Seattle ? Earl Boykins was determined to finally shine in Seattle. He did, coming through with a record-setting performance.
Boykins broke the NBA record for points in an overtime, scoring 15 of Denver’s 21 points in the extra period as the Nuggets, without two key players, beat the Seattle SuperSonics 116-110 Tuesday night.
Boykins, a 5-foot-5 guard who is the league’s smallest player, broke the record of 14 overtime points set by Butch Carter of Indiana against Boston on March 20, 1984.
Boykins didn’t know he had set a record.
“Actually, I was overdue to play well here,” said Boykins, who made four of six shots in overtime and finished with 18 points. “I’d never played well here in my career. I was aware of that. That’s one record I was aware of. I just wanted to play well for myself.”
The Nuggets, who had lost seven out of eight, ended a two-game losing streak and an eight-game losing road losing streak. They snapped Seattle’s four-game home winning streak.
The Nuggets lost Carmelo Anthony when he sprained his right ankle early in the fourth quarter. They also played without Kenyon Martin, who missed the game with a case of strep throat.
Andre Miller scored 30 points and Marcus Camby had a season-high 25 points and a career-best 24 rebounds for Denver, which beat the Sonics for the first time in three games this season.
Camby sent the game into overtime when he scored off an offensive rebound with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 95. Ray Allen missed an outside shot as time expired.
“I was just crashing after Andre shot the 3,” Camby said. “You know he doesn’t really shoot a lot of 3s. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
In overtime, Boykins took charge quickly. With 20 seconds gone, he scored on a 10-footer and then hit a 15-footer on a fast break with 3:49 left to put Denver ahead 99-95.
After a 15-footer by Seattle’s Antonio Daniels, he made a 3-pointer with 3:25 to go for a 102-97 lead. The Sonics’ Danny Fortson made a layup with 3:03 remaining before Boykins made a free throw, assisted on a layup by Miller and then connected on a three-point play to put the Nuggets ahead 108-99 with 1:39 left.
“I was fortunate enough,” Boykins said. “I got on a roll in overtime and we were able to get stops in overtime. That was the difference in the game.”
In the first four quarters, Boykins hit one of six shots. He said he was determined to contribute after Anthony got hurt.
“I began to get more aggressive at the offensive end. I think my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball every time down the court. The guys were looking for me,” Boykins said.
Nuggets interim coach Michael Cooper said he was proud of his team coming through on a night when it was undermanned, and he was particularly proud of Boykins.
“Earl was just doing what we needed him to do,” said Cooper, now 3-7 since taking over the Nuggets Dec. 28. “Again, he’s just like a little waterbug out there. He creates mismatches and when he gets them, he always has the mismatch in speed. So I was just letting him go.”
Vladimir Radmanovic led the Sonics with 25 points and Antonio Daniels scored 20. Rashard Lewis returned to the Sonics’ lineup after missing two games with tendinitis of his left knee and scored 17 points.
Anthony left the game 1:05 into the final quarter when he landed on the foot of Seattle’s Nick Collison after attempting a 3-point shot. Grimacing in pain, Anthony was helped to the dressing room.
Anthony, who previously sprained both ankles this season, displayed a swollen right ankle and winced in pain was a team trainer cut away tape.
“I came down on Nick’s foot,” Anthony said. “I’m going to see how it is tomorrow when I go in for treatment.”
Asked about the severity of the sprain, Anthony said, “I can’t really tell right now.”
Seattle led 72-69 when Anthony was hurt. He finished with 10 points in 32 minutes.
Martin, averaging 15.5 points and 8.1 rebounds in his first season under his $92 million, seven-year contract in Denver, missed his third game of the season.
Notes: Sonics coach Nate McMillan says PG Steve Nash is his early candidate for NBA MVP this season because of what he’s meant to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns got off to a 31-4 start before going 0-4 on a road trip. Nash missed 2 1/2 games with a bruised thigh. “Before he was hurt, they were running away in this league,” McMillan said. … The Sonics were without backup C Vitaly Potapenko because of a stomach problem. He wasn’t at the game.
