Al Thornton has 21 points in Wizards debut to lead Washington to 107-97 win over Denver

Thornton has 21 points in Wizards debut for win

WASHINGTON — Al Thornton scored 21 points in his Washington debut and Josh Howard added 20 to lead the Wizards to a 107-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

Thornton, acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Antawn Jamison deal Wednesday, and Howard, starting for the first time since being acquired on Feb. 13 from Dallas, spearheaded a spirited fourth-quarter rally.

Howard had nine points in the period as Washington erased an 82-73 deficit. The Nuggets, who won a thrilling overtime game in Cleveland on Thursday night, seemed to have the game in hand until coach George Karl decided to rest Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to start the fourth.

By the time both came back in, the Wizards had a 95-93 lead, thanks to Howard’s jumper with 5:57 remaining. Anthony had 23 points a night after he scored 40 points, including the winning basket, to end the Cavaliers’ 13-game winning streak.

Denver missed 14 of its 20 shots in the fourth quarter. After Ty Lawson’s layup tied it at 93 with 6:12 to play, Washington closed with a 14-4 run and outscored the Nuggets 34-15 in the fourth.

Billups had 28 points for Denver, but the NBA’s second-leading scorer was scoreless and missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter.

Washington was playing its second game without Jamison, who was traded to Cleveland on Wednesday. Andray Blatche, Jamison’s replacement who had a career-high 33 points in Wednesday night’s win over Minnesota, began the game looking as if he was on the way to another great game. Blatche scored Washington’s first 10 points and had 14 points and eight rebounds in the first quarter and had 18 at the half, but was scoreless the rest of the way.

NOTES: Denver F-C Chris Anderson missed the game with back spasms. Nuggets coach George Karl said he’s day-to-day. … Zydrunas Ilgauskas, acquired from Cleveland on Wednesday in the Antawn Jamison trade, reported to the Wizards, took his physical, but was inactive. Ilgauskas, reportedly seeking a buyout, will not travel to Toronto for Saturday’s game against the Raptors. … Gilbert Arenas is suspended for the season for bringing guns to the locker room and isn’t allowed to practice with the team, but one of his practice jerseys is hanging in his cubicle for the first time since the suspension. On Thursday, team president Ernie Grunfeld said Arenas would play again for Washington. … Late in the fourth quarter, Howard dived for a loose ball and landed on the laps of front-row spectators and spilled their drinks and popcorn, causing a delay of two minutes.