Early in his NBA career, Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony was found with a backpack containing marijuana that had allegedly been stashed there by a friend. Another time, he showed up in the background of a homemade video warning "snitches" of repercussions. It was allegedly nothing serious, just a joke among friends. And after a 15-game suspension for punching an opponent, he now allegedly wants to be a model citizen.

His teammate, Allen Iverson, allegedly hit a woman in the head with a chair during a bowling alley brawl that landed him in prison as a teen. He allegedly locked his naked wife outside their Philly home during a domestic dispute. He allegedly was set to release a rap CD that was offensive to women and gays but was never released. Now in his 30s, he has allegedly become a respected teammate, even a statesman.

That's a lot of allegedlies.

But there's one more.

Now the Nuggets, having acquired Iverson in a December trade, are a championship contender — allegedly.

Time will tell on that.

The Nuggets rolled into EnergySolutions Arena on Friday and left with their first loss in the last six games. And while the 116-111 Jazz victory was a major step in Utah's drive to win the Northwest Division, this much seems clear already: If the Jazz are to land the automatic playoff spot, they'll have to worry about the Nuggets from here on. Any team with Anthony and Iverson in the lineup is trouble — on the court, if not off.

Despite losing to the Jazz, Denver's experiment with two of the league's three top scorers appears to be working. The Nuggets launched the Iverson-Anthony era (Nuggets P.R. types call it "Iversonthony") this week with a pair of wins. A.I. had 23 points and seven assists, Anthony 28 points and five rebounds and six assists against Memphis. At Seattle, Anthony had 34 points and nine rebounds, Iverson 21 points and 10 assists. Friday, Anthony totaled 37 points and six rebounds; Iverson had 33 points, six assists and a steal.

It's hard to argue with those numbers, even when they lose.

"Everything is fine," said Iverson. "Coach (George Karl) has put me in a position where I can succeed out there on the basketball court. It's been an easy transition for me, and I'm happy with it."

Friction? What friction? These guys are working out like celery and hot wings.