears may be more serious than first thought. This will be his third straight game out.
Iverson, traded from the Nuggets in November for guard Chauncey Billups, left Wednesday’s loss to the Hornets in the first quarter after aggravating the back strain he sustained in Tuesday’s loss to the Heat. He was replaced in the starting lineup Friday by Richard Hamilton, who scored 31 points to fuel a victory over the Orlando Magic. Hamilton led the Pistons again Sunday with 25 points in a win over the Celtics.
Billups acknowledges it will be emotional playing at The Palace tonight. Neither Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace nor Richard Hamilton played in the Pistons’ first game against Billups in Denver on Jan. 9 — a 93-90 Detroit victory. Anthony also was out injured.
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