MILESTONE
Allen Iverson helped give Denver coach George Karl his 800th win, finishing with 44 points and 10 assists in the Nuggets' 112-98 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Thursday night. Karl beat his former team to become only the 12th coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. He's 800-555 in 19 seasons. Iverson had his highest-scoring game since being acquired by Denver in a trade with Philadelphia on Dec. 19. His season high is 46 against Chicago on Nov. 24.
A GRIZZLY END
The Memphis Grizzlies fired coach Mike Fratello on Thursday after a 6-24 start. Fratello was the Grizzlies' all-time winningest coach with a 95-83 record and had guided the Grizzlies to consecutive playoff appearances. Fratello replaced Hubie Brown on Dec. 2, 2004. He took the Grizzlies to the playoffs but was swept in the first round in 2005 and 2006. Fratello ranked 19th on the NBA's career wins list and 21st in games coached when he joined the Grizzlies. On March 4, 2005, he became the 19th coach to win 600 games.
STREAKING
Dallas rallied to beat Phoenix 101-99 on Thursday night. The Mavericks (22-7), with the best record in the NBA, won their eighth straight game. The defending Western Conference champs are 22-3 since the first 0-4 start in team history.