Denver 33, Lakers 21

It took a while for both the Lakers and the Nuggets to get started Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Denver got untracked a lot faster.

Denver jumped out to a 33-21 lead at the end of the first quarter behind nine points from All Star guard Allen Iverson.

The Lakers had a hard time hitting shots and hanging onto the ball, committing six turnovers in the first seven and a half minutes, but managed to keep the game close because Kobe Bryant hit 5 of 8 shots in the quarter.

It didn't hurt that Dever's leading scorer, Carmelo Anthony picked up two early fouls and played just eight minutes.

Both teams came into the game looking to build some momentum after an up-and-down first month of the season. Like the Lakers, Denver opened the year on a roll, going 7-3 out of the gate, only slip back a bit after bing hit by a variety of injuries.

The Nuggets got one of those injured players back Thursday. Oft-injured forward Kenyon Martin was back in the starting lineup after missing Tuesday's game against Indiana.