Los Angeles - Allen Iverson had a bad feeling in the second quarter. By the end of the game, everyone in the Pepsi Center was feeling the same way.

The Denver Nuggets squandered a 12-point first-half lead, fell behind by 11 points and never recovered Saturday night in a stunning 118-115 home loss to the Sacramento Kings that hampered their post- season hopes.

Carmelo Anthony scored 47 points - two off his career high - for the Nuggets (46-30), who had a nine-game home winning streak snapped and fell into a tie with Golden State for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"We just had a collapse," said Iverson, who refused to use his broken finger as an excuse for managing just 13 points - about half his average - on 4-of-11 shooting.

Even with Iverson playing poorly, the Nuggets got off to a quick start and held a 39-29 lead early in the second period when J R Smith missed a breakaway dunk, deflating Denver's momentum.

"In the second quarter we lost our discipline, our mental direction," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Half our possessions in the second quarter were very irresponsible."

"I told Melo (in the second quarter) I didn't feel good about this game," Iverson said. "We weren't there mentally. There's no reason for it. It's unacceptable, and I saw the whole thing playing out."

Sparked by flu-ridden Kevin Martin, the Kings surged to a 59-56 halftime lead and widened their advantage to 11 points late in the third quarter as the Nuggets settled for a handful of 3-point shots. Denver was 8-of-31 from 3-point range.

"In the third quarter, we fell in love with the 3-ball," Karl said.

The Nuggets still trailed, 110-100, with under 2 1/2 minutes to play before rallying behind Anthony, who scored their last 15 points. His driving dunk with 5.2 seconds to play made it 116-115. But Martin, who made 13-of-13 free throws and scored 36 points, sank two from the line.

"(Martin) played through it," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "His stomach was hurting. He didn't even make it to shooting practice. I wasn't sure I was even going to play him. Kevin said he wanted to play, and you saw the results."

A potential tying 3-pointer by Smith - who was 2-of-11 from the arc - was contested by Mikki Moore and hit the rim twice before bounding away.

"He's the best guy on our team making the tough 3, and with four seconds to go, you're probably going to get a tough 3," Karl said.

Francisco Garcia scored 29 points and Moore added 23 and 10 rebounds for the Kings (36-40), who played without injured starters Ron Artest and Brad Miller but still won their fourth straight game.

Lithuania's Linas Kleiza scored 28 points, Smith added 13 and Marcus Camby had 14 rebounds and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who played without suspended forward Kenyon Martin and fell to 31-8 at home.

Denver begins a critical four-game road trip Sunday in Seattle (17-59) that includes visits to the Los Angeles Clippers (23-53), Golden State (46-30) and Utah (51-26), which is nearly unbeatable at home.

"I'm definitely concerned," Iverson said. "This team (Kings) had 40 losses. We have to play better teams than them down the stretch. I'm confident, but I'm concerned."

"This is not a time to point fingers at anybody," Karl maintained. "This is a time to rally back."

Boston 101, Charlotte 78=

The host Celtics rested the "Big Three" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and still won easily as Leon Powe scored 22 points. Boston (61-15) clinched home-court advantage throughout the playoffs and set a record for a one-year turnaround, having improved by 37 games over last season.

Orlando 101, Cleveland 86=

Turkey's Hedo Turkoglu scored 23 points to cover for a four-point showing by All-Star Dwight Howard as Orlando (48-28) clinched the third seed in the East. LeBron James was bothered by back spasms and scored 17 points on 6-of-22 shooting for Cleveland (42-35), which has dropped two in a row at home.

Washington 99, Chicago 87=

Brendan Haywood scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the visiting Wizards (40-37) - playing without injured stars Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison - moved into fifth in the East, 1 1/2 games behind Cleveland. Chicago (30-46) is one loss from elimination.

Atlanta 92, Philadelphia 85=

Joe Johnson scored 22 points for visiting Atlanta (36-41), which avenged Friday's home loss to Philadelphia and inched closer to its first playoff berth since 1999. Andre Iguodala scored 25 points for the 76ers (39-38), who fell behind Washington into sixth.

New Jersey 99, Toronto 90=

Vince Carter scored 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter for host New Jersey (32-45), which kept alive its faint playoff hopes. Slovenia's Rasho Nesterovic had 22 points and 14 boards for Toronto(38-39), which fell under .500 for the first time since November 24 and is seventh in the East. (dpa)