Denver, CO (Best E Casino) - Allen Iverson had 33 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and four steals, and the Denver Nuggets moved into sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with a 111-94 romp over the Houston Rockets at the Pepsi Center.

J.R. Smith went for 23 points off the bench, hitting five three-pointers, and the normally defensively deficient Nuggets held Houston to 35 percent shooting from the floor en route to a third win in four games. Denver (49-32) now sits a half-game ahead of Golden State, which was idle Sunday, and holds the tiebreaker with the Warriors should the two teams finish even.

The Nuggets close out their regular-season schedule when they host Memphis Wednesday, while Golden State goes to Phoenix on Monday before hosting Seattle in its regular season finale Wednesday.

Linas Kleiza added 18 points for the Nuggets, while Carmelo Anthony scored 11 and grabbed eight rebounds despite shooting just 3-of-14 from the floor. Marcus Camby had six points to go with a game-high 14 boards and seven blocks.

Luther Head led Houston with 19 points, and Tracy McGrady went for 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds. The Rockets (54-26), who had a five-game win streak halted, failed to take advantage of San Antonio's loss earlier Sunday, and remain tied with the Spurs a full game behind New Orleans for first place in the hotly contested Southwest Division, with two to play.

Steve Novak had 15 points off the Houston bench, while Luis Scola scored seven to go with his team-high 13 boards. Carl Landry added 11 and five.

Denver led 24-18 after one quarter, then extended its lead to 50-33 during the middle stages of the second when Smith knocked down a three. Houston was back within 11 after McGrady hit a jumper with 2:46 left in the half, but the Nuggets closed the half on a 10-4 burst to take a 61-44 advantage to the locker room.

Kleiza's dunk less than two minutes into the second stretched Denver's lead to 21, and after withstanding a brief Houston push, the Nuggets were back up 22 by the four-minute mark.

The Nuggets' cushion was 88-67 at the start of the fourth, and the lead hovered around 20 throughout the opening six minutes of the final stanza. Houston offered a brief, mild threat, pulling within 16 on Landry's three- point play with 6:28 remaining, but Iverson hit a jumper and then found Kleiza for an easy hoop, and Denver cruised from there.

Game Notes

Houston closes out its regular-season slate in Utah on Monday and at home against the Clippers on Wednesday...Denver forced 17 Houston turnovers, and the Rockets shot just 9-for-25 from three-point range...Denver shot 48 percent from the floor as a team, and had 13 blocked shots.