Give Ron Artest two thumbs up.
Artest's injured right thumb felt just fine after he left Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets bruised and battered Saturday night in Denver and put the Sacramento Kings on the verge of their eighth straight trip to the playoffs.
Behind Artest's defensive play and Mike Bibby's 23 points, the Kings routed the Nuggets 100-82 and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Utah for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. A win in the Kings' final two games or a loss by the Jazz, who have three games left, will secure the playoff spot for Sacramento.
The Nuggets' loss means they will open the playoffs on the road even though they've won the Northwest Division because they won't have a better record than the sixth seed, whether it's the Clippers or the Grizzlies.
Artest hurt his thumb Tuesday night against Phoenix, and a medical exam before the team's flight to Denver revealed an aggravation of an injury that wasn't properly repaired during his college days at St. John's.
Artest had extra padding on his injured thumb and that affected his shot — he was 3-of-13 from the floor — but he said he's just not going to be as big of a scorer now and suggested his stifling play on Anthony was just a taste of what's ahead.
"I figure I have to do something else now. Rebound, play defense, get some assists," Artest said. "I'm going to take shots, but they are going to fall in crunch time. They may not fall as much as they used to, but they are going to fall, so I'm not going to be shy about shooting."
Even though he needed extra padding on his aching thumb, Artest throttled 'Melo so thoroughly that Nuggets coach George Karl benched his star along with point guard Andre Miller in the fourth quarter.
"I didn't think we had a chance to win with or without them," Karl said.
So, it was a matter of resting them for the playoffs or sending a message?
"A little bit of both: resting them (and) earn your time on the court by playing defense and playing hard," Karl said.
MAGIC 102, SIXERS 97: At Orlando, Fla., Dwight Howard scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds to lift Orlando, keeping the Magic's playoff hopes alive and further damaging the 76ers'. Allen Iverson had 36 points and five assists, while Chris Webber added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers.
BOBCATS 92, PACERS 91: At Charlotte, N.C., Primoz Brezec scored 18 points, including the basket that forced overtime, and Alan Anderson hit a free throw with 59 seconds left in the extra period to Charlotte the win. The Pacers still clinched a playoff berth when Philadelphia lost to Orlando. Raymond Felton added 16 points and 13 assists as the Bobcats won their second straight game.
GRIZZLIES 93, ROCKETS 81: At Houston, Mike Miller scored 25 points, Shane Battier hit his first eight shots and added 19, and Memphis completed the franchise's first season sweep of Houston. Pau Gasol added 16 points and 10 rebounds for playoff-bound Memphis, which won for the sixth time in seven games. Juwan Howard scored 16 points on 5-for-18 shooting for the Rockets, who've dropped seven of their last eight.
HAWKS 120, BUCKS 114: At Milwaukee, Josh Smith scored a career-high 28 points and Marvin Williams added 19 for Atlanta, but the Bucks qualified for the playoffs despite the loss. Atlanta snapped an 11-game road losing streak by getting 16 points from Zaza Pachulia, 15 points each from Donta Smith and Joe Johnson, and 14 from Tyronn Lue.
WARRIORS 86, TRAIL BLAZERS 81: At Portland, Ore., Ike Diogu had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead short-handed Golden State over Portland. Juan Dixon and Martell Webster each scored 17 points for the Blazers, who have lost 17 of their last 18 games and have the worst record in the NBA.