By Marty Gitlin
Inspin.com/WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Perhaps the trade that brought Steve Blake to Denver wasn’t driven strictly by salary cap concerns.

Nuggets coach George Karl believed Blake would prove a better fit than Earl Boykins in the backcourt with Allen Iverson. Blake began to justify that view Sunday while burying his former team in the process.

The former Bucks point guard scored 25 points in a 109-93 victory in Portland. He nailed 9 of 13 from the field and combined with Iverson to score 57 points and dish out 13 assists.

“It’s better than good,” Blake told the Associated Press about his new home. “It’s been a lot of fun. We’re playing the style I like. Coach is letting me get the ball and push it. And with the players we have on this team, you can’t help but be successful.”

The Nuggets outscored the Blazers, 41-17, in the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Portland, meanwhile, has lost eight of its last 10.

HONORING KING: It’s appropriate on Martin Luther King Day that three games will be played in cities with relevance to the life of the civil rights leader.

Boston travels to Atlanta, the birthplace of King. Utah plays at Washington, where he stirred the consciousness of the nation with his stirring “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. Finally, Phoenix is at Memphis, where King was tragically slain five years later.

To honor King, the NBA has scheduled 11 games, an inordinately high number for a Monday. Nine will be played in the afternoon. The Phoenix-Memphis and Miami at Los Angeles Lakers clashes will be broadcast nationally by TNT in the evening.

WagerWeb.com lists the Suns as 9-point favorites, the heaviest odds for a visiting team this season, and the Heat as 6-point underdogs. The depleted Celtics are 5.5-point underdogs, according to WagerWeb.com, while the Wizards are 3-point favorites against the slumping Jazz.


DRIBBLES: The three teams chasing Cleveland in the Central Division can move closer today. WagerWeb.com lists Detroit as a 2.5-point home favorite against Minnesota, Chicago as a 3-point home underdog to San Antonio, and Indiana as a 2.5-point road underdog against New Jersey. They are all within 3 ½ games of first place. … Two players are making the most out of increased playing time or attention in Philadelphia. Guard Willie Green is averaging 19.3 points and shooting 52.4 percent from the field in the last four games. Center Samuel Dalembert is averaging 14.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocked shots in his last five games. The Sixers are just 6 ½ games out of first place in the woeful Atlantic Division despite owning the second-worst record in the NBA. WagerWeb.com lists Philadelphia as a 1-point favorite to tighten the gap with a win over visiting Toronto. ... Published repors indicate that Chris Webber could decide his destination as early as today. The free agent forward/center met with Lakers coach Phil Jackson on Sunday and is also considering Detroit, Miami, Orlando and Dallas. The Pistons are the expected choice.




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