The Denver Nuggets hope to have Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony on the court together for only the seventh time this season Tuesday night when they visit the San Antonio Spurs in the first of three straight games against top teams in the Western Conference.

Iverson has missed eight of the last nine games with a sprained right ankle and his absence still fuels the question of whether the Nuggets (26-25) can play well with him and Anthony - the NBA's leading scorer - in the same lineup.

"We have a short period of time to come together, to believe in each other, to build a trust, to (be able to) win playoff basketball," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "And some nights I think we're going to do it and other nights I think we're too individualistic in our thoughts, too worried about our shots, our minutes.

"If we just block it out and just worry about the team. When we play as a basketball team, we are good. When we defend and pass the basketball, we are good. It's not much more complicated than that. When we get our A-team out there, it's going to be fun. We're going to have some good games in the second half of the season."

Denver hoped the acquisition of Iverson from Philadelphia on Dec. 19 would help take pressure off Anthony, who is averaging 30.7 points. Iverson is posting 26.8 points in 20 games with Denver, but the duo has only played six times together with the Nuggets winning just the first two contests.

Iverson, acquired while Anthony was serving a 15-game suspension after a brawl with New York on Dec. 16, has been nursing the ankle injury since a loss to Charlotte on Jan. 29.

"Once we have everyone back and have A.I. healthy, then we can be one of the top teams in the West," Anthony said. "It's just a matter of putting it all together when we are all out there on the court."

The Nuggets hope to have Iverson back Tuesday as they look to make a statement in a three-game stretch that starts in San Antonio (35-18). They return home to face Northwest Division-leading Utah on Friday before visiting Dallas, the top team in the NBA, on Saturday.

The stretch could be key for a Denver squad that is in seventh place in the West, 1 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota and two games in front of the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans.

"The only thing that matters right now is the chemistry of the team coming together, staying together and figuring out how good a team we can become," Karl said.

Iverson scored 33 points playing without Anthony in a 92-83 loss to the Spurs on Jan. 10.

San Antonio beat Detroit 90-81 on Wednesday to close out a season-high eight-game road trip with consecutive wins.

"I would have rather gone 6-2 on the trip, but with the way we've been playing, and that we started 2-4, going 4-4 is pretty good," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who had 20 points.

Tim Duncan had 23 points and eight rebounds, while frontcourt mate Francisco Elson grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and added 12 points in his fifth consecutive start at center.

"Francisco was huge," Duncan said. "He was active on the boards, which we've been lacking, but he also ran the floor and flattened out their defense."